San Juan County Sheriff’s Department reported responding to these calls:
Jan. 1: A misadventure on Main Street on the first day of the new year prompted the arrest of an Orcas Island man on alcohol-related charges. The 20-year-old reportedly was stumbling along a sidewalk and then tried without success to evade an encounter with officer approaching from the opposite direction by darting behind a building. He was taken into custody shortly after midnight for being a minor in possession of alcohol.
Jan. 14: A broken taillight prompted the arrest of a San Juan Island man for DUI following a late-night traffic stop near the intersection of Hillview Lane and Roche Harbor Road. The 28-year-old was taken into custody shortly before 1 a.m.
Jan. 18: A muddy mishap led to the arrest of a Lopez Island man for DUI after he ran off the roadway in the early morning hours near the intersection of Bakerview and Port Stanley roads. The 46-year-old, who was taken into custody shortly before 3 a.m., reportedly swerved to miss an animal and lost control of his pickup, which ended up stuck in a pool of mud.
Jan. 22: Failure to obey a stop sign and to use a turn signal prompted the arrest of a San Juan Island woman for DUI, following late-night traffic stop near the intersection of Carter Avenue and Guard Street. The 34-year-old, who was taken into custody shortly after 1 a.m., also faces charges of resisting arrest and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.
Jan. 24: A traffic stop for speeding prompted the arrest of a San Juan Island man for DUI twice in less than three hours, following a late-night traffic stop in the 400 block of Tucker Avenue. His female passenger, a 33-year-old Shaw Island woman, was also arrested for DUI after driving the car in which the two were traveling into a nearby parking lot, as her 65-year-old chauffeur was being taken into custody at about 11:30 p.m. The man reportedly vowed to take a taxi home as he left the Sheriff’s office, but walked several blocks to where his car was parked and drove away instead. He was pulled over for failing to use a turn signal and failing to obey a stop sign and arrested a second time for DUI, shortly before 2 a.m.
Jan. 26: A single-car collision with two teens onboard led to the late-night arrest of a Friday Harbor boy for DUI in the wake of the crash on Lopez Island. The 17-year-old and his 16-year-old female passenger reportedly had left the scene of the crash, which occurred in the 1600 block of Richardson, when firefighters first arrived, followed shortly by an officer. The teens were tracked down and the boy taken into custody at about 11:30 p.m.
Jan. 28: Failure to obey a stop sign prompted the arrest of a San Juan Island man following a late-night traffic stop in Friday Harbor. The 28-year-old, who was pulled over in the 600 block of Larsen Street, was taken into custody at about 11:30 p.m.
— Several hundred dollars in cash disappeared in the wake of an apparent after-hours break-in and theft at a Friday Harbor restaurant. Authorities reportedly recovered a usable set of fingerprints from the cashbox in which the missing money was kept. The doors of the restaurant, located in the 200 block of A Street, were reportedly locked at the time of the break-in.
Jan. 31: Several Lopez Island students have been threatened with violence by gang members, according to the author of an anonymous, handwritten letter that was discovered on the floor of the office of a high school athletic coach. The students were not identified, nor was any gang-related violence, in the letter. School officials vowed to talk with some students for information about the supposed threats by talking with students.
Feb. 2: A supposed suicide attempt by an ex-wife and an ill-timed rescue effort led to the arrest of a San Juan Island man for DUI. The 51-year-old, who notified authorities about the possible intentional overdose and then left his own home to help, was taken into custody at about 10:30 p.m. near the intersection of Marguerite Place and Park Street. He reportedly had pulled over to wait for officers seeking information about the woman’s location.
Feb. 3: Someone reportedly cut up and carted off wood from the beach, stole three “Mutt Mitt” dispensers and damaged an entrance sign in an apparent episode of recurring vandalism at a day-use park on the northeast side of San Juan Island. Several other acts of unidentified vandalismreportedly occurred over the past several weeks at Reuben Tarte Memorial Park.
— An Orcas Island woman was airlifted to a mainland hospital with back and leg injuries following an early evening single-car rollover near the intersection of Buckhorn and Raccoon Point roads. After veering off the roadway, the 36-year-old plunged downhill and through a clump of bushes and trees before crashing into a pump house, where her vehicle rolled onto its side and came to a stop. The woman reportedly crawled out of the wreckage and used a cell-phone to call for help.
Feb. 4: An assortment of household belongings valued at $700 disappeared following a break-in and theft of a home at the north end of San Juan Island. Located in the 200 block of Afterglow Drive, the home, reportedly unoccupied at the time, sustained $600 in damage as a result of the break-in.
— A burned-out headlight led to the arrest of an Orcas Island for driving without a license following a early evening traffic stop near the intersection of Madrona Street and School Road. The 48-year-old, reportedly driving without identification as well, was pulled over shortly after 7 p.m.
Feb. 5: The lack of an illuminated license plate prompted arrest of a San Juan Island woman for DUI following a late-night traffic stop near the intersection of Guard Street and Tucker Avenue. The 31-year-old was pulled over shortly before midnight and taken into custody in the Friday Harbor High School parking lot.
— Scott Rasmussen
