Arcata Police Log: Expediency And Self-Centeredness Guide Majority Of Human Activity
• Monday, January 20 12:30 a.m. “I drink and drive all the time,” said a man at a downtown brewery. “In fact, I’m drunk right now and am going to drive.” With that, the large man in a dark coat and baseball headed out onto the road.
1:56 a.m. A man called 911 from a cell phone to report that three people were following him “with murderous intent.” Police cruised the length of L.K. Wood Boulevard, but didn’t find him.
3:06 a.m. The man called again from the skate park and Baldwin Street, fleeing the homicidal trio. He was located and taken to the nervous hospital.
5:19 p.m. A drunken man played his guitar in Northtown until succumbing to the pavement’s sweet siren song with a full-on faceplant.
• Tuesday, January 21 8:13 a.m. A car on Anina Way was ransacked, with items left strewn along the street.
8:28 a.m. A wallet had been left in an unlocked vehicle on Janes Creek Drive, along with car and housekeys and a Bluetooth headset.
10:12 a.m. A window was smashed out at a Spring Street home, and a barbecue, guitar and .22 rifle stolen.
1:30 p.m. A man in a kayak had reportedly brought a domestic ducks for a swim at the Marsh. There were multiple off leash dogs in the area as well. The Park Ranger called in a second unit, and a public drunkenness arrest was made.
• Wednesday, January 22 7:30 a.m. A woman strolled around a 13th Street marketplace, stuffing things in her socks. She was arrested on a San Diego warrant and banished from the store.
11:58 a.m. A loose Chihuahua enjoyed scampering about Foster Avenue and Janes Road with numerous persons running out into traffic to try and catch it. The plucky pipsqueak eluded pursuers by running into a fenced pasture.
12:36 a.m. A resident at an undisclosed address found a note on a window inside the house, stating, “DON’T PUSH YOUR LUCK. POLICE WILL BE WATCHING. THEY HAVE GUNS… SO DO I. [REDACTED] YOUR DAD?”
1:40 p.m. A vacant home on H Street was reported having broken doors and windows, and was full of the belongings of “vagrants.”
2:58 p.m. An Old Arcata Road resident said someone, possibly a postal employee, had stolen a $300 piece of musical equipment out of a parcel.
• Thursday, January 23 11:17 a.m. A Chihuahua skittered about 11th and M streets, and that lady couldn’t catch it.
11:35 a.m. A Samoa Boulevard resident found a tame rat, which she wanted to keep. The Wildlife Care Center advised against it due to rabies concerns, but said it would accept the rat. The finder theorized that it was a baby to a pet that had escaped its cage.
12:21 p.m. A stoner utterly bereft of basic judgment and oblivious to issues of stack-waftage toked up right at the Arcata Branch Library’s front door. He was cited under the City’s smoking ordinance.
3:04 p.m. A man in Vallley West said that three people told him to leave, and that they “own this town.” The Owners of Arcata were last seen wandering around behind a shopping center, inspecting less glamorous areas of their empire.
4:54 p.m. A man decided that an O Street industrial park would be a grand place to train his bird dog, using a .22 caliber rifle that shoots blanks. But it wasn’t such a good idea after all.
5:46 p.m. A man enjoyed a $19 meal at a lower G Street restaurant, then left without paying.
6:31 p.m. A suspicious man in a black hat stood in front of a Westwood Center business since 10 a.m., and by evening time, the employees were afraid to leave the place. Police searched him and sent him on his way.
7:28 p.m. A 10th Street resident recieved a package that “smells really, really bad.” Police found hat the person had been mailed a box of garbage, which was disposed of.
• Friday, January 24 9 a.m. A lower H Street resident called police, wondering whether it was legal for her to own a “first generation wolf” dog with more than 50 percent “wolf blood.” She was told to contact Fish & Wildlife.
9:28 a.m. A Chihuahua was reported stolen from an unlocked truck on Appaloosa Way.
10:27 a.m. A woman in her sixties driving a gold Camry sideswiped a car in the Community Pool parking lot, tearing a mirror off a red sedan. The witness told the lady that she needed to leave a not, so she did. But after the lady left, the witness looked at the “note” and it had no information on it.
2:17 p.m. Four silver dollar coins and four $50 pre-paid debit cards were stolen from a locked van on I Street, and yet there was no sign of forced entry.
3:09 p.m. A troubled youth chugged a bottle of nighttime cold remedy on Spear Avenue in order to “get high,” and reported himself “tripping out.” He was hospitalized.
11:14 p.m. Just because one Valley West motel guest told another lodger he was going to “shoot him in the face,” the guest reported being threatened. In a face-saving move, police arrested the alleged threatener.
• Saturday, January 25 8:47 a.m. A man wearing a tarp as a shawl spat upon people in a 13th Street store. His presence was deemed undesirable.
9:51 a.m. An 11th Street resident left some size 11 boots on his prch, and they walked. He was more concerned about the intrusion on his property than the theft, since his neighbor;s home had just been burglarized.
12:50 a.m. The dog that belongs to the barefoot guy who lives in the green bus behind a Bayside Road church was again charging people and police officers.
1:12 p.m. Someone called to report a “heroin outbreak,” but wouldn’t give details.
2:52 p.m. A woman demanded that a J Street auto shop “priority” service her vehicle, and when refused, stormed out with the vehicle left sitting in the street. Police got the vehicle parked and warned the woman not to trespass at the shop.
5:08 p.m. A former tenant reportedly caused an argument with her ex-landlord on Shirley Boulevard, then “peeled out” and tried to run him over.
5:21 p.m. A woman said something named “Maria” was arguing with her boyfriend outside their L.K. Wood Boulevard apartment. He kept trying to get inside and away from her, and eventually did.
8:31 p.m. A large, travelerish-looking dude stole the tip jar from a Plaza Chinese restaurant.
• Sunday, January 26 2:01 a.m. Only visitors and drunks drive southbound on G Street, and this one was an example of the latter. He was arrested and taken to the hospital, where he refused a blood draw. The vehicle was towed.
2:40 p.m. A woman playing with her 12-year-old daughter pushed her off their couch, and the girl scratched her arm on a box. The woman was concerned that her ex, who has been hostile during child custody exchanges, would cite the scratch to support an allegation of abuse.
6:46 p.m. A dog-walking man in a long coat, white cowboy hat and booze-tinged breath yelled at a woman using the recycling bin at Stewart Park, alleging that she was dumping garbage. She wanted police to give him a talking-to.
