Community Police & Fire

Gig Harbor Police blotter: Bicycle worth more than some cars stolen

A man eating in a downtown restaurant reported the theft of a bicycle, worth an estimated $8,000, from his vehicle on May 1.

Police were called to the restaurant on the 3200 block of Harborview Drive at about 6:30 p.m. A man told them that a light blue or teal customized Yeti Cycles bicycle had been taken from a rack on the back of his SUV. Two other bicycles were not taken.

Upon obtaining surveillance footage from the business, the officer saw a blue BMW sedan, with two people inside, drive into the parking lot from which the bike was stolen. The driver of the vehicle got out of the car and made a phone call.

A few minutes later, a white cargo van pulled into the parking lot. The driver of the BMW got out of the car, removed the bicycle from the rack and pedaled away. The white cargo van followed, while the other occupant of the BMW drove that vehicle away.

Officers were attempting to obtain license plate numbers for the two vehicles from the footage.

Excuse me, but what’s that in your purse?

A Gig Harbor Police officer patrolling the Uptown shopping center saw a man he described as a “known shoplifter” walking into a retail outlet.

The officer went inside the store and saw the man speaking with a woman. The officer watched as the woman, who had clearly noticed him, left her cart full of merchandise at a cash register. She left the store, walking right past the officer – who could plainly see clothing with tags from the store sticking out of her purse.

When the officer spoke with the woman, she claimed she was going to her car to retrieve her identification card before returning to pay. The officer wondered why she thought she needed her ID to buy clothes, and also pointed out that leaving the store without paying for the items is theft.

She was cited for theft and given a court date, as well as trespassed from the store. More than $600 worth of merchandise was recovered.

Thefts of building materials

Building materials were stolen from two Gig Harbor locations recently.

Two men made off with $541 worth of drywalll supplies and stripped copper wire from a heavy-gauge power supply cord on April 24 at an under-construction home on Prospect Place. The new construction had walls and doors, but the doors were not yet equipped with locks. Police obtained video surveillance footage of the suspects.

Unknown suspects also stole 229 pieces of lumber from a building supply store on Point Fosdick Drive on May 2. The lumber is worth an estimated $3,000. The suspects appeared to have gained access to the location by cutting through a fence, but no identifying information was available.

Those are heavy

Police were called to the Home Depot on Borgen Boulevard on April 30. A manager told officers that a suspect had jumped over a fenced area in the rear of the building and into a secured area where propane tanks are stored. He cut a bracket on a metal container in which the tanks are kept, but left the area without stealing anything.

Remember to lock your vehicle

A woman reported that someone stole her vehicle during the evening of April 29 from a community park near the corner of Arrowhead Drive and Olympus Way.

The woman explained that she parked her vehicle, which was not described in the report, near the park at about 9:45 p.m. and walked to her nearby home. She believes that she accidentally left the vehicle unlocked, with the key fob inside. The vehicle was entered as stolen by law enforcement.

That’s a lot of crackers

About $1,000 worth of Pepperidge Farms crackers were reported stolen from a truck on May 2. The victim is a delivery driver who said he had stored the crackers in the back of his truck, from which they were taken. The victim said he would contact nearby businesses and residences to see if surveillance footage was available.