Law Enforcement
n October 17 - A woman contacted the police department in reference to a suspicious letter she received from the FBI. The woman believed the letter may have been a scam. The officer advised the woman he would look into the letter and a few weeks later, the officer was able to meet the woman and obtain the letter. The woman said the letter was in regards to seized property. The letter referenced the woman’s right to claim the seized property. The woman told the officer she did not know the man whose name appeared on the letter and she didn’t understand why she was receiving a letter for her to claim the items. Along with the letter was a form requesting personal information. The officer took the letter for further investigation which had a name and phone number for a contact to make a claim on the property.
On November 6, the officer contacted the man who said the letter was genuine and he works in the asset forfeiture division of the FBI. The officer could not verify the man’s employment within the agency but the man asked the officer for the name of the individual listed on the letter. The officer gave the man the name and the man brought up the asset information. A few minutes later, the man said the complainant was named as an original purchaser for a firearm which was listed in the letter. The man said he did not know how the woman could be listed as an original purchaser if a man in Clinton, WI was in possession of the firearm but now was in FBI custody. The man said the woman had once completed a background check for that weapon which was now in the custody of the FBI which is why she was issued a letter.
The man asked if the woman would like to place a claim on the firearm and the officer said he would have to contact her and inform her of this. The officer contacted the woman over the phone about the information and asked if she ever had given the gun or sold it to anyone. The woman said that she and her husband conducted a lot of gun raffles but advised she and her husband have never sold or given away personally owned firearms. The woman said she would contact someone to check with him about the specific rifle.
A short time later, the woman called the officer back and said she had actually won the rifle in 2016 during a raffle. The woman said her firearms were stored at her sister’s house. The officer advised the woman that based on the letter, the FBI was currently in possession of the firearm and asked if she knew how. The woman said she did not know how as she and her husband have kept every single firearm. The woman said she and her husband had often kept firearms under their bed and it is possible that the gun could have been taken as she said she has had many people at her house throughout the years.
The woman said when she won the rifle, she also won other firearms with it but she could not confirm that the other weapons were at her sister’s house without obtaining the serial numbers and looking for them. The officer told the woman to speak with her husband in case she forgot the rifle was sold or gifted to someone. The officer told the woman to contact the FBI contact to inform him of her concerns about this specific firearm and how the FBI came to have custody of it. The officer said that if the woman believed the firearm may have been stolen from her residence without her knowledge, she would have to make a formal complaint with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. The officer said he would work with the sheriff’s office and the FBI to see how and why her firearm was now in the custody of the FBI.
n November 6 - An officer took a found dog complaint in Abbotsford. The officer was informed a few people were able to capture the dog and it was placed in the officer’s vehicle and transported to the city kennel. The dog had a collar with no tags and appeared that the tether had broken. At the same time, the officer was notified of another found dog complaint in Abbotsford. The callers there had a dog tied up at their residence that also had a collar with no tags. The callers said they thought the dog belonged to their neighbor across the street. The officer attempted to contact the man but was unsuccessful. The residents agreed to keep the dog tied up at their residence for a few hours until the owner could be located.
A short time later, the officer made phone contact with the neighbor. The man confirmed that both dogs were his and said that one of the dogs had broken a wooden board on his fence allowing them to be freed. The officer returned both animals to the man and gave him a warning for allowing dogs to run at large.
n November 10 - An officer was made aware from an Abbotsford Library employee that a man was there using the computers just prior to the call. The employee needed to help the man use the computer as he was not tech savvy. He made some comments to the employee about needing to buy prepaid cards and transfer money. This led her to believe he was being scammed and wanted the officers to check with him before he lost any money.
Another officer called the man’s bank to notify them the man might be getting scammed while the responding officer went to the man’s address. The officer told the man what the officers had learned and told the man he was possibly being scammed. The man said he had purchased prepaid gift cards for someone else and given them the number on the phone. He said he had begun talking to these people about two weeks prior.
The man said they had promised to give him more money as long as he followed through with getting them some prepaid gift cards. The man said he had only bought one and that the person was trying to get him to purchase another one. The man said the people he was in contact with was also attempting to get the man to go to the bank and wire them money. The officer told the man he was being scammed out of the money and advised him to not give these people any more of his money.
The man said he thought it may have been a scam but the people were very persuasive. The phone rang while the officer was there and showed a blocked number was calling. The man answered and said it was the people that have been requesting the money. The officer spoke with the people on the phone and asked what their reason for calling was and they were avoiding the officer’s questions before finally hanging up.
The officer told the man he should avoid answering their calls or change his number. He was advised not to give any personal information and that if he has further problems or thought he was being scammed, he should call the CAPD and they could look into it.
n November 10 - An officer was driving on Division Street when he observed a vehicle traveling in front of him with something hanging down from the trunk of the vehicle and blocking some of the license plate, making it difficult to read. The officer initiated a traffic stop of the vehicle and met with the driver. The officer smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from the man’s breath and he had glassy or watery eyes.
The officer asked the driver where he was coming from that night. The man said he was coming from a friend’s residence in Abbotsford and said he drank seven beers. The man said he left his friend’s house and was driving to his residence in Colby. The officer ran the man’s information and he came back as having no driver’s license. The man agreed to perform standardized field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath test for the officer. The result of the breath test was 0.203. The man was placed under arrest for operating while under the influence.
The man was issued citations for operating without a valid license, operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration, operating while under the influence and given a warning for improper display of plates. The man was then released to a responsible party.
n November 11 - An officer was dispatched to a residence in Colby for a 911 hang up. The officer arrived and saw a party that had been happening as there were approximately 10 people in the residence with multiple beer bottles and cans on the tables and counters. The officer met with two individuals who said a man had made some derogatory comments towards a woman which started an argument. The officer spoke with all parties involved and concluded that nothing physical took place. The woman and the officers left the scene.
A few hours later, the officer was dispatched to the same address for reports of yelling and what sounded like fighting. The officer arrived and observed the house to be mostly cleared out. The officer saw only two individuals. The officer saw a 34-year-old man sitting at the dining room table by himself. The officer asked him what had happened and the man said nothing. The man said there was no fight that night but the officer observed the man to have a cut on his cheek as well as a swollen cheek and brow on his left side. The officer noted he did not see any injuries of the sort on the man during the first call to the house.
The officer saw another man come downstairs and observed him to have a cut on his nose, blood on his coat and hands. The man was told to go outside and wait with a Clark County deputy. The officer then spoke with the female who called 911 and asked if she had seen the fight. The woman said she had not witnessed it but only heard a commotion through her closed bedroom door. She said she just wanted to them to leave or go to sleep so she could sleep.
The officer talked to the Clark County Deputy who ran the second man’s information. The man originally gave the deputy a fake name but the deputy found the man’s true identity using his morpho device to check the man’s fingerprints. It was found that the man was on probation with a rule of his probation to not consume alcohol. The officers asked the man if he would be willing to give a sample of his breath to see if he had drank that night and the man refused. The officer observed the strong odor of alcohol coming from the man’s breath.
The officer called an on-call probation agent and advised them of the situation. The probation agent put a hold on the man because of his involvement in the disturbance and the fact that he had been drinking.
The officer informed the man he was under arrest and transported him to the Clark County jail without incident. The man was issued a citation for disorderly conduct and obstruction of justice. The 34-year-old man involved will be mailed a citation for disorderly conduct as well.
