THURSDAY, JAN. 12
An officer reported to a residence for a report of a stolen vehicle. The reporting party advised that his work truck had been stolen from his driveway during the night. He said that the truck was worth approximately $30,000 and that there were approximately $10,000 worth of tools in the truck. When asked if the truck had been locked, the reporting party said no, and that he keeps the keys to the truck in the vehicles ashtray. While gathering information on the truck, another officer advised that the truck had been found undamaged, parked at a trailer in a nearby mobile home park, with the keys on the ground about 10 feet away from the truck. The reporting party looked through it and reported that all of the tools were still there. None of the tool boxes on the truck had been locked at the time it was stolen.
An officer responded to Walmart in reference to a stolen van. An employee who spoke with the officer said that when she went out to take her lunch break, she noticed it missing. She wasnt sure whether she had locked it or not, and the ignition switch in the vehicle did not lock so anyone could start it without a key. The officer viewed surveillance video of the parking lot and observed a person approach an adjacent parked car and try the door, which was apparently locked. The person continued to the next vehicle, which was the stolen van, and checked the door, then opened it and entered the van. Approximately one minute later, the headlights came on and the van drove away, heading westbound. The van was entered into a national database for stolen vehicles.
SATURDAY, JAN. 14
An officer was dispatched to a motel in reference to a disturbance. He was advised while on his way that officers had been dispatched six times in the past two weeks for disturbances involving the same person involved in this call. The officer spoke with a woman, an employee of the business, who told the officer that her daughter was out of control. The daughter, who stays at the motel, came into the lobby wanting to use the rest room. She was told no, and to use the rest room in her own room. The daughter said that she was going to use the office phone so she could talk to her recently-born daughter, who had been placed in the custody of the childs father. The father had been told by authorities not to accept phone calls or texts from the suspect. The mother asked her to leave, as this was her place of employment, and the daughter began to yell and scream obscenities at her, blaming her for everything that had happened to her. The mother attempted to reason with her, unsuccessfully. Another employee verified these events, and after the mother left with her grandson to avoid the confrontation, the daughter attempted to use the office phone again, and stormed out after she was stopped by the other employee. The officer contacted the daughter in her room, and arrested her for disturbing the peace.
SUNDAY, JAN. 15
While patrolling on Main St. in Cortez, an officer noticed a vehicle stopped at an intersection with a green light, with traffic becoming backed up behind it. The vehicle appeared to be broken down. The officer activated his flashing lights and contacted the driver, a female, who told him that her car would not go into gear. When asked to provide her drivers license, registration, and proof of insurance, the driver grabbed her purse off the passenger seat and opened it in her lap to look through it, and the officer saw two glass pipes commonly used for smoking marijuana in the purse along with a small clear plastic baggie. The female quickly put the purse back in the passenger seat. The officer asked her if she had a medical marijuana card, and she said that she did not. The officer told her to hand him the purse. She said that she had just recently bought the car from someone and had not had the registration changed over or obtained insurance yet. The empty plastic baggie had a sticker on it that appeared to be from a medical marijuana dispensary that said Budda Sister which is a type of marijuana. Both glass pipes had a similar look and smelled of burnt marijuana. The woman admitted ownership of one of the pipes and stated that she had found the baggie and the other pipe in Parque de Vida near the skate park that day and that she had taken the pipe so she could throw it and the items away.
An officer responded to City Market for a report of a person who had just stolen a shopping cart full of alcohol. A store employee had seen the man exiting the store pushing the cart with miscellaneous beverages in it. The man was located pushing the cart down an alley, and when he saw officers, he tipped over the cart, causing two bottles to begin leaking. The male was intoxicated and had urinated in his pants, and admitted that he had not paid for the items. The alcoholic beverages were brought back to the store. The items in the cart consisted of six four-packs of wine coolers, two six-packs of ale, two six-packs of hard lemonade, a 12-pack of beer, and another 18-pack of the same type of beer. The total value of the stolen recovered beverages is $91.28.
MONDAY, JAN. 16
An officer went to the lobby of the police department to speak with a reporting party in reference to a complaint of theft. He met with a restaurant owner who told him that there had been a theft from the restaurant by an employee. The crime occurred at the time the employee was closing the business for the night, and she took a 3 liter box of wine worth about $20. The business owner provided a DVD he had made of surveillance footage that shows the theft occurring; the suspect was the only employee in the business. He told the officer that he had already spoken with the employee who admitted the theft and said that she had intended to pay him for the wine. He said that he fired the employee and wanted to pursue charges for theft. The officer contacted the suspect, who told him that she took the wine because of stress and was intending to pay for the item. The officer issued her a summons for theft.
TUESDAY, JAN. 17
An officer contacted someone at a private residence in reference to missing prescription pills. The reporting party said that he had hosted a short get together at his house. There had been six or seven people over, and when the party was done he went to taken his evening medications, and found that two prescription bottles were missing. The reporting party had an idea of who might have taken them, but could not say for sure.
An officer spoke with a reporting party in reference to some missing items taken from a locker at the Rec Center. The person had only been at the Rec Center for about an hour, and during that time someone had gotten into his unlocked locker and had taken about $100 in cash from his wallet that had been left inside one of his shoes. The reporting party didnt understand why more things werent taken like his music player, credit cards, or his cell phone. The officer advised him that he couldnt answer that question, and that the incident would be documented.