Aug. 5: A San Juan Island man is the prime suspect in a late-night episode of vandalism, in which someone broke into Friday Harbor’s high school gymnasium and doused it and surrounding areas with a fire extinguisher. Witnesses reportedly saw the 25-year-old near the high school prior to incident and shoe prints discovered at the scene reportedly match others found at his Tucker Avenue home. The man was arrested three weeks later for allegedly busting out the taillight of a woman’s car with a skateboard. (See below)
Aug. 12: An early evening fender bender outside a Friday Harbor tavern prompted the arrest of a San Juan Island man for hit and run and DUI. The 45-year-old, who was tracked down and later arrested near his Bailer Hill Road home, was taken into custody shortly before 10 p.m. Following the arrest, he was reportedly flown off island for treatment because of past medical history and his level of intoxication.
Aug. 13: Approximately $650 worth of copper wire disappeared from a construction storage area at Friday Harbor Airport in an apparent theft. The missing wire, measuring 750 feet in length, was among various construction materials stored near the south end of the airport, on Shelter Road, and intended for use in reconstruction of the airport’s taxiway.
Aug. 15: An unsanctioned pool party at Cape San Juan led to a predawn arrest of a San Juan Island man for trespassing, vandalism and DUI. The 22-year-old was among five people who reportedly helped themselves to a dip in the private pool sometime around 3 a.m., and his car was impounded in the wake of the arrest.
Aug. 17: An estimated $600 in antiques and household belongings vanished in an apparent burglary and theft of an Orcas Island storage garage in the 200 block of Madrona Street. A glass hologram, valued at $1,000, reportedly was dropped and shattered during the heist. Items missing include an ornamental desk cannon made of brass, pliers and hammers, and a TEAC reel-to-reel tape deck.
– About $650 worth of personal belongings vanished when someone snatched a day pack out parked pickup in an apparent theft in downtown Friday Harbor. The pickup, belonging to a 26-year-old San Juan Island woman, was parked near the intersection of Front and Spring Streets and reportedly unlocked at the time. The pack contained the woman’s passport, check book, debit card, iPod, gloves, watercolor pencils and a paycheck.
Aug. 20: An altercation between brothers at their Roche Harbor Road home prompted the arrest of a 16-year-old San Juan Island boy for misdemeanor assault. The boy allegedly threw an elbow at his older sibling, threatened him with violence, and then briefly put him in a headlock before the elder turn the tables on him. An altercation reportedly ensued after the 20-year-old told authorities that his younger sibling violated court orders by staying out past his curfew on opening night of the county fair.
Aug. 21: An Orcas Island preschool fell victim to a series of burglaries and thefts in the Eastsound area when someone broke in and swiped a metal cashbox containing $10 in change. The thief, or thieves, reportedly enter the preschool’s North Beach Road building through an unlocked door on its south side.
– A San Juan Island man accused of smashing out the taillight of a Oregon woman’s sedan as she was backing out of a Friday Harbor parking space faces charges of misdemeanor vandalism. The woman, and a passenger, reportedly saw the 25-year-old man standing at the rear of the car, with skateboard in hand, after hearing a crashing sound while pulling out of the parking space. The man was tracked down and arrested.
Aug. 24: Diamonds, a gold ring and a collection of rare coins disappeared from an Orcas Island home in an apparent burglary and theft. Someone reportedly crawled through a “doggie door” of the Eastsound home, which was locked at the time, ransacked its bedroom drawers and made off with $500 worth of rare U.S. and Canadian coins and jewelry, including a half-dozen half-karat diamonds.
Aug. 25: Excessive speed prompted a mid-afternoon arrest of a Colorado man for driving with a suspended license following a traffic stop on Lopez Island’s Fisherman Bay Road. The 23-year-old, who was pulled over in the 3600 block at about 1 p.m., was issued a criminal citation and ordered to appear in a Friday Harbor courtroom the two weeks later. He was also ticketed for speeding.
