Kent Police arrested two men with gang ties, each on warrants, and one for investigation of making a false statement, after spotting the men sitting at separate times in a vehicle in the Fred Meyer parking lot, 10201 S.E. 240th St.
An officer on Sept. 15 saw a man sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle parked in a far corner of the lot, according to the police report. The man reportedly just sat there looking around.
The officer walked up to the vehicle to talk to the driver, who said he was waiting for his dad to come out of the store. The officer noted the shirtless man had numerous gang tattoos, including the name “Tappas,” which is short for gang members from Toppenish in Central Washington.
Police arrested the man for initially giving a false name. The man later admitted to belonging to the West Side Surenos gang. The man also had a felony warrant from the state Department of Corrections.
Police transported the man to the city jail, where he asked to send a text message to his girlfriend to pick up his vehicle at the Fred Meyer lot. Officers allowed him to send the text. Police returned to the parking lot at about 12:30 a.m. to watch the vehicle when three people showed up.
Officers talked to the two men and a woman and arrested one of the men on a state Department of Corrections warrant. He claimed to be a member of the Sureno Southside gang. The man also reportedly tried to give police a false name.
The men said they lived in the Somerset Apartments in the 25200 block of 109th Court Southeast on the East Hill in Kent.
Malicious mischief
Officers arrested a woman for investigation of malicious mischief after she allegedly broke a plastic lawn chair during a dispute at about 6:55 p.m. on Sept. 14, at the Webster Court Apartments, 309 Fifth Ave. S.
The woman had stayed the prior night with a resident but was asked to leave the next day, according to the police report.
The woman initially left but later returned to a locked unit. She became angry when people at the complex wouldn’t let her inside the unit. People told her to leave the complex. She then reportedly kicked and broke a lawn chair. She also used profanity and screamed other derogatory statements as she walked away.
Police found her a short distance from the complex. She told officer she had not done anything wrong.
Burglary
Police arrested a man for investigation of commercial burglary after allegedly finding him inside a business at about 5:40 p.m. Sept. 14, in the 21000 block of 77th Avenue South.
An officer responded to the business after an alarm went off and arrived to find an open door, according to the police report.
An officer saw a man walk out of the facility and ordered him to the ground. The man complied as the officer drew a handgun and had a police dog keep watch over the man until more officers arrived and they handcuffed the man.
The man told police he recently lost his Renton home, lived as a transient and saw the open door as he rode his bicycle. He said he needed a place to sleep. Officers discovered a magnetic door sensor for the alarm inside the man’s pockets as well as a wrench and another tool. The man said he didn’t take anything from inside the building.
Police discovered the man had warrants out of Renton for theft and out of the King County Sheriff’s Office for a narcotics violation.
Assault
Officers arrested a woman for investigation of fourth-degree assault after she reportedly grabbed another woman by the neck and pushed her head against a wall during a dispute at about 7:07 a.m. on Sept. 14, at the Sterling Ridge Apartments, 11328 S.E. Kent Kangley Road.
The woman who was hit said the woman who hit her lived with her and they initially got into an argument at the Bad Monkey bar but the dispute continued when they returned home, according to the police report.
She said the woman grabbed her by the neck and smashed her head against a wall about seven or eight times. Officers noted the woman had a scratch on her throat. The other woman said she pushed her because she was hit in the face first.
Theft
Police cited a man for investigation of theft after he reportedly stole a wallet from an employee at about 2 p.m. on Sept. 12, at the Pawn Pros, 125 Central Ave. N.
The employee told officers he had left his wallet in an office and when he returned the wallet was gone, according to the police report.
A video surveillance system at the shop showed a man walking in and out of the office around the same time he had pawned $168 worth of jewelry at the store. The man had been a customer for about four years and a witness identified him.
Officers were not able to find the man but cited him at large. The man had prior arrests in Kent for theft, robbery and burglary.
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
