Ritzville Police Department Report

May 31, 7:50 p.m. – Dispatch advised of juveniles skateboarding in the 200 block of West First Avenue. Officer Tom Gracie responded and located the juveniles skateboarding on the pavement in the parking lot of a local business. While talking to the juveniles, dispatch advised they had contacted a responsible party for the business who advised they did not want the juveniles there. Officer Gracie advised the juveniles of the information and they left the area.

May 31, 12:18 p.m. –

Chief Dave McCormick responded to a citizen dispute in the 300 block of West Third Avenue. Upon contact, the complainant advised they had turned over five pieces of art to be sold at the gallery downtown. The complainant further advised the arrangement they made with the gallery representative was no being upheld and payment was not received for the pieces that sold. Chief McCormick contacted a representative who runs the gallery and was advised of another version of the situation involving another subject. Chief McCormick contacted the complainant to advised this is a civil matter and needs to be worked out with the chamber personnel.

May 30, 7:14 p.m. – Dispatch advised of a parking problem in the 200 block of North Jefferson Street. Officer Gracie responded and located a vehicle parked in a designated loading zone. Officer Gracie located the vehicle’s owner who moved the vehicle.

May 29, 11:11 a.m. – Chief McCormick responded to a parking problem on Jefferson Street and West Broadway Avenue at the Adam’s House Apartments. Complainant advised of a red and white Ford pickup parked on the street with expired license tabs and causing congestion for others to park there. Chief McCormick advised the complainant he would contact the registered owner to have them remove the vehicle from the street.

May 29, 10:36 a.m. – Chief McCormick responded to an unsecured premises call in the 100 block of East Cherry Avenue. Complainant advised the back door is open and an unknown subject is dragging items from inside the house over to the park. Chief McCormick checked the area and observed a couch that was placed near a pile of debris on the opposite side of the yard from the park. No drag marks were observed. Chief McCormick checked the residence and the back door was ajar. The house appeared to be abandoned.

May 28, 10:08 a.m. – Chief McCormick responded to a possible theft on West Broadway Avenue. Upon contact, the complainant advised some time during the night someone removed the diesel fuel cap from a tank in the back of a pickup, and removed a gas cap to the air compressor in the back of another truck. Both caps were located by the complainant near the vehicles and were replaced with no damage. Complainant further stated there was an attempt to remove the cassette player from one of the trucks, but only bent the bracket. Total value of repairs is $10, nothing was found to be missing.

May 28, 10:29 a.m. – Chief McCormick responded to a suspicious circumstance in the 400 block of East Cherry Avenue. Complainant advised of a suspicious vehicle and tent set up across from their house. Chief McCormick contacted two male subjects who advised they were in town for court and were getting some rest. They had pitched the tent between the building and their car. Chief McCormick advised the two subjects they did not have permission to be on the property and needed to move the vehicle to the street. The vehicle had an expired temporary permit for another car. Chief McCormick took the permit and advised the subjects to obtain a current permit before the vehicle is moved. Both subjects came back suspended and advised Chief McCormick they had a friend with a current license en route to drive the car.

May 27, 2:18 p.m. – While on patrol, Officer Gracie observed a juvenile male on the roof of the picnic shelter in the 500 block of North Columbia Street. Officer Gracie contacted the juvenile and advised them to stay off the roof.

May 27, 7:38 p.m. – Officer Gracie responded to a burglary in progress in the 400 block of West Main Avenue. Dispatch advised of a male subject wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt riding a bicycle who was observed breaking into a fenced area and entering a building. The subject was gone upon Officer Gracie’s arrival. Officer Gracie conducted a sweep of the area and was unable to locate the subject.

May 27, 5:59 p.m. – Officer Gracie responded to a harassment complaint in the 100 block of West Galbreath Way in the McDonalds parking lot. Officer Gracie contacted the complainant who stated that during a custody exchange they became involved in a verbal altercation with the child’s mother and grandmother. The complainant advised there is a parenting plan in place and provided a written statement about the incident.

May 27, 3:58 p.m. – Officer Gracie contacted a complainant via telephone who advised they needed to obtain medication from their vehicle that had been impounded by WSP. Complainant stated they attempted to call the tow company but was unable to reach anyone. Officer Gracie provided the complainant with an emergency contact phone number posted at the tow company.

May 27, 3:41 p.m. – While on patrol, Officer Gracie was contacted by a complainant on East Tenth Avenue. The complainant advised they found an iPhone in the city park. Officer Gracie took possession of the phone and returned it to it’s owner.

May 27, 2:25 p.m. – Dispatch advised of a juvenile problem in the 500 block of North Columbia Street at the skate park. Officer Gracie contacted all parties involved and found an altercation had occurred between two juveniles. The juveniles were advised if the problem continued they would be trespassed from the park. Officer Gracie notified the parents of the juveniles about the situation.

May 26, 9:12 a.m. –

Officer Hunter Klewin responded to a suspicious vehicle on West First Avenue and Weber Road. The complainant advised they observed a male subject in a parked Chevy Suburban slumped over the steering wheel. The complainant stated the vehicle had Idaho plates but did not get a plate number. While en route, ACS Deputy Jeffrey Lane advised he was in the area and did not see any vehicle matching the description. Officer Klewin checked the area and did not locate the described vehicle.

May 24, 8:00 p.m. – Officer Klewin responded to a found property call in the 300 block of South Jefferson Street. Complainant advised 10 rounds of .270 ammunition were found on their property. The ammunition was taken to the police department as found property.

May 24, 12:57 a.m. – While investigating a car parked in the 1500 block of Smitty’s Boulevard in the Zip’s parking lot, Officer Klewin discovered a deceased male subject. It was found that the subject died of natural causes while inside the car.

May 24, 10:52 a.m. –

Dispatch advised Chief McCormick to contact the complainant in reference to a burglary at their garage in the 300 block of West Fourth Avenue. Upon arrival, the complainant showed the walk in garage door. The screws that held the hinge on the door were lying on the ground and the door was unlocked. It appeared someone had forced the door open causing the screws to come loose. Upon inspecting the interior of the garage nothing could be located out of place or missing.

May 24, 10:15 a.m. –

Dispatch advised Adams County Superior Court was requesting an officer stand by for a petition hearing on a domestic violence restraining order. Chief McCormick responded and stood by while the hearing was conducted. After the hearing, Chief McCormick escorted the petitioner to their vehicle.

May 24, 8:16 a.m. – Chief McCormick responded to a traffic accident with injury on North Columbia Street and East Alder Avenue. Chief McCormick observed a two-car minor injury accident. Vehicle No. 1 was westbound on Alder and failed to yield, striking vehicle No. 2. Driver No. 1 was cited for failure to yield and driver No. 2 was cited for no insurance. Driver No. 2 was transported to the hospital by ambulance. It is noted that driver No. 2 ran about two blocks to a nearby apartment to get a floor jack and drug it back to the vehicle and changed their tire before the ambulance arrived to transport them to the hospital.

May 23, 7:16 p.m. – Dispatch advised of an assault between juveniles in the 200 block of East Fourth Avenue. Officer Gracie contacted all parties involved and notified their parents of the incident. A report was forwarded to juvenile court.

May 23, 5:53 p.m. –

Dispatch advised of an intruder alarm in the 800 block of South Palouse Street. Officer Gracie responded and observed the front door was ajar, and an advertisement had been placed on the screen door. Officer Gracie attempted to approach the residence when a dog began barking aggressively. Office Gracie attempted to contact the owner by telephone but was unable to.

May 23, 2:48 p.m. – Chief McCormick responded to an unsecured premises call in the 100 block of East Seventh Avenue at the old high school. Chief McCormick contacted the Public Works director who had been meeting with a contractor there, about securing the doors tighter.

May 23, 2:14 p.m. – Chief McCormick responded to a parking problem in the 200 block of West 11th Avenue. Complainant advised an unfamiliar vehicle was parked along the golf course. Chief McCormick attempted to contact the registered owner of the vehicle. The owner was out of town but advised they would return to remove the vehicle.

May 23, 12:08 p.m. – Chief McCormick responded to a possible fraud call in the 200 block of East Sixth Avenue. Upon contact, the complainant advised their debit card had been stolen and used at the Wal-Mart in Moses Lake on May 16 and $65 was taken off the card at an ATM. Complainant stated they contacted their bank and signed an affidavit of unauthorized use and will be advising Moses Lake Police Department of the situation. The complainant further advised that 60, 15mg oxycodone pills were taken from her residence on the same day. The complainant wanted to file a report for their doctor in case there was a question on an early refill.

May 22, 4:21 p.m. –

Dispatch advised of a parking problem in the 300 block of East Eighth Avenue. Officer Gracie responded and contacted the complainant who stated a suspicious vehicle had parked in their driveway blocking them in. Officer Gracie located the driver of the vehicle who was visiting another residence in the area. The driver apologized and moved the vehicle.

May 22, 12:51 p.m. – Chief McCormick responded to a suspicious circumstance on Fourth Avenue and Columbia Street. Upon arrival, Chief McCormick contacted the complainant who advised they thought they saw a drug transaction from a half a block away. The complainant admitted to having a problem with one of the subjects and stated they saw what they assumed was a bag of weed handed to another subject. Based on the information received, Chief McCormick did not make contact with the other subjects.

May 22, 9:32 a.m. – Chief McCormick responded to a possible theft in the 100 block of West Cherry Avenue. Upon arrival, the complainant advised they are missing two CDs, one had not been seen since their move last year and the other had been missing a while. Chief McCormick discussed the possibility of having them replaced as no suspects were mentioned.

May 21, 2:00 p.m. – Dispatch advised of a theft complaint in the 600 block of West First Avenue at Harvest Foods. Officer Gracie responded and contacted the complainant who advised a subject had taken a cinnamon roll valued at $1.99. Harvest Foods staff provided video surveillance and photos of the incident. Officer Gracie forwarded the report to the prosecutor’s office to review for charges.

May 21, 10:33 a.m. – Chief McCormick responded to a fraud call in the 200 block of East Sixth Avenue. Upon arrival, the complainant advised someone had hacked into their savings account through US Bank and made a payment to a Navel Federal Credit Union in Virginia in the amount of $14,388.12. The complainant further advised there was an attempt to withdraw $6,000 on May 19 but the bank stopped the transaction due to suspicious circumstances. The complainant contacted the fraud department with their bank and signed an unauthorized withdrawal form so the funds can be returned to their account.

May 20, 6:59 p.m. – Dispatch advised of a water tank overflowing in the construction area at the end of Galbreath Way. Officer Gracie responded and was unable to locate anyone in the area and proceeded to shut the water valve off.

May 20, 3:40 p.m. – Officer Gracie responded to a citizen assist call in the 200 block of East Broadway Avenue. Officer Gracie contacted the complainant who stated some individuals indicated they were coming to graduation to see the complainant’s son. The complainant stated they did not want those individuals there due to past issues. Officer Gracie advised the complainant to petition the court for a no-contact order if they felt necessary.

May 19, 10:05 p.m. – While on patrol, Sergeant Mark Cameron contacted a juvenile out past curfew, in the 300 block of South Columbia Street. Sgt. Cameron advised the juvenile about curfew hours. Sgt. Cameron also contacted the parent of the juvenile to advised of the situation.

May 18, 3:47 p.m. – Chief McCormick responded to a citizen dispute in the 100 block of West Sixth Avenue. Chief McCormick contacted the complainant who advised about an ongoing boundary dispute with their neighbor. Chief McCormick advised both parties to have the property surveyed at their expense to determine the exact property line.

May 18, 1:08 p.m. – Dispatch advised of two female juveniles throwing rocks at the wall of the old high school on East Seventh Avenue and South Division Street. Chief McCormick responded and was unable to locate the described juveniles.

May 17, 2:30 p.m. – Chief McCormick responded to a grease fire in the 200 block of East Seventh Avenue. Chief McCormick contacted the homeowner who had been in the house when the fire started on the stove. The homeowner advised all occupants were out of the house and the animals were safe. The fire department entered the home and extinguished the flames. Damage was limited to a pan on the stove.

May 17, 1:37 p.m. – Chief McCormick responded to a domestic in progress in the 100 block of East Second Avenue. Upon arrival, Chief McCormick contacted a civil deputy on scene and took statements. Lisa M. Tyler was arrested for assault in the fourth degree domestic violence and booked into the Adams County Jail.

May 16, 11:24 p.m. –

While on patrol, Officer Klewin observed a vehicle with a headlight out on South Adams Street and West Seventh Avenue. Maurice Barrett was arrested for driving under the influence and driving while suspended in the first degree.

May 16, 5:46 p.m. – While on patrol, Officer Gracie was flagged down by a complainant in the 300 block of East Third Avenue. The complainant stated a juvenile had driven by their house and yelled obscenities at the complainant. The complainant further stated this is the second incident involving the same juvenile. Officer Gracie advised the complainant he would contact the juvenile’s family regarding the matter. Officer Gracie contacted the father of the juvenile and requested the juvenile contact the police department regarding the issue.

May 16, 3:15 p.m. – Chief McCormick received a call from a complainant advising someone stole their Oregon drivers license out of their pickup while parked at the Circle K. Circle K advised no property had been turned in. Chief McCormick advised the complainant if the property was found they would be contacted right away.

May 15, 10:55 a.m. – Chief McCormick responded to a citizen dispute in the 500 block of East First Avenue at the Cottage Inn. Upon contact the complainant advised while they were at work the day before, their landlord sprayed the complainant’s dogs with a hose because they would not stop barking. Chief McCormick spoke with a witness who confirmed the dogs were sprayed by the property owner with a small amount of water and told to quit barking, which they did. Chief McCormick contacted the owner and discussed other remedies for barking dog problems.

May 15, 6:22 p.m. – Officer Gracie responded to a juvenile problem in the 300 block of West Main Avenue. Complainant advised of a juvenile skateboarding on the sidewalks near the library. Officer Gracie contacted the juvenile and advised them of the skateboarding laws downtown. Officer Gracie further advised any further incidents could result with a notice of infraction.