Transient: "Puyallup's a Better, Safer Place Than Seattle"

June 29, 2013

Assault: At a wedding going on at the fairgrounds, officers removed a juvenile female attendee for her conduct. The juvenile later walked up to one of the officers and smacked him upside the head. This landed her in jail shortly thereafter. In jail, she kicked another officer in the ankle. The juvenile went to Remann Hall and was charged with two counts of third degree assault and minor in possession of alcohol.

DUI/Failure to Yield: A man was passed out at the wheel in the old Pearler lot. Officers woke him and offered him a safe ride home, but he tried to close the door and put the car in gear. He took off farther into the lot and nearly went through the building before turning around and entering River Road. He backed into the officers’ car at Fifth Ave/Bypass and was arrested, still wearing a Wayne’s Inn bracelet.

Meth: A man was found to have 3 grams of meth at St. Vincent De Paul.

July 1, 2013

Residential Burglary: A resident of an apartment on the 400 block of West Meeker reported that someone had broken in via the air conditioning unit opening/unsecure board in her window. The suspect had forced her locked bedroom door open and rummaged through the closet and jewelry box, and stole her air conditioner, a fax machine, and two rings. She found her son’s jacket with an ID card inside. She said he is a meth addict and she hasn’t seen him in some time.

Swift Water Search: A group was attempting to float down the Puyallup River to Mama Stortini’s from Orting. One group member didn’t make it. He was not wearing a life jacket and was possibly severely impaired by cold medication. The search was suspended on July 3, and reports indicate officials don’t believe the lost rafter is still alive.

July 2, 2013

Attempted Strong arm: A woman completing a return at JCPenney on the 3500 block of South Meridian was talking to two women in line with her, asking how much cash they had and trying to negotiate a trade of her gift card for their cash. The two women realized she was following them through the mall. The woman asking for cash attacked them from behind, punching them and demanding the cash. They fought her off and she was gone on arrival. A JCPenney employee identified the suspect.

Thefts: Two vehicles were broken into around the mall on South Meridian. One vehicle, parked behind Vision Quest, had its rear driver’s side window smashed out and two wallets containing $200 cash and credit/debit cards and a checkbook stolen. The other was parked near Old Country Buffet. The unknown suspect broke the rear driver’s side window and stole a laptop.

Burglary: Sometime between 6/29 and 7/2, someone broke a window at Wildwood Elementary (1600 block on 26th Ave SE) and took a flat screen TV.

July 3, 2013

Panhandling: An officer contacted a panhandler on 15th and South Meridian. The transient said, “Puyallup is a better, safer place than Seattle.”

Assault: A man assaulted his pregnant, live-in girlfriend during an argument. He allegedly punched her in the face and stomach, then took her to the floor by her hair and held a large hunting knife to her throat. He was taken into custody and booked.

Burglary/Theft from Vehicle: Recently, unknown suspect(s) cut a hole in the north fence of the secure storage area of Marketplace Auto and gained access to an RV. They stole a rifle, a shotgun, a revolver and multiple boxes of ammunition. An officer lifted prints from the entry point.

Resisting Arrest/Skateboarding: A man was riding a skateboard in Pioneer Park near the Library Entrance with two other subjects, who were playing an amplified guitar. The man admitted to have an arrest warrant in Sumner, which was confirmed. He fought against the handcuffs and ran to his mother’s apartment. His mother brought him back outside and he was booked on new charges and the Sumner warrant.

DUI Blood Search: A woman was called in as a possible impaired driver in the 600 block of North Meridian. She vomited on herself, tried to hand an officer a driver’s license when there was nothing in her hand and failed field sobriety tests. She admitted to drinking in Pacific before driving. A blood search warrant was issued.

FIR – Possible Mental: A man approached an unknown male’s truck and tried to open the door handle unsuccessfully. He said he “thought the guy was my ride” and displayed mood swings. He was identified and released.

DUI: At a Red Robin on the 3600 block of 9th Street SW, a woman attempted to exit the parking lot onto the street directly but jumped the curb and went into the drainage retention pond. She later registered .353 and .369 on a BAC test and admitted to drinking Coors Light.

Elderly Fraud: At a 7-11 on the 3000 block of South Meridian, an elderly, disabled woman reported that two men in a white car had flagged her down while pulling out of the store. One man convinced her there was a problem with the “airbag wire” on her car and forcefully offered to fix it and pulled out a wire. He got the victim to open her trunk and pounded on it saying he wanted $1,500 up front. She refused, and she ended up giving him $60 cash from the ATM. The suspects are part of a larger Seattle and Pierce County scam on the elderly.

Trespassing/Resisting Arrest: A man at a McDonald’s on the 300 block of 2nd St. NE was told to leave. He came back at about 2:30 a.m. and started eating hamburger remains from the garbage. He refused to leave when management asked him to and an officer contacted him in the lot. They fought in the business lobby area and tasered the man before taking him into custody.

Vehicle prowls: There were a total of six smash/grab vehicle prowls overnight at Good Samaritan Hospital.  Three in the old garage and three in lot C, which is the lot on the east side of the old E.R.  One vehicle also had fresh damage from a collision with white paint transfer.  Suspect(s) also weren’t satisfied breaking one window out of two of the vehicles.  They broke a window on both sides of two; then stole $1 worth of change out of one of them while leaving the victim’s GPS lying on the floor.  Security thinks this happened between 5 and 6 a.m., and they are checking video.

July 8, 2013

DUI: A man was stopped for a trip permit violation, squealing its tires. The driver was determined to be severely impaired by intoxicants and was “showing off” for a female inside the car. He refused all SFSTs probably since he had a Puyallup DUI warrant already. A blood search warrant was completed. He was booked into jail.