San Juan County Sheriff’s Department reported responding to these calls:
March 9: The tires on five pickups were slashed in apparent act of vandalism in the upper area of the Deer Harbor parking lot on Orcas Island. A man sleeping in a vehicle at the time claims to have seen a large man, apparently intoxicated, targeting the tires of only pickups with a knife. Seven of 16 vehicles parked at that time in the lot, used largely by residents and guest of Waldron Island, were pickups.
—Expired tags prompted the arrest of a California man for driving with a suspended license following a traffic stop on San Juan Island. The 48-year-old was pulled over near the intersection of Second and Spring streets at about 3 p.m. He was also ticketed for driving without insurance.
March 10: Excessive speed prompted the arrest of an Orcas Island boy for driving with a suspended license following a late-morning traffic stop on Orcas Road. The 17-year-old, whose license had been suspended for an infraction of an intermediate license, reportedly was northbound and traveling 20 mph over the posted 35 mph speed limit when he was pulled over in the 2700 block of Orcas Road at about 11 a.m.
— A Mercer Island man claims someone broke into his Lopez Island home and stole $170 of liquor, despite a lack of any sign of forced entry. The 75-year-old believes the thief gained entry into his Bakerview Road home, unoccupied at the time, through the garage.
March 12: An Orcas woman suspects someone pirated the number of her debit card during an off-island trip. Her bank account was used in an attempted purchase of $1,715 of furniture in L.A. The 63-year-old reportedly used the card most recently while off-island at a McDonald’s in Burlington and a Goodwill store in Lynnwood. Her card also had been recently used to purchase $246 of service from a cell phone provider in a San Diego-based transaction.
March 17: A Canadian man had left San Juan Island by the time he was identified as a prime suspect in the apparent theft of $2,600 of computer equipment from the Friday Harbor Labs.The British Columbia man, believed to be in his late 20’s, was attending a conference at the time someone broke into an office at the Labs and stole two laptops. Canadian authorities were notified of the theft and that the man, who reportedly was identified by footage of a surveillance camera, is a leading suspect.
— Expired tags and no light on the rear of his vehicle led to the arrest of an Orcas Island man for driving with a suspended license following a traffic stop on Orcas Road. The 31-year-old, who was taken into custody at about 10 p.m., was also ticketed for driving without a license and without insurance.
March 21: Swarmed by a trio of dogs, a delivery driver was bit on the back of the leg while dropping off a package at a San Juan Island home; the 37-year-old was treated later at the medical center. The woman at the home where the package was delivered, in the 4000 block of Cattle Point Road, was reportedly looking after the dogs while their owner, her daughter, was away.
March 23: The search for a dog that has reportedly been disturbing the peace of a Friday Harbor apartment complex and defecating in the flower gardens of those living there turned up empty on the heels of the most recent complaint. The dog, described as a large mixed-breed with a brown speckled coat, was nowhere to be found by the time a deputy arrived on scene.
March 24: A bicycle pump and pressure gauge vanished from the Lopez Island home of an 84-year-old Issaquah man in an apparent break-in and theft. Someone reportedly broke into the garage of the Peninsula Road home, unoccupied at the time, swiped the pump and gauge, valued at $30, and caused $25 damage in the break-in.
March 25: Several unspecified moving violations prompted the arrest of a San Juan Island man for DUI following a late-night traffic stop in Friday Harbor. The 55-year-old was pulled over on Spring Street and taken into custody at about 10:30 p.m.
March 28: Someone used a wooden patio bench to break a window and then steal $100 of liquor in an apparent break-in and theft of an Lopez Island home.The Bakerview Road home, belonging to a Seattle man, was unoccupied at the time the break-in and theft occurred.
March 29: Driving without a seat belt prompted the arrest of a Lopez Island man for driving with a suspended license following a late-afternoon traffic stop on Lopez Road. The 63-year-old was taken into custody at about 5 p.m. in the 300 block of Lopez Road.
— Scott Rasmussen