Law Enforcement

■ March 12 - An officer was patrolling North First Street in Abbotsford at about 8 a.m. when he noticed an open beer bottle about half full sitting on the sidewalk a foot from the front entrance of a bar which was closed. The officer took a picture of the bottle and sent it to Police Chief Alex Bowman as he was meeting with the bar owner that day.

■ ■ March 12 - An officer took a report of fraud from a business owner who said she owned a money transfer business in Abbotsford. The woman was there with her daughter who explained what had happened to the officer.

The daughter said that her mother had left the store for a brief period and she took over to cover for her mother. The daughter said that a man called the business and was a smooth talker and convinced the daughter that he was on another line with the mother. The daughter said that money transfers are not supposed to happen over the phone for fraud reasons but she thought that her mother was on the other line and OK with the one exception.

The daughter said the man knew her name along with her mother’s information so she thought he was credible. The man messaged the daughter over Whatsapp and provided seemingly valid ID’s and information on where to send money to. The woman said the man was in a hurry and gave a story about this needing to be completed before a UPS delivery or he would incur late fees.

The daughter said she made five transfers with information the man provided when the mother walked into the building. The daughter said she told the mother what was happening and her mother immediately told her to stop and attempted to stop the transactions from going through.

The mother said she had not contacted the man at all and that he was scamming them. The mother said she was able to stop three transfers from going through but two made it before she was able to stop them. The two combined for about $5,000.

The mother said she was working with the banking entities involved to try and recover the funds. The woman said that she did have insurance and would need a police report completed if the funds were not able to be recovered. The officer took pictures of the Whatsapp conversation and attached them to the report along with the two receipts of the successful transactions.

■ ■ March 16 - An officer was dispatched to a residence in Colby for a report of loud music. The officer arrived and spoke with the lower tenant who said that every weekend, her upstairs neighbor plays loud music late at night. She also said that just as the officer arrived, the music had been turned down. The officer made contact with the upstairs tenant who said the music was not too loud. The man said that the volume that the officer hears now is what it was earlier. The man was advised that the officer received a call and that he was advised that this was a frequent occurrence. The officer gave the man a verbal warning to keep the volume down in the future.

■ ■ March 16 - An officer was traveling northbound in Abbotsford when he observed a truck traveling south on Hwy. 13 with a defective driver side headlamp. The officer initiated a traffic stop and ran the registration of the vehicle. The officer made contact with the driver and explained why he was pulled over. The officer noticed the man had slow speech and a moderate odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle. There were two other individuals in the vehicle and the officer saw two cases of beer in the back seat. One case was opened and there were multiple cans on the floor in the back seat. The driver said he had three beers in two hours.

The officer conducted a records check of the man and he came back with two previous citations for operating without a valid license. Both passengers came back with no returns. The officer returned to the driver who said he was willing to perform standardized field sobriety tests to ensure he was safe to drive. The man then consented to a preliminary breath test.

The result of the breath test was 0.116 and the man was placed under arrest for operating while under the influence. The officer released the passengers from the scene and transported the driver to the Colby-Abbotsford Police Department. The man was issued citations for operating while under the influence and operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration. The man was then released to a responsible party.

■ ■ March 17 - An officer took a bullying/assault complaint from a woman who said her son has been bullied by an older kid at school. The woman said a recent issue was bothering her. The woman said a rumor had been started about her son and one day while in class, the older kid approached him. The woman said the older kid started saying terrible and derogatory things to her son. A physical incident had occurred between the two juveniles and this was enough for the parents of the younger kid to call law enforcement. The officer met with the school resource officer as well as the student who was bullied and his parents. The officers heard the student’s statements and then spoke to the older kid. The older kid admitted to the incident and a charge of disorderly conduct was referred to Clark County Social Services for the older juvenile.

■ ■ March 17 - Two officers were dispatched to a residence in Colby for a medical call. The officers arrived and saw multiple individuals in the basement of a residence with a man who was not conscious, did not have a pulse and was not breathing. Officers immediately started CPR while waiting for EMTs. One of the officers spoke to those in and around the residence but no one was sure what had happened.

The man was taken to Marshfield Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased. The officers conducted interviews and determined the death to be a suicide. The officers turned the man over to a funeral home for the family to begin making arrangements.