COLBY-ABBOTSFORD POLICE

D EPARTMENT

■ Aug. 18 - An officer met with a complainant regarding an individual they wished to ban from their store in Abbotsford. The complainant said the individual came into the store earlier that day to take pictures of the birds kept inside and was rude to the complainant when they were told to leave. The individual left, but the complainant wanted them to be formally warned. They said they would provide the officer with footage of the encounter.

The officer then met with the individual in question, who said they had gone to the store to see the condition of the birds. The individual said the complainant was rude to them and asked them to leave, so they did. The officer advised that the complainant did not want the individual back on the property. A warning letter was mailed to the individual.

■ Aug. 18 - An officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in Abbotsford. The registered owner had a suspended driver’s license and a warrant through Clark County. The officer identified the driver as the registered owner and advised that their driver’s license was suspended. The driver said they didn’t know that, and if they had, they wouldn’t be driving. The officer confirmed the driver had a suspended license and a valid body-only warrant. The driver was informed of the warrant, placed under arrest and transported to the Clark County Jail.

■ Aug. 19 - Awelfare check was requested for an Abbotsford resident. The resident’s property manager had received numerous complaints regarding the individual’s behavior recently. The individual had a very loud stereo outside their residence and said they wanted the people on the moon to be able to listen to it. The property manager said they were concerned for the individual’s safety and the safety of other residents.

The officer went to the residence and heard the stereo outside playing. The individual was not home at that time, but the officer later made contact with them. The officer asked about the stereo and the individual said they were playing it so that it could be heard on the moon. They also spoke with the officer regarding some of the other concerns the property manager had reported.

The individual allowed the officer into the residence. The officer observed the residence to be fairly clean and organized, with plenty of food in the pantry and refrigerator. The officer did not observe anything flammable by the stove. It did not appear that the individual was an immediate danger to themselves or others. The officer contacted Clark County Social Services and advised them of the contact with the individual.

On Aug. 21, another welfare check was requested for the individual. The concerned party said the individual was sitting in front of their residence in a box, saying they were waiting for their son to return. Every time someone would walk past the individual’s truck parked on the street, they would set off the panic alarm, causing a disturbance.

The officer met with the individual outside of their residence. The individual was reminded that all of their children were grown up. The individual said that was not true. The officer told the individual that they were more perceptive than they were letting on, and they knew all of their children were grown. The individual said “oh, I guess I should get out of the box then.” The officer said they didn’t care about the box, but the individual needed to stop making undue noise by hitting the panic button on their vehicle. The individual apologized and said they would stop. The officer contacted the property manager and the individual’s daughter to inform them of the complaints.

Later that day, the officer received another call regarding the individual driving their scooter down STH 13. The officer arrived at the area and observed the individual driving along the white line in the slow lane of traffic. The officer activated their emergency lights and and the individual pulled into a parking lot. The officer met with individual and asked why they thought driving on the highway instead of the sidewalk would be a good idea. The individual said the road was smoother than the sidewalk. The officer advised that the likelihood of death on the sidewalk was much lower. The individual was very apologetic and said they would only ever commute on the sidewalk from then on. The individual said they were driving their scooter because it was cheaper than driving their truck. The officer contacted social services again to advise them of the individual’s behavior.

On Aug. 23, the officer was dispatched to the individual’s residence for a suspicious activity complaint. The individual was reported to be screaming and throwing things. Upon arrival, the officer observed the individual next to their truck. The officer asked about t the complaint. The individual said they were throwing cans of beans out of their residence to feed the bears. The officer advised that if the police got any more calls about the individual disrupting their neighbors, they would be cited for disorderly conduct. The individual stated they would be quiet.

The officer asked where the individual was going as they got into the driver seat. The individual said they had to shut their front door before going for a drive. The officer asked how they were going to shut the door from inside of the truck. The individual said they were going to drive over there. The individual then looked for their truck keys, but could not find them. The individual looked in the residence for the keys but could not find them either. The officer asked if they could look in the truck. The individual consented, and the officer found the keys in the cupholder.

On Aug. 24, the officer was contacted by a concerned party regarding the whereabouts of the individual’s truck. The caller said the individual had been outside with some teenagers the night prior, and the truck was now gone, but the individual had been home all day. The officer met with the individual, who said their truck was at a gas station in Abbotsford. The individual said there had been a problem with the wheel and someone had helped them get home. The officer said they would go to the gas station to make sure the truck was still there.

The officer located the individual’s truck at the gas station. The front driver’s side wheel was sitting on the rim with no tire on it and was taking up two parking spaces. The officer acquired security footage of the individual driving into the parking lot. The officer observed the individual to be driving on the rim. The officer then followed the gouge marks left on the road to make sure the individual had not hit anything. The officer was able to follow the marks until they led to gravel roads, at which point they were unable to locate any more marks.

The officer met with the individual and their daughter back at the individual’s residence. The daughter said she had been trying to call the individual for the last few days because they were not answering their phone. The daughter said she had been contacted by the property manager regarding the recent issues. The daughter has tried to get the individual to go to the doctor, but they refuse or will leave before she gets to the residence. When the individual was in the hospital, the individual would answer the questions correctly and the doctors would say that they were in the right state of mind.

The officer asked the individual where they had lost the tire on their truck. The individual was not sure and said they just kept driving to the gas station when they heard a noise. The individual said they had been on the highway near a construction zone and saw a large piece of equipment, but did not hit it. The individual said they thought the Amish put something in their tire that would make it fall off and at one point it felt like they were driving on a wooden spoke.

The officer spoke with the individual and their daughter about the medication the individual was supposed to be taking. The daughter asked the individual about going to the doctor to get refills for their medication. The individual said they would only go after Halloween since they only go once per year. They agreed to go to the pharmacy to see if there were any refills left for their medications. The individual said they would greatly benefit from a case worker through Social Services, specifically in taking their medication and managing bills. The officer forwarded the report to social services and completed a driver behavior report.

■ Aug. 20 - Officers received a complaint of a car doing burnouts on South Main Street in Colby. Officers checked the area and observed tire marks in several locations, consistent with tires spinning at a high rate of speed. The vehicle was not located in the area at that time.

About 30 minutes later, the complainant called back to report that the vehicle had returned to the area and was doing the same thing. Upon approaching the area, an officer observed a vehicle emitting a loud exhaust sound as it rapidly accelerated above the posted speed limit of 30 mph. The officer suspected the vehicle had a modified exhaust that was creating the excessive noise.

The officer conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. The officer observed it to have Illinois registration and a modified exhaust system that was louder than stock. The officer met with the driver, who was recognized through previous law enforcement contacts. The driver said there was no alcohol inside the vehicle. The officer observed two passengers in the vehicle. The front passenger appeared to be extremely intoxicated.

The officer asked who the vehicle belonged to. The driver said a friend. When told about the complaint, the driver said they were not the one spinning their tires. The officer briefly inspected the vehicle. The rear tires appeared to be worn, with small particles of rubber and gravel on top of them. The vehicle was also extremely hot, as the officer could feel an unusual amount of heat just standing near the rear door.

While speaking to the driver, the officer observed them to have glossy eyes and a strong odor of alcohol. The officer asked how much the driver had to drink. The driver said they had two beers. The officer briefly made contact with the two passengers and observed 15 to 20 empty beer cans on the rear passenger’s floor. The front passenger also had beer cans near their feet. The driver agreed to do field sobriety tests and consented to a preliminary breath test, the result of which was a blood-alcohol content of 0.157. The driver was placed under arrest for operating while under the influence (1st).

The driver’s mother arrived on scene and advised that she had been looking for the driver, as the vehicle belonged to her. She took custody of the vehicle and the passengers were removed. Both were cited for keeping open intoxicants in the vehicle and then released. The driver was transported to the police station and was cited for operating while under the influence (1st), operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration (1st), unreasonable and imprudent speed, operating a motor vehicle without a valid license (3rd w/in 3 years), keeping open intoxicant in motor vehicle (driver), and disorderly conduct with a motor vehicle.

■ Aug. 23 - A traffic stop was conducted on a vehicle traveling 50 mph in a posted 40 mph zone in Colby. The officer met with the driver, who said they had not been paying attention. The driver admitted they did not have a valid license and said they had their proof of insurance on their phone. The officer conducted a background on the driver and found them to have two prior citations for operating without a valid license.

While speaking to the driver, the officer noticed a strong odor of alcohol emanating from the vehicle. The driver was observed to have bloodshot/glossy eyes and slurred speech. The officer asked if they had been drinking. The driver said they had about three beers. The driver performed field sobriety tests and submitted to a preliminary breath test, the result of of which was a 0.132 blood-alcohol level. The driver was placed under arrest and transported to the police station. They received citations for operating while under the influence (1st), and operating w/o valid license (3rd within three years)

■ Aug. 23 - A traffic stop was conducted in Colby on a vehicle with an expired registration. The officer met with the driver and asked for their license. The driver retrieved their license from a fanny pack, and while doing so, the officer thought they observed a vape pen. The officer asked the driver to open the fanny pack again. The driver gave the officer the fanny pack, and the officer saw a pistol inside. The officer ran the identification number through dispatch but did not get a return. A Clark County deputy arrived and deployed a K-9.

The officer had the driver exit the vehicle and conducted a search of their person. A track phone was located in their pocket. A search of the vehicle uncovered a box with several small bags filled with a white powder. Money was located in the fanny pack, as well as in the center counsel, totaling $360. Two more cell phones were located inside of the vehicle.

The driver was placed under arrest for possession with intent to deliver cocaine and transported to the police station. The driver did not want to answer any questions without their lawyer and was taken to the Marathon County Jail. The driver was turned over to jail staff, who found a white pill inside a small pocket in the driver’s wallet. The officer discovered that the pill was a schedule 2 drug with a high potential for abuse.

■ Aug. 24 - An officer was notified of an animal bite in Colby. The officer received a completed dog bite form from the Marshfield Medical Center. The form stated that the individual was standing on their property talking to their neighbor when the neighbor’s dog bit the individual on the calf, causing multiple puncture wounds. The officer used the information provided to complete a dog bite form and emailed it to the health department. The officer then met with the owner. They explained the quarantine process and provided the required paperwork.