Community News Police & Fire
Gig Harbor Police Blotter: $18K in merchandise taken during burglary
Editor’s note: The Blotter is written based on information provided by Gig Harbor Police and Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One.
Three people made off with more than $18,500 worth of merchandise after a burglary at a store on Hunt Street early on the morning of Oct. 22.
Store surveillance footage showed three suspects using a “grinder of sorts to cut the lock” on an exterior door, according to a Gig Harbor Police report. Footage shows the suspects running through the store, dumping merchandise into two utility carts, which they had earlier cut free from a security device outside.
Police responded when an audible burglary alarm sounded. Stolen merchandise included tools, sunglasses, clothing, pet beds, pet food, garden tools and Yeti-brand products.
Help us catch these burglars who entered a #GigHarbor business after hours. We realize the photos aren’t very specific, but perhaps the collective views will generate some leads.
If you recognize them, please contact Detective Sam at (253) 853-8254 re case 22 295 00105 pic.twitter.com/hIazgW7xiB
— Gig Harbor Police (@GigHarborPolice) October 24, 2022
The footage showed the suspects leaving the store parking lot in a dark, full-size Ford pickup.
Shoplifters take $13,500 worth of beauty products
Four people suspected of shoplifting 126 items from a beauty products store in Gig Harbor led law enforcement on a long chase before they were finally apprehended in Tacoma.
The shoplift occurred on Oct. 23 at a store on Olympic Drive. Four people took more than $13,500 worth of products from the store and fled in a black SUV.
A GPS tracking device was attached to a stolen item, so officers were able to track the suspects to Tacoma.
The vehicle fled from police on at least two occasions before the suspects abandoned it. Tacoma Police tracked the suspects to a nearby home.
Officers obtained a search warrant for the house, but the people inside proved less than cooperative. “An elderly female was destroying evidence in the bathroom by placing items in the toilet,” the report said. Others in the house tried to hide merchandise, packaging and clothing that matched what a suspect wore during the incident.
Officers recovered 86 products and returned them to the store. Officers took a suspect to jail on suspicion of charges including organized retail theft and eluding an officer.
Intoxicated patient assaults hospital personnel
Police arrested a 42-year-old Gig Harbor man who punched a security officer at St. Anthony Hospital and grabbed a nurse by the neck.
Hospital employees said they were preparing to discharge the man, who was highly intoxicated, when he “lunged” at the nurse and grabbed his throat. When the guard stepped in to help, the patient punched him in the face. Both victims declined medical assistance.
The suspect, who was sleeping when the officer contacted him, said he didn’t remember assaulting anyone. The officer arrested and later released him at a bus stop. The report was forwarded to prosecutors for review of possible assault charges.
Gig Harbor Police posted these photos of suspects in a burglary.