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Law Enforcement

_ April 25 - An officer was on patrol when he located an abandoned bike in the rocks on the northeast side of Abbotsford City Hall. He noted there was a small amountof snowonthebike.ThebikewasaHuffybrand, Nighthawk model, colored mostly black with turquoise stripes and lettering. The handles were wrapped in duct tape. The bike was taken to a municipal shed for storage in case the owner claimed it.

_ April 26 - An Abbotsford woman called the department to report a suspicious vehicle that had parked outside her residence at least four times over the past two days. She said the vehicle only stays for 15 to 20 minutes and then leaves. An officer went and spoke to the complainant, who provided him with photographs of the suspicious vehicle. He used the license plate number to identify the owner as a woman in Athens. According to the department’s in-house files, the owner had been the complainant on a suspicious activity call at a local business. The complainant’s husband said he had observed two females in the truck when it was parked. The officer said he would do extra patrols during his shift and planned on calling the vehicle owner.

_ April 26 - An officer was on patrol when he came upon a vehicle parked at Shortner Park after closing time. The officer met with the driver, who said she was just in the park talking to her male passenger. When the officer asked if there were any drugs or alcohol in the vehicle, she said no. The officer checked with dispatch and determined that the passenger had two open felony cases, with the condition that he not have any contact with the driver of the vehicle.

Clark County deputies arrived on scene, and the offi cer informed them of the passenger’s probation violations. The passenger was taken into custody for felony bail jumping and taken to Marathon County Jail.

The officer spoke to the driver about violating the park’s open hours, and she apologized. She said the passenger had contacted her, and she agreed to pick him up and take him to the park to talk. She said he was in the back seat because she did not want to be near him.

_ April 26 - An officer responded to a driving complaint from an energy company employee working in Colby. The complainant said he was doing work on North Second Street near the intersection of West North Street. The road had been under construction for almost a month, and the complainant said vehicles would routinely drive too fast near the work zone. He said a black Chevy Cruze had been driving an estimated 50 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone. He was worried that someone would get hurt.

The officer patrolled the area and parked on Second Street to see if he could locate the vehicle, but he was unable to do so. The complainant called him back and said he had followed the vehicle to Colby High School and written the license plate down. The officer was able to track down a phone number for the vehicle’s owner and called him. At first he denied driving near the construction zone, but the officer told him that multiple construction workers saw him there, driving too fast. Due to the complaints, the officer told him he would receiving a citation for disorderly conduct with a motor vehicle.

_ April 27 - An officer was dispatched to a Colby gas station in reference to a gas drive-off. The officer met with a cashier, who said someone had pumped $42.53 worth of gas and left without paying for it. The license plate number was used to identify the registered owner, and the officer went to her place in Abbotsford. He knocked on the door several times but no one answered. He sent a letter telling her to arrange for payment of the gas or she would be receiving a citation.

_ April 28 - An officer was driving south on STH 13 in Colby when he observed a vehicle stopped at Elderberry Road with headlights on. The officer pulled the vehicle over and met with the driver, who admitted to not having insurance on the vehicle. A K-9 officer arrived on the scene, and the dog alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. The officer had the driver exit the vehicle, where he was searched, and a bag of marijuana was found in his coat pocket. The officer also found an ID card with a picture that matched the driver, but the driver denied it was him. A fingerprint reader was used to confirm his identity.

The officer searched the vehicle and found several items of drug paraphernalia. He found a blue rag with a glass pipe inside, containing a brown crystalized substance. He also found a vape pen with brown liquid inside and a glass pipe with what appeared to be marijuana inside. Between the passenger seat and the center console, the officer found a box with the words “Big Chief Premium Distillate Cartridge” on it. On the back, it said “California Marijuana Company.” In the ash tray, he found two cigars with marijuana inside.

The driver was cited for operating with a revoked license and driving without insurance and was warned about driving without required headlights. The items seized from the vehicle also tested positive for marijuana and the crystalized substance tested positive for methamphetamine.

_ April 29 - An officer was dispatched to an Abbotsford residence in reference to a found dog. He met with a man who found a black and white Husky in his backyard. The dog did not have a collar with tags on it, but it did have a chest harness. He knew one set of neighbors that owned dogs. The officer went to the neighbor’s house and met with a juvenile, who said his family owned two Huskies. He said the dogs were in a fencedin area, but a few minutes later, a second juvenile said both dogs were missing and the fence was broken. The first dog was claimed from the neighbor’s house.

A short time later, Clark County reported that a Husky had been found at another Abbotsford residence. The officer drove to the residence, took custody of the dog, and returned it to its owner. A couple of days later, the officer spoke to the juvenile’s father about the dogs being loose. He said they were both registered with the city and vaccinated for rabies. He apologized for the dogs getting loose. The officer issued him a warning for allowing the dogs to run at large.

_ April 30 - An officer was dispatched to Hwy. 29 in Abbotsford in reference to a vehicle going westbound in the eastbound lane of oncoming traffic. The officer located the westbound vehicle about about a quarter-mile from STH 13 and he activated his emergency lights. The vehicle slowed down and turned on its right blinker as the officer turned around to get behind it. The vehicle slowly pulled over to the north side of the eastbound lane, and came to a stop facing westbound. Another offi cer arrived on scene and pulled in front of the vehicle.

The officer met with the driver, who handed him a driver’s license. When asked why he was on the wrong side of the highway, the driver looked out his window and said he was just heading home. He said he was headed from Marshfield to Abbotsford. The officer asked him what was in Marshfield, and the driver corrected himself and said he was coming from Owen. He said he knew where he was and was following his GPS. The officer did not see any GPS unit in the vehicle. The driver struggled to remember his address when the officer asked him. He admitted to having a couple of drinks at the golf course in Owen. When asked how many drinks he had consumed, he said four. The officer noticed he was slurring his words and having trouble answering basic questions. His eyes were also glassy and bloodshot.

The driver underwent field sobriety tests and also submitted a preliminary breath test, which showed a .130 blood-alcohol level. The driver was arrested for drunk driving and taken to the police station before being transported to a hospital for a blood draw. He was issued citations for drunk driving (fifth offense) and driving on the wrong side of a divided highway. His vehicle was towed from the scene.

_ May 1 - An officer was dispatched to a Colby residence in reference to a possible disturbance. The nextdoor neighbor had called to report a woman yelling for about three hours. When the officer arrived, he listened from his squad car but could not hear anything. The offi cer ran the license of a vehicle parked in the driveway. It came back as registered to a man with a few active arrest warrants. The knocked on the door of the residence and was met by a woman.

The woman said it was just her and her two stepchildren inside. She said the children had gotten into trouble and she was yelling at them. She said it all started when their dog got out by accident and they took a long time to retrieve him.

The officer asked the woman about the man whose truck was in the driveway. She claimed he was at work and would not be back until around 8 p.m. that night. When asked why his truck was still there, she said his license was revoked so his boss picks him up.

The woman did not seem to be upset and did not have any apparent bruises or other injuries. The officer asked if he could come inside just to check and make sure no one else was in the house. The woman said she would normally say yes, but her children are afraid of police. The officer could see a boy watching them from a window. He waved and the boy waved back. The officer told the woman that the children did not appear to be afraid of him. She said the children belonged to the man whose truck was parked in the driveway, and she did not want anyone else to go into the house. The two boys came to the door, and the officer asked him if the male party with the truck was there. They both said he was at work. The younger boy said the woman had been yelling at them because he had locked himself in the dog’s kennel. Neither child appeared to be fearful, nor did they show any signs that anything serious had occurred. The woman said she would have the male party with the truck call the police when he returned to verify he was at work.

_ May 1 - An officer responded to a report of a theft at a Colby bar. The officer met with the complainant and the bartender, who said two women had been in the bar and stole the complainant’s coat while he was there. The bartender said the two women were using the gambling machines for about 30 minutes and then left. He said no one else was at the bar.

The complainant said he took off his coat to play pool, and a short time later, both the coat and the two women were gone. He described the jacket as an FXR snowmobiling jacket, colored orange, white and black. He said there were stains near the stomach area and pinholes on the sleeve from welding. He said the coat had cost him $200. He provided the officer with photographs of him wearing the coat. The complainant said he did not see the two women take the coat, but he assumed it was them.

The officer also spoke to the complainant’s friend, who said he recognized the two women from around town. He said one of them worked at a local gas station. The officer knew many of the local gas station cashiers, and he showed the complainant’s friend a picture of one. The complainant, his friend and the bartender all agreed she was one of the women in the bar.

The officer met with the suspect at her place in Abbotsford. The officer immediately realized that she was wearing the stolen jacket. She admitted to being at the bar and taking the jacket. When asked why she would do that, she said her mother used to do things like that and she was raised in the country where it was normal to do things like that. The officer told her that he was also raised in the country, and taking things that don’t belong to you is not considered normal. She apologized for taking the coat, and said she didn’t realize it belonged to anyone. She took off the jacket and gave it to the officer. She was warned about her behavior. The jacket was returned to its rightful owner.

_ May 1 - An officer was dispatched to a Colby residence in reference to a property damage complaint. The officer met with a woman who had just returned from work and noticed tire tracks in her yard. She said the tracks came from a vehicle at her neighbor’s house. She believes her neighbors cut through her grass in order to leave their driveway. She said this is not the first time they have done this. The complainant said she wanted the incident documented. The officer photographed the damage to the yard. He said he would talk to the neighbors the following day.

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