Single-car collisions; stolen oak tree; ‘bong’ not ‘bomb’ threat | San Juan County Sheriff’s Log

The San Juan County Sheriff’s Department reported responding to these calls:

Aug. 3: A San Juan Island woman who was flown off-island for treatment following a high-speed single-car collision on West Valley Road faces charges of DUI and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The 47-year-old was eastbound and reportedly traveling 60-70 mph when she slammed into guardrail and then ricocheted head-on into a rock embankment on the other side of the road at about 7:30 p.m. Officers allegedly found a pouch with pot and a pipe inside during a search of the wreckage.

Aug. 5: A Lopez Island man accused of hitting a girlfriend was arrested for felony assault following a late-night altercation at the man’s home on Eads Lane. The 35-year-old was taken into custody at his home at about 12:30 a.m.

Aug. 6: A Winthrop man died of an apparent heart attack on San Juan Island after climbing a tall flight of stairs that leads from the Port of Friday Harbor into town. Paramedics were unable to revive the 66-year-old, who reportedly had been taking medication for high blood pressure and heart problems, despite performing CPR for at about an hour. The man was visiting the island with his wife and friends.

A late-night single-car collision led to the arrest of an Orcas Island man for DUI following a tip from a witness that led officers to the man’s location at the ferry landing, The 47-year-old, who, despite severe facial injuries, drove away from the scene of the crash, which occurred near the 5000 block of Orcas Road, was taken into custody at the ferry landing at about 11 p.m.

The campaign for the Lopez/Shaw position on the County Council took a turn for the worse as two political banners belonging to a candidate were damaged in an apparent act of vandalism. The banners, which sustained $325 in damage, were located on Fisherman Bay Road near Lopez Village.

Aug. 10: A 15-foot tall Oak tree disappeared from the grounds of the Orcas Island High School in an apparent case of theft. The tree, valued at $250, was dug up and removed from the grounds by someone who apparently used a shovel and would have needed help to unearth the tree and to whisk it away.

A San Juan Island deputy was bitten by a dog while trying to corral two others which reportedly were on the loose and that had a young child cornered in the 100 block of Crestview Drive. The officer, bit while trying to contact the owner of the dogs, a 46-year-old woman; the child was no longer at the scene by the time the deputy arrived.

Aug. 11: A warrant led to the arrest of a Bend, Ore., man following a late-night traffic stop in Friday Harbor. The 32-year-old, wanted for failing to appear in court in connection with driving with a suspended license, as taken into custody near the intersection of Second and West streets at about 11 p.m.

Aug. 12: A tip about a possible drunk driver on a ferry bound for Lopez prompted the arrest of a Woodinville man for DUI following a traffic stop near the ferry landing. The 55-year-old, behind the wheel of a ’98 Porsche Boxter at the time, was pulled over shortly after driving off the ferry and taken into custody at about 8:30 p.m.

A 17-year-old San Juan Island girl and two men under the age of 21 were arrested on alcohol-related charges after deputies broke up a late-night party near the intersection of Cattle Point and Portland Fair roads. They among 30-40 people who reportedly were at the party, and who fled into the woods, when officers arrived at a home in the 100 block of Portland Fair Road shortly before midnight.

Aug. 13: An Edmonds man who reportedly left his dog inside a locked car on a blistering hot afternoon was arrested for animal cruelty near the Friday Harbor ferry landing. The temperature inside the car, parked in Lot B at the time, was reportedly 112 degrees when the 66-year-old was taken into custody at about 2 p.m.

Aug. 14: A scuffle in the parking lot of the Orcas Island ferry landing led to the arrest of a Bellingham woman for misdemeanor assault and vandalism. The 51-year-old was taken into custody at about 8 p.m. for allegedly roughing up a 25-year-old Friday Harbor man and damaging his car.

A Lopez Island deputy used a single shot from his revolver to put a young deer out of its misery after it apparently was struck by a automobile in the 1100 block of Shark Reef Road. The fawn, which was discovered near the side of the road at about 11 a.m., was reportedly in pain but unable to move because of its injuries when it was euthanized.

Aug. 15: An Orcas Island man, pulled over for talking on a cell-phone, was arrested for driving with a suspended license following a early afternoon traffic stop in the 100 block of Main Street. The 29-year-old, who was also ticketed for talking while driving, was pulled at about 1:30 p.m.

Aug. 16: A 10-foot aluminum row boat vanished from a private dock on Orcas Island in an apparent case of theft. Both oars of the Sea Nymph, which belongs to a 49-year-old Orcas man, were left behind at the time it disappeared from a dock located near Bay Head Marina.

Excessive speed prompted the arrest of a Sedro Woolley man for driving with a suspended license following an early afternoon traffic stop on Lopez Island. The 26-year-old, who was pulled over near the intersection of Fisherman Bay and Weeks roads, was taken into custody at about 1 p.m.

A San Juan Island woman was flown off-island for treatment following a mid-morning collision near the Friday Harbor Middle School. The 59-year-old, behind the wheel of a 2002 4-door Jaguar at the time, reportedly struck a parked pickup and then a fence at about 10:30 a.m. because of a undetermined mechanical malfunction.

Aug. 18: An Orcas Island man, reportedly was passed out behind the wheel when a ferry arrived on Orcas, was arrested for being in physical control of a vehicle while intoxicated. The 42-year-old was taken into custody ferry’s auto-deck at about 10:30 p.m.

A 12-foot boat belonging to a Bothell man vanished from a mooring buoy near his Lopez Island vacation home apparently because of a poorly tied knot. The 46-year-old believes that the boat, outfitted with a 15-hp outboard motor, most likely drifted away with the current.

Aug. 20: Two men were questioned, searched and later released without incident following a short-lived bomb scare onboard a ferry bound for Friday Harbor. The captain and crew of the Yakima determined no explosives were onboard or among the men’s belongings after a full-scale search and 30-minute delay at the Lopez Island ferry landing. The men, a 46-year-old from Langley and 26-year-old from San Juan Island, claim that several passengers mistakenly thought they said “bomb” when they had actually been talking about a “bong” instead.