Law Enforcement
■ Jan. 6 - An officer was alerted to the presence of possible drugs in the parking lot of a business in Abbotsford. The company’s safety director stated that an employee had found a bag with white powder laying in the parking lot. The safety director handed the evidence over and said they would review the cameras in the parking lot and let the officer know if anything else was found. The powder tested positive for cocaine.
■ ■ Jan. 7 - An officer spoke with an individual regarding a scam complaint. The complainant stated that they were contacted by an individual over social media regarding a pending legal matter the complainant had in Texas. The individual told the complainant that they worked with a law firm and asked the complainant to send them $410 for legal help. The complainant sent them $200 on Dec. 9 via a cash app, and sent an additional $85 on Dec. 22 through a money transfer at Walmart. The complainant stated that the individual was supposed to have someone at the complainant’s court appearance on Dec. 18, but no one showed up for that court date or any of their other court appearances.
The complainant stopped sending money to the individual after their friends told them they were being scammed. The last contact they had with the individual was on Jan. 5, when the individual sent a message asking for the remaining balance. The complainant has blocked the individual and contacted the police in Texas, who recommended they file a report with the CAPD. The complainant provided the individual’s address and phone number. The officer told the complainant that they would complete a report for them, but that this was a civil issue.
■ ■ Jan. 7 - Owen-Withee police referred a child abuse/neglect incident that had occurred in Abbotsford to the CAPD. An officer spoke with the child’s mother at her residence in Owen about the incident.
The mother stated that she had left her 3year-old with his father on Dec. 31. The father was supposed to drop the toddler off at her residence on Jan. 5, but on that day, the father texted her and said he couldn’t drop the toddler off so she would need to pick him up. The mother told him that she couldn’t pick the toddler up that day, so he stayed another night.
On Jan. 6, she texted the father to ask him where the toddler was, as she was going to pick him up. She did not get a response. She felt something was wrong and called two babysitters, but neither of them had the child. The mother then called another babysitter in Abbotsford, who told her that the father had only dropped off the younger half sibling and not her toddler. The mother went to the father’s residence, knocked on the door and could hear her child inside. She told the toddler to open the door, which was locked with a deadbolt. The toddler was able to unlock the deadbolt and open the door for the mother to enter. She asked where the father and his partner were. The toddler said they were at work. She asked the toddler if he had eaten, and he said no. She then took the toddler back to her residence. She stated that the father had not contacted her until 9 p.m., when he messaged her and told her that she was too protective of their child.
The officer asked if she had noticed any bruises or marks on the toddler. She stated that she noticed he had diaper rash and believed it was due to the toddler not being properly cleaned after using the bathroom. The officer advised the mother that social services knew about the incident and that the toddler needed to stay with her while the incident was investigated.
The officer spoke with the father at his residence in Abbotsford. The father stated that he left the toddler home alone because the child did not like going to the babysitter. He stated that the toddler told him that he wanted to stay home alone. He stated that he left food for the toddler before he left for work, around 5:40 a.m., and that the toddler was asleep when both he and his partner left. The officer asked what the father did with his 3-month-old child. The father stated that they took the baby to the babysitter in Abbotsford.
The officer asked the father to confirm that he did not take the toddler to the babysitter because the toddler did not want to go. The father stated yes. He stated that he normally has a hard time getting the toddler to the babysitter’s, because the toddler would start crying. He said he knew that the toddler was able to unlock the door, but the child was told not to do so. The father stated that he finished working at 6 p.m., picked up his baby from the babysitter’s, and got home around 6:15 p.m. He found the door unlocked and did not find the toddler. The officer asked what he did after that. The father stated he did nothing. The officer asked if he had called the mother. He stated that he did text her after awhile. The officer asked if this was the first time he had left the toddler home alone. The father stated it was, and it was never going to happen again. The officer informed the father that social services were advised about the incident and a report would be done.
On Jan. 10, the officer called the mother to inform her that the father would be charged with child neglect. She asked if the father would be able to see the toddler. The officer advised her that it was her decision if she felt it was safe for the toddler to see him. On Jan. 11, the officer met with the father at his residence and informed him that he would be referred for charges of child neglect.
■ ■ Jan. 8 - An officer received a complaint regarding a property owner in Colby who had two large dogs that were frequently let outside in a smaller contained fence. Large piles of feces were beginning to build up inside the fence. The officer went to the property and observed the conditions alleged in the complaint. The officer met with the owner, who stated they were aware of the build up, and were working on removing the waste. They stated that it was difficult to remove due to the freezing temperatures and they had to use a chipper to do so. The owner stated they should be able to clear the area over the weekend. The officer advised that they would conduct a follow up on Jan. 17.
■ ■ Jan. 9 - An officer received a complaint of unregistered vehicles on a property in Colby. The officer went to the property and observed there to be four vehicles that were unregistered and two that appeared to be inoperable. The officer was able to make contact with a resident of the property on Jan. 14. The resident confirmed the two vehicles were not used due to deer damage. They thought one of the vehicles, an SUV, was operable, but was not certain. The resident said they were unable to register one of the vehicles, as their ex had the title and refused to give it back. The officer told the resident that the two other vehicles needed to be registered to be in compliance, and the SUV needed to be registered and, if inoperable, repaired. The resident stated that the owner had been planning to repair it and they would make sure they scheduled that soon. The resident was also told that they need to work on either repairing the last vehicle or scrapping it. The officer said they would have two weeks to get the SUV into a shop and decide what to do with the last vehicle.
■ ■ Jan. 9 - An officer took a fraud complaint from the district manager of a chain store with a franchise location in Abbotsford. The district manager stated that an HR employee out of their Madison office informed them of a large amount of charge backs from the Abbotsford store. The district manager provided the officer a folder containing paperwork for each fraudulent transaction. Three employees were named as suspects.
The first employee would ring up an order, typically ranging from $50 to $11.29, and before closing the transaction, they would add a tip ranging from $40 to $400. The employees used their own cards for these transactions, essentially as cash-back purchases, which was against company policy. The district manager provided a signed sheet from the first employee acknowledging they read the policy. These transactions were not done with other customers’ orders. The store’s general manager had told the three employees that they could utilize the method of cash back with their own cards if they had sufficient funds to cover the charge. They were told to do so only once or twice a month to not draw attention. HR was made aware of this action because the inflated “tips” were being charged and the employees would get the cash. The employees would have insufficient funds, and the banking/credit card companies would send the balance back to the company. This led to the company having to pay for the outstanding balances.
The district manager spoke with the first employee about the charges. The employee admitted that they had run the charges using their cash app card. They were shown other charges that the employee specifically closed out while logged in at the register with another card. The employee was unable to provide that card. The employee admitted that they had done $936.02 in charge backs to the company. The employee was fired on Jan. 2.
The district manager showed a charge by a second employee at the register, with $119.89 charged back to the company, and $149.52 that a third employee had charged back. The third employee had since put in their two-week notice and was no longer employed there, but the second employee was still an active employee. The district manager stated that there is typically a few months delay for the charge-backs to go through, and they were only aware of chargebacks from Aug. 22 to Oct. 10. The district manager suspected that there would be more and said they would keep the CAPD updated if further charges were discovered.
■ ■ Jan. 10 - While driving through Colby, an officer pulled over a vehicle with an obscured license plate. The officer met with the driver, who had glassy eyes. The officer asked where they were coming from. The driver stated that they had just left an establishment in Colby, and were driving to a friend’s house. The driver stated that they had three bottles of beer and one shot. They were willing to do a preliminary breath test, the result of which was a 0.09 blood-alcohol content. The driver was placed under arrest and issued a citation for operating while under the influence (1st).
■ ■ Jan. 12 - An officer was made aware of snow removal complaints at two residences in Abbotsford. The first resident had plowed all the snow from their driveway into the road, which had already been plowed. The second resident had pushed all the snow from that driveway across the road. The officer went to the residence and observed the conditions. They spoke with the first resident and warned them that they could not push snow onto the roadway. The resident apologized and said they would get it cleaned up.
The officer spoke with the second resident and explained that they could not push snow across the roadway. The resident stated that they did that so, when the snow plow comes through, it piles the snow into the yard across the street and not into their yard. The officer told the resident that they cannot do that. The resident said they would not do that again.
■ ■ Jan. 12 - An officer pulled over a vehicle in Colby with no headlights or taillights on. The officer met with the driver and could smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from their breath. The driver stated they were picking up their friend from an establishment in Colby. The driver admitted to having two beers at their residence in Curtiss before coming to pick up their friend. They agreed to do a preliminary breath test, the result of which was 0.09 blood-alcohol content. The driver was placed under arrest and issued citations for operating while under the influence (1st), and operating without a valid license. The driver was also warned for having defective headlights and tail lights.
■ ■ Jan. 12 - While conducting a stationary radar in Colby, an officer observed a semi traveling southbound on STH 13, approaching an intersection with a green light. The officer then observed an SUV coming eastbound into the intersection, with their blinkers indicating they were turning left, to head northbound on STH 13. The officer then observed the vehicle make an illegal left turn through a red light. The semi was able to slow down and barely missed colliding with the SUV.
The officer pulled the SUV over, met with the driver and asked why they had turned left when they had a red light. The driver stated that they were impatient. The officer advised them of the risk they had taken making that illegal left turn, as they could have injured themselves and/or others.
As the officer spoke with the driver, they observed the driver to have glossy and bloodshot eyes. The officer could also smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle. The driver explained that they were driving their passenger to their residence in Abbotsford from an establishment in Colby that they had gone to. The passenger stated that they were too drunk to drive home. The officer asked if the driver had anything while at the establishment. The driver stated they had about two to three beers. The driver said they had quit drinking about 30 minutes ago, but they did not know when they started drinking as they had had two to three beers at a work party.
The driver agreed to a preliminary breath test, the result of which was 0.09 blood-alcohol content. The driver was then placed under arrest and received citations for operating while under the influence, operating with a prohibited blood-alcohol content (1st), and running a red traffic light.
