Coulee cops

Grand Coulee Police

5/15 - A man was banned from the Rural Resources office on Midway Avenue after being rude to staff there. 

- Police spoke to a Butler Square woman who told police that her ex-husband had taken important documents from a folder, including a Social Security card, a passport, and more. Police were unable to contact him. Police told the woman about her options in the situation. 

5/16 - Police checked on a car blocking Martin Road. The driver’s side window was down and police looked inside and saw various tools and smelled a foul odor. The ignition was also in the “on” position although there was no key in it, indicative of a stolen vehicle. The vehicle hadn’t been marked as stolen, but police asked that the registered owner in Brewster be contacted about the matter. The vehicle was towed. 

- A man with a crowbar and hammer was reportedly trying to break into a coin machine at the Grand Coulee Avenue RV park. Damage to the machine was estimated to be at least $3,000. The man was arrested and charged with theft and malicious mischief, adding to a previous auto theft charge.

5/17 - Police checked on a suspicious vehicle near the grain silos on SR-174 at about 3 a.m. Police found a fully clothed woman in the driver’s seat and a completely naked man in the passenger seat who appeared intoxicated. The driver didn’t appear intoxicated but didn’t complete a breathalyzer test to prove so. Because they were parked out of public view in a discrete location, the crime of indecent exposure didn’t apply. Police gave them each courtesy rides to separate locations.

- Police spoke to the driver of a disabled car on Roosevelt Drive. A ball joint appeared to have failed, causing the frame of the vehicle to drop. The vehicle was towed.

- A man faces the charges of attempted theft and malicious mischief after security footage showed him trying to break into a coin machine at the carwash on Spokane Way. Although he didn’t access the coins, the damage will cost about $2,500 to repair.

- A man allegedly stole $86 worth of items from the Coulee Wall Variety Store including a sweatshirt, hat, socks, and a lighter. Police found the man walking on Midway Avenue and recovered the stolen items, took note of other items he had with him, and told him he was banned from the store. Grant County Jail wouldn’t accept him because of booking restrictions, so he was free to go after being charged for the theft. Police then learned that the man had stolen a flashlight and pocket knife from the store, valued at about $20, and recognized them as being among the other items in the man’s possession. Police didn’t see him again to charge him with that theft. 

- Police saw a man walking near the library openly carrying a pistol on his hip. He has a no-contact order with someone, a condition of which is that he is not allowed to possess a firearm. Police arrested the man without incident. He was confused about the situation, saying his attorney fought for his right to have a firearm. While being transported to jail, the woman the no-contact order protects called police and said an updated version of the order allows the man to have a firearm. She didn’t want him to be arrested. Police explained it could be a clerical error and how to clear it up. But a law requiring mandatory booking for violating a no-contact order required he be taken to jail.

- A woman reported that her vehicle might have been stolen but also might have been repossessed as she is behind on payments. She left the vehicle running with her purse and phone inside it while she went into her Roosevelt Drive residence briefly. The vehicle was gone when she went back outside.

5/18 - A woman approached an officer on SR-155 and handed him truck keys, explaining she took a truck that didn’t belong to her following some kind of fight on Wenatchee Avenue. The truck had just been stolen. The driver and occupants of the truck had driven by a man and called him a “tweaker,” angering him. He then threw a rock at the truck. The truck stopped and the occupants got out. The man threw rocks at them, injuring them. At one point the truck was stolen. Police gave the owner his keys back and eventually found the rock thrower and took him to jail for assault. He denied throwing rocks and said he was acting in self defense. The woman faces the charge of theft of a vehicle.

- Police directed a man to the Rural Resources office on Midway Avenue for help when he explained he was hopeless and parked at the middle school with his family to sleep. 

- Security footage showed a woman stealing sawblades, paint, and a third item with an estimated total of $100 from the hardware store. The woman will be banned from the store. She had stolen from the store in the past. 

Coulee Dam Police

5/15 - An officer stood near the rear entrance to a home on Tulip Street in case a man tribal police were arresting attempted to flee. Tribal Police arrested him and took him to the tribal jail.

5/17 - A man was reportedly caught and detained by employees as he was taking a battery charger from a golf cart at Sunbanks Lake Resort. He was charged with theft and banned from the resort, then free to go. Police were unable to find a second man who had been with him.

5/18 - Police told a woman visiting for the weekend that she had to leave a man’s home on Stevens Avenue in Coulee Dam. They had been in an argument leading the man to ask her to leave, which she had initially refused to do. She eventually left.

5/19 - A woman was listed as missing after her grandmother expressed concern about not having contact with her in almost a month. The woman is said to hang out with the “wrong crowd” and do drugs. The grandmother was concerned for her safety.