A 20-year-old Hope Island woman faces a charge of DUI after an officer stopped her on M Avenue for driving a pickup with 11 people inside at about 1:34 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 27.

The officer counted 11 people in the vehicle, including eight in the truck bed sitting on top of and clinging to each other. The officer was concerned for the safety of the passengers.

The woman’s driver’s license was strategically torn to partially obscure her date of birth. The officer saw her in a downtown bar earlier, but confirmed she was only 20 during the stop.

The woman claimed she only went to the bar to pick up her friends, but she smelled of alcohol and provided a portable breath sample that confirmed she had been drinking. She was arrested. She later admitted she had been drinking and provided breath samples over the limit. She was cited and released to a sober friend.

Among the other 233 cases handled by Anacortes police during the previous week:

Friday, Sept. 25

• A woman living in the 4400 block of San Juan Avenue reported her $1,000 laptop computer was stolen from her residence.

• A resident of the 1200 block of Ninth Street reported a hit and run to his pickup, which was parked in a vacant lot behind his home. The pickup sustained dents and scrapes. Estimated damage is $1,500.

Saturday, Sept. 26

• An officer contacted a vehicle in the drive-through line at a restaurant in the 1300 block of Commercial Avenue around 1:15 a.m. after it was reported the driver was possibly intoxicated. The driver, a 39-year-old woman, had been seen stumbling in the downtown area a short time earlier and declined a ride home.

The driver smelled of alcohol and showed other signs of drinking. When asked if she thought she had too much to drink to drive, she reportedly answered yes. She performed poorly on field sobriety tests, including almost falling off her feet twice. She was arrested on suspicion of DUI. The woman provided breath samples that were more than twice the legal limit. She was cited and released to a sober friend. 

• Officers responded to the campground at Washington Park after a report of a man arguing with two women and threatening to kill them around 4:49 a.m. The 51-year-old man denied making threats and said he had been arguing with his wife because he thought she was unfaithful.

The wife and a female friend of the couple were contacted at their campsite. The wife said her husband was just drunk and had been ranting. She said he had not made any threats to hurt anyone and she thought he just needed to leave for awhile until he sobered up. The friend said the man made some threats but never touched either of them. The man was given a courtesy ride to a relative’s house to sober up.

• An officer saw a 51-year-old Anacortes man making obscene gestures and yelling profanities at passing cars in the 900 block of O Avenue in front of several people around 5:53 p.m. When the officer stopped to check on the man, the man made an obscene gesture at the officer and swore. He was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct and transported to the police station. The man calmed down and admitted intoxication probably led to his behavior. He was cited and released.

• An officer stopped a pickup on 11th Street after seeing the vehicle burn rubber with its tires and fail to stop at a stop sign around 11:29 p.m. The driver, a 29-year-old Anacortes man, smelled strongly of intoxicants. His movements were clumsy, including tearing his vehicle registration in half as he pulled it out of the ashtray. He allegedly admitted drinking and said he shouldn’t have been spinning his tires. The man failed field sobriety tests and was arrested on investigation of DUI. He provided breath samples nearly twice the legal limit. He was cited and released to his wife.

• A 20-year-old Anacortes woman was arrested while walking on 12th Street on a felony warrant for violation of a court order. She was booked into the county jail.

• An officer stopped a pickup on 12th Street for having a defective brake light around 12:45 a.m. The driver, a 51-year-old Anacortes man, reportedly smelled of intoxicants and had slurred speech. The man allegedly admitted he had six beers since the afternoon. He failed field sobriety tests and was arrested on charges of DUI and driving with a suspended license.

The man was taken to the police station where he reportedly said he had been taking muscle relaxing pills in addition to drinking the beer. He provided breath samples nearly twice the legal limit. The man was issued citations and released to a sober friend.

Sunday, Sept. 27

• An officer stopped a car driven by a 29-year-old Eastsound woman in the 1100 block of 12th Street after the vehicle made an illegal turn and the officer saw the driver was not wearing a seat belt around 12:19 a.m. The woman smelled of alcohol and allegedly admitted she had been drinking. She failed field sobriety tests and was arrested.

The woman declined to take a breath test. She had four prior alcohol-related driving offenses and the officer was granted a search warrant for her blood. She was taken to the hospital where blood samples were drawn. She reportedly admitted she had a serious drinking problem and was arrested several times in the past for DUI. She was booked into jail on investigation of felony DUI charges based on the previous offenses.

• A 40-year-old Mount Vernon woman was arrested on a charge of DUI after an officer stopped her car for weaving over the centerline on O Avenue around 2 a.m. The officer had to repeatedly tell the woman to stop as her car kept rolling back toward the police car. When asked for her registration, the woman handed the officer her birth certificate and a large stack of papers.

She reportedly smelled strongly of alcohol, showed other signs of intoxication and failed field sobriety tests. She allegedly admitted she had been drinking but refused to take a breath test. She was cited and released to a sober friend.

• An officer spoke with a 34-year-old Mount Vernon woman after it was initially reported her husband, who is allegedly a member of an outlaw motorcycle club, had beaten her up. She had a cut below her eye, which was visibly bruised.

The woman told an officer she got drunk and fell face down onto the sidewalk in front of a club in the 900 block of Seventh Street during the Oyster Run. She adamantly denied her husband hit her. She said she was mad at him because he took her motorcycle club patch away. She was treated at the emergency room for the cut.

• A car parked in the 1100 block of Sixth Street was prowled. Two digital cameras, valued at $600 and $169, and about $70 in change were stolen. The victim believed the car was locked, but there was no sign of forced entry.

• Police are seeking a 31-year-old Anacortes man who is suspected of violating a no-contact order with his ex-girlfriend. The man allegedly grabbed the woman, shook her and then pushed her away at a home on Anaco Beach Road after he became upset she was with her new boyfriend. The suspect reportedly had been fighting with the new boyfriend, and the woman was grabbed and pushed when she stepped in to break up the fight.

• An $800 21-speed Hard Rock mountain bike was stolen from outside the owner’s apartment in the 800 block of 29th Street.

Monday, Sept. 28

• An Anacortes man reported the theft of a surveyor’s laser transit from his pickup parked in the 1600 block of 11th Street. A flashlight, a pack of cigarettes and the driver’s license of a man from South Carolina were left behind at the scene.

• An Anacortes woman reported her dog was jumped on and bitten by another dog as both animals entered the off-leash dog park on H Avenue. The woman’s friend broke up the dogs, but he suffered a large scratch to his leg. The woman confronted the other dog owner who told the woman that was what dogs do at the dog park.

The animal control officer spoke with the other dog owner and warned him to get his dog licensed or be cited. As the incident occurred inside the off-leash park and dogs and owners enter at their own risk, no criminal action will be taken.

• An 8-foot fiberglass rowboat was reported abandoned on the shoreline at the east end of Fifth Street.

• A thief pried open the window of a Bow woman’s car parked at Whistle Lake and stole some women’s clothing, a towel and dog shampoo. Estimated loss is $100.

• A 60-year-old Glacier woman claimed two half-full bottles of prescription pain medication were stolen from her purse while she was at a bar in the 400 block of Commercial Avenue. The woman said she left her purse on a chair while she went to the restroom. Nothing else was taken.

• A double pane window at a home in the 1300 block of 41st Street was broken by being struck with a steel roller bearing that was probably launched with a slingshot or wrist rocket.

Tuesday, Sept. 29

• A 90-year-old Sedro-Woolley man reported he drove his van into a large rock at the top of the Cap Sante viewpoint. The man said as he was easing his vehicle to a stop at the large rocks that ring the viewpoint and he accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake. Neither the man nor his 85-year-old wife, who was a passenger, were injured. The vehicle sustained minor damage and the rock remained unmoved.

• A 24-year-old Anacortes woman was contacted at the emergency room after a relative reported she was beaten up by her ex-boyfriend the previous night. The woman said she and her ex argued at her home on 29th Street about him refusing to quiet down so she could go to bed. She reported her ex grabbed her by the neck, but she broke away and ran upstairs. She said he caught up with her and hit her repeatedly in the back of the head.

The officer then contacted the ex-boyfriend, a 26-year-old Anacortes man. He confirmed he argued with the woman, but he said she kicked him in the groin. He said he held her down until she calmed down, and then he left. The officer returned to the hospital to speak with the woman again, but found she left before being fully examined. Based upon the statements, the man faces a charge of domestic violence assault.

Wednesday, Sept. 30

• An Anacortes man reported he was taking photographs at a port pier and he inadvertently forgot his digital camera and tripod. When he returned his $400 camera was gone, but the tripod was still there.

• A $200 vacuum cleaner belonging to a business in the 1100 block of Eighth Street was stolen off the back porch. 

Thursday, Oct. 1

• Employees of the liquor store in the 1000 block of Commercial Avenue reported a man left the store without paying for a $35 bottle of cognac. An officer contacted the 54-year-old man walking a few blocks away.

He initially claimed he bought the bottle of liquor, but had thrown away his receipt. He then allegedly admitted he stole the liquor, which was found in his backpack.

He was arrested on charges of theft. During a search, the officer found a glass smoking pipe the man claimed belonged to his cousin and was used for smoking crack. The man was cited for theft and possession of drug paraphernalia and released.

• An officer saw a car traveling at night on Commercial Avenue with no headlights on and an orange traffic cone dragging underneath the car just before midnight. The officer then saw a nearby construction site with traffic cones strewn about.

The driver, a 40-year-old Eastsound woman, reportedly smelled of alcohol and said she hit the cones on purpose for fun. She performed poorly on field sobriety tests. She was arrested on a charge of DUI and provided breath samples significantly over the legal limit. She was cited and released to a sober friend.