COLBY-ABBOTSFORD POLICE

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_ Aug. 31 - A Colby man came to the police station to report a threatening text message he received on his phone. The message says the sender was “paid to eliminate you” and warned him not to contact the police. Attached to the bottom of the message were two photos of the complainant from 2016, originally taken on his iPad.

The complainant said he has gotten random text messages in the past, but he always just deleted them. He said this one scared him a little because of the photos attached. He said he had recently taken his iPad to a place in Marshfield to get fixed, and he found it odd that pictures from his iPad showed up in the text message right after that.

An officer advised the complainant not to respond to the message and to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity near his residence. When asked, the complainant said he did not know of anyone who would want to harm him. The officer checked the phone number that sent the message, and found it connected to both Los Angeles and the country of Algeria. The officer suspected it was part of a scam originating in Algeria. He tried calling the number, but it sent him to voicemail.

The complainant called the officer back and said his wife had tried calling the number, but no one answered. He said his wife then received a text message asking why she had called. He said his wife did not feel safe at their home. The officer advised him not to respond any further, as he believes it to be a scam.

The complainant said he received another threatening message from the phone number after he sent a message asking “who is this?” The message repeated the claim that someone had paid the sender to kill the complainant. The officer again advised the complainant not to respond to the messages, but to forward any further threats to the police department.

_ Aug. 31 - An officer received a report of someone keeping a pit bull at a residence in Colby, which is against the city’s ordinances. The officer went to the residence and could hear a dog barking inside. He met with the resident, who admitted he was keeping his friend’s pit bull at his apartment. The officer gave him until the next day to have the dog removed. The resident said his wife would bring the dog to some family members in the Athens area that night. The officer warned them that any further complaints would result in a citation.

_ Sept. 1 - An officer ran the license plate of a vehicle on STH 13 in Abbotsford, and the registration came back as cancelled. The officer pulled the vehicle over and met with the driver, who said she thought she had taken care of the registration issue. The officer informed her that the registration was still listed as cancelled. The driver also admitted to not having a valid license.

Dispatch reported that the driver had two prior convictions for driving without a valid license and also an active warrant for failure to pay a $98.80 fine. She was arrested and taken to the police station, where she posted the bond. She was issued a citation for driving without a license and warned about the cancelled registration.

_ Sept. 1 - An officer clocked a vehicle going 60 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone on East Monroe Street in Colby. The offi cer activated his emergency lights, and the vehicle turned onto South Main Street. The officer continued to pursue the vehicle as it turned onto East Lincoln Street and eventually stopped in a gas station parking lot. The officer noted the license on the vehicle was registered to a different vehicle.

The officer met with the driver, who said he just recently purchased the vehicle and did not have insurance or a valid license. The officer could also smell alcohol in the vehicle. The driver was taken to the police station for field sobriety tests.

The officer observed several signs of intoxication during the tests, a preliminary breath test indicated a blood-alcohol level of .23. The breathalyzer later showed a BAC of .16. The driver was cited for drunk driving, speeding, driving without license, driving without insurance and non-registration of a motor vehicle.

_ Sept. 2 - An officer investigated a junk vehicle violation at an Abbotsford residence. The officer could see a minivan with no license plate that had not been moved in at least 10 days. Photographs were taken, and a warning letter was sent to the occupants of the home.

_ Sept. 2 - An officer investigated a junk vehicle violation at an Abbotsford residence. The officer observed an SUV with no license plate, one tire chocked and a passenger’s side running board not completely attached. The officer also noted that the rear end of the vehicle was over the gutter area of the street, and it had not moved for the past two weeks. Photographs were taken, and a warning letter was sent to the occupants of the residence.

_ Sept. 3 - A Colby woman came to the department to report ongoing harassment from a former co-worker. The complainant said the man had bugged her about going on a date while they were working together, and she eventually agreed to go out with him. However, she said he was putting off weird vibes, so she told him that she did not want to pursue anything further. She said he started sending her weird messages and insisting on further dates, so she told him to stop contacting her. She said the messages continued through Facebook and Instagram, and when she blocked him, he would just create new profiles.

The complainant said she recently found an unsigned birthday card on her porch with $200 inside. She said she messaged her former co-worker and made it clear he was not welcome at her house. In response, he said he was just trying to be nice and was not afraid of her. The complainant said he has harassed other co-workers this way, and is worried about it not stopping.

The officer said he would contact the subject and tell him to stop contacting her. The officer tried calling, but was unable to leave a message, so he planned on doing more follow-up.

_ Sept. 3 - Officers noticed a man walking down the street in Abbotsford who had an active warrants from the Department of Correction and Marathon County. The man was taken into custody and transported to Marathon County Jail.

_ Sept. 6 - An officer responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at a Colby residence. Two Clark County deputies also arrived to provide back-up.

The officer met with a woman who called 911 and reported being hit by her fiancé. She said he had past issues with meth and cocaine abuse and had recently relapsed and lost his job. She said they had been arguing that day, and when she went to their bedroom to sleep, he struck her once with a closed fist and also started choking her. She was able to capture some of the incident on her smartphone and also called 911.

The suspect was located in a detached garage next to the house, and he provided only a few comments about the fight. He only admitted to pushing the complainant, which was not something she had accused him of doing. The suspect was arrested for domestic disorderly conduct, battery and strangulation and taken to jai.

_ Sept. 7 - An officer was on patrol in Abbotsford when he observed a vehicle backing out of a driveway onto STH 13. The vehicle crossed the southbound lanes and was facing north before it crossed back over the southbound lanes and onto a sidewalk. The vehicle struck a no-parking sign, causing the pole to break, and the vehicle came to a rest partially on the roadway. Another vehicle had to stop abruptly to avoid a collision.

The officer met with the driver and could smell alcohol on his breath. When asked, the driver said he had about three drinks. Dispatch reported that he did not have a valid license.

The driver admitted that he would not be able to pass a sobriety test. He said he was backing out of the driveway and attempted to drive forward, and somehow the wheel turned and he hit the sidewalk. The driver was arrested and taken to the police station, where he registered a .09 blood-alcohol content on the breathalyzer. He was cited for drunk driving, failure to maintain control of his vehicle, driving without a license and driving without insurance.

Photographs were taken of the pole, and the DOT was notified.