COLBY-ABBOTSFORD POLICE

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_ March 16 - An officer followed up on a welfare check for a woman in Colby whose exboyfriend had recently been released from jail. The person who requested the welfare check said she had not heard from the woman since the ex got out, and she was worried about a possible abduction. The ex was not allowed to have contact with the woman.

The officer met with someone who lives at the same address as the woman in question, and she too had not heard from her. The officer was provided with a phone number for the woman, but it did not work. The officer also called the ex’s parole officer and left a voicemail.

_ March 17 - An officer was dispatched to a Colby gas station in reference to a gas skip. The offi cer met with a store clerk, who said a male party had filled his vehicle with $51.85 worth of gas and never attempted to pay at the pump or come inside.

The officer ran the vehicle’s license plate, and learned that it was registered to a couple in Price County. He tried calling two different phone numbers on record, but he was unable to leave a voicemail for either. The officer also called the Price County Sheriff’s Office, and asked if a deputy could meet with the couple at their residence. The officer was told that someone from the sheriff’s office would try calling them instead of going there in person.

The officer said he would send the vehicle owners a letter, giving them until March 31 to pay for the gasoline or be cited for defrauding a gas station.

_ March 17 - An officer was advised of an incident between a brother and sister that occurred at an Abbotsford business. The officer met with the sister, who said she and her brother live together at an apartment in Abbotsford, and they also work at the same local company.

The previous day, she said they had started arguing at home about the car they shared. She said they continued arguing when they got to work, and her brother demanded that she give him the car keys. She said she ignored him, and then he punched her in the side of the head when she wasn’t looking.

The complainant said she didn’t see her brother punch her, but her co-worker had to catch her. She said she felt dizzy and had pain on the right side of her head. The officer did not see any bruising, but the complainant said she was wearing protective equipment for her job, so the punch may not have made contact with her skin.

The complainant said she had already moved out of their apartment and was staying with someone else because she did not want any further incidents. She said she did not want to get her brother into trouble, but did want a restraining order.

The officer went to the complainant’s place of employment and spoke to a shift supervisor about the incident. He showed the officer security footage, but most of the activity was blocked by a pole in the area they were working. The officer could see the brother moving his arms around quickly, and then being moved out of the area by a coworker. The sister could be seen hunched over.

The officer went to the brother’s apartment and spoke to him about the incident. He admitted to slapping his sister on the side of her face, and being sent home from work as a result. The offi cer arrested him for domestic disorderly conduct and took him to Clark County Jail.

_ March 18 - An officer was dispatched to a Colby business in reference to a suspicious man in the parking lot. The officer was informed that the man appeared to be video recording a fitness class inside the business.

The officer arrived and located the man sitting in his vehicle, holding his cell phone up toward the window of the business. As the officer approached the man, he immediately put his phone into the cup holder. When asked what he was doing, the man said he was “looking things up on his phone.” He showed the officer various searches he had done on his old-style flip phone.

The man got upset when the officer asked him if he was taking pictures or video of people inside the business. The man asked if this was “communist Russia,” and told the officer multiple times that he could check his phone. With the man’s permission, the officer checked his phone, but did not see any video or pictures of people at the business. The man said he had been harassed for sitting in his car outside the library while trying to use the Wi-Fi signal. The offi cer told him that people were concerned about what he was doing there, so the police were obligated to check on him.

_ March 19 - An officer was dispatched to a Colby apartment in reference to a noise complaint, after the downstairs tenant reported hearing screaming from her neighbor above. The officer arrived and could hear a man yelling from outside. He was able to recognize the man’s voice as he approached the door.

The man’s wife answered the door and said she was expecting the police to show up. She said her husband was not yelling at her, but was shouting while under the influence of alcohol. She said he was upset about some family issues. The officer advised her that she should try to get her husband to go to bed, as he was disturbing the neighbors. She apologized and said she would do that. The officer said any further complaints would result in a disorderly conduct citation.

_ March 19 - An officer was dispatched to the area of STH 29 near Hiline Avenue in reference to an eastbound vehicle driving erratically. The officer located the vehicle and ran its license plate number. Dispatch said the driver’s license was suspended due to an unpaid parking ticket.

The officer activated his emergency lights, but the vehicle did not stop, continuing past the STH 13 overpass. The vehicle was going 65 miles per hour, so the officer did not believe the driver was intentionally trying to flee. After another mile, the driver looked at the officer in her rear-view mirror and immediately pulled over just east of Chestnut Road. The officer ordered the driver to exit the vehicle, but she did not respond.

The driver did not speak English, so the officer used Google Translate to explain the reason for the stop. The driver said she not realize she was supposed to pull over when she sees police lights and hears sirens. She said she is from Nicaragua, and the police there drive around with their lights on all the time.

The driver presented a Nicaraguan ID card, but it did not look real to the officer, so he had her write down her name and date of birth. The middle name she wrote down did not match the one on the card, so he ran both names through dispatch. Neither name was on record, but dispatch did find a similar name with a different date of birth, and the woman was listed as not having a valid license.

The officer asked the driver why she lied about her identity. She said she did not want to get a citation. The officer said that was going to happen anyway since she provided the wrong identification. She was cited for driving without a license, driving without insurance, inattentive driving and obstructing an officer. The officer told her she was not allowed to drive.

_ March 22 - An officer was dispatched to an Abbotsford residence in reference to a disturbance involving several individuals. The officer met with a man who had a bloody nose, cuts on his face and a dislocated shoulder. The man said he and his fiancée had been at a party at his friend’s house in Dorchester. He noticed that his friend and his fiancée were exchanging text messages, and he started to suspect they were having an affair. Once they returned home, he called his friend about the issue. His friend and the friend’s son came over to his house, and he said the son punched him in the nose. He said his other injuries came wrestling on the ground with his fiancée’s son.

After interviewing all of the other parties involved, the officer determined that the injured man had gotten drunk at the party and was arguing with his fiancée and her son on the drive home. When they got home, he allegedly tackled his fiancée’s son, leading to his dislocated shoulder. He also allegedly hit his fiancée during the argument.

When the man’s friend came over, along with the friend’s son, the suspect admitted to pulling a gun on them. His friend’s son tackled him, got the gun away from him, and tried to get him into the house. According to the friend’s son, the suspect threw a board at him while they were in the garage and then charged him. In self-defense, he punched the suspect once in the nose. The suspect fell to the ground, and the friend’s son helped him up and told him to go to bed.

The handgun’s magazine was full and the safety was off. After being treated at a hospital, the suspect was arrested for domestic disorderly conduct and recklessly endangering safety with a use of a dangerous weapon while intoxicated. Because of COVID-19 precautions, the suspect was processed at the police station instead of being taken to the Clark County Jail. He posted the $150 bond and was released on the condition that he not have contact with his fiancée.