Cold Case Justice
As many of you know, in January 2019, Lee Miller was arrested by Bremerton PD for the 1992 homicide of Marilyn Hickey. Miller just pled guilty to our murder and will be extradited to Boise to plead guilty to their 1993 murder. He is looking to spend the rest of his life behind bars in an Idaho prison. We recognize Detective Marty Garland for his outstanding work on this case. We'd also like to thank all detectives who helped by picking additional cases that allowed Detective Garland to focus and move this case forward. Well done! It took 27 years, but justice for Marilyn Hickey was served. Here is a news report on the case:
arrest in 27-year cold case. [Detective Sergeant Keith Sargent]
Poultry pitcher runs a-fowl of the law.
Officer Brock Gorang was dispatched to a malicious mischief call on the east side where a subject kicked a parked car and threw some fried chicken at a building. Why you ask? The world may never know. What puzzles me is why someone with a supply of Popeye's chicken would be angry. When I have Popeye's, it's like nirvana and the last thing I want to do is throw that chicken at a window. Am I right? Anyway, Officer Gorang arrested the chicken chucker for damaging the car. If there was a statute prohibiting the throwing of delectable fried chicken, he would have tacked that charge on too. It should be a felony. Officer Gorang wanted to make sure I put a pun involving the word "fowl" in the title so thank him for that one. [Sergeant Jeff Schaefer]
Getting in line to replace Sergeant Heffernan at SOG
Washington State Ferries (WSF) called to report a bag left behind on the last ferry of the night and a guy on the dock frantically trying to get back on board to retrieve it. Ferry workers thought the bag had drugs in it, but it wasn't reported initially why they thought this. I arrived at the Ferry terminal and met the passenger. He was evasive and didn't really seem to want to talk to me but said he left his Target shopping bag on the ferry. I got his name and, being the humble public servant I am, said that I'd be back in a jiffy with his sack. I went on board and contacted the ferry workers. They said they had found the bag left unattended when the passengers disembarked. A ferry worker opened the bag to determine if it was something hazardous. It was hazardous alright - to the tune of what later turned out to be about 8 ½ ounces of methamphetamines. They ferry boat staff called the police. I seized the product. As I returned to where the anxious passenger had been waiting, I saw him walk off toward the marina. I caught up with him and told him I had his bag. He didn't seem too interested in taking it back, which was fine because I wasn't going to give it to him anyway. He went to jail for possession of narcotics with intent to deliver. When questioned, he now suddenly claimed he didn't know anything about the bag...the Target bag...the one he told me he left behind on the ferry. [Sergeant J. Schaefer]
This is how you join the K-9 club?
Officer Chris Faidley asked Officer Brock Gorang to hold Esco's leash. I've heard this is part of the screening process for the K-9 handler position. Officer Gorang passed. The next phase involves a shovel and bucket over at Officer Faidley's house.
Donnybrook in Silverdale - or - Deputies put out the "Help" call.
KCSO requested back-up at for a chaotic domestic physical assault on Palmer Way in Silverdale. Deputies who first responded to the call got into a knock-down, drag-out with one of the intoxicated suspects who met them in the driveway, ready to fight. Deputies learned that an older subject who had recently been in the hospital with a heart condition, had supposedly collapsed inside the house. This was disproven when deputies went to check on him. He decided his heart was better and he was ready to fight as well. Bremerton PD, Poulsbo PD, and the Washington State Patrol arrived on scene. By this time, KCSO had the participants secured. BPD was kind enough to lend KCSO our padded helmet to facilitate a safe transport of one of the pugilists to the hospital and then to jail. [Corporal Jason Vertefeuille]
If you drink, drive, strike a pedestrian in a crosswalk and then flee, don't do it in front of a cop.
Officer Brandon Greenhill was on patrol when he heard a "thump" sound and someone yelling that they'd been hit by a car. He looked up to see a pedestrian on 6th Street had just been struck by a turning car from Park Avenue. It appeared that the car was going to pull over, but it instead kept going. Officer Greenhill said something to the effect of "Not on my watch!" and took off after the suspect. He pulled him over up the street and determined he was driving under the influence. Probably operating on adrenaline, the pedestrian ran up to the traffic stop to give a statement before being transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Officer Greenhill processed the driver for DUI and he was booked into jail for that and felony hit and run. [Sergeant J. Schaefer]
"Mutual texting combat"
Swing shift got all excited when a man called 911 to report that he "thought" a guy pulled a gun on him and made a threat. Officer Mitchell Chapman anchored the investigation while most of the other cops in town set up on the suspect's apartment. It was all for naught. Officer Mitchell figured out this was just a dispute over a vape pen that started via text message. It was unlikely that a gun was involved. The quote of the week goes to Officer Chapman who chalked the incident up to "mutual texting combat" in his report. Brilliant! The alleged gunman was later arrested on an outstanding juvenile warrant. [Sergeant J. Schaefer]
Sergeant's Office Space Foul
K-9 Loki committed a big faux pas when he made off with Sergeant Garrity's prized red Swingline stapler. The theft was all captured on film.
Don't nothin' bout nothin'
Close to 1 a.m. last week, Cencom broadcast that a WSP trooper had been in pursuit of a vehicle going 94 mph while traveling south on Highway 3 approaching Austin Drive. Ninety-Four miles per hour is not the speed limit on the highway or anywhere else. Cencom advised the trooper lost sight of the car at Austin Drive. Shortly thereafter, the vehicle was found parked at a flooring store in the 5400 block of Kitsap Way. Officers set up on the car when Officer Prouse heard rustling in the ravine behind the store. It wasn't immediately clear if the noise was caused by the rain, animals, or the suspect doing a poor job of trying to silently sneak away. After several minutes, the question was answered when a white shirt was spotted moving slowly through the bushes. When officers called out to the shirt, the suspect jumped up and tried to run away. The problem for him was that the area was now saturated with cops, so he didn't get very far. When he was caught, he tried to say his brother was driving, but he didn't know his brother's name. He had the keys to the car on him, but said his mysterious, unnamed brother, threw the keys to him. He lied about his name, but his fingerprints gave him away. He had a Robbery 1 warrant out of Pierce County. This was a good example of teamwork among agencies getting a bad guy off the streets. [Corporal J. Vertefeuille]
Maybe, start with dinner first.
A young Bremerton man met a woman on Facebook and decided to have a video chat with her. During the chat he was persuaded to, in his words, "do what teenage boys do." For the record, this young man was not a teen. When he was finished, the woman immediately began sending him text messages on messenger demanding he pay $500 or she would post the images to YouTube and Facebook. There was some discussion back and forth, because he does not have that kind of money on hand and he begged her not to send out the video. Then, just as quickly as this started, her profile disappeared and so did the messages; the only record he had was screen shots he took before her profile disappeared. At this point, it does not look like any embarrassing videos have been disclosed. [Corporal J. Vertefeuille]
Residential Burglar Captured Hiding in the Brush
It was a cold, dark, stormy night, just before 5 a.m. when a resident heard some crashing on the enclosed porch of her residence. At first, she thought it may have been a raccoon, but as the crashing and breaking continued, it became obvious someone was breaking into her house. The homeowner observed the suspect inside her enclosed patio, accessing her freezer before running into the woods surrounding the home. Corporal Jason Vertefeuille arrived on scene and, while he was investigating the first burglary, a neighbor began yelling. The suspect had attempted another burglary. Officer Chris Faidley and K-9 Esco were called to the scene. The track began, and the suspect was located only 6 minutes later! He was huddled down in some sticker bushes trying to hide from K-9 Esco. The suspect was given a chance to show his hands and surrender. He made the correct choice and Corporal Vertefeuille took him into custody. The suspect claimed he had just "fell" at the victim's residences, and he was not sure how he arrived there. He was booked into jail on charges of Burglary and Attempted Residential Burglary.
Couldn't Even Make It Back to the Office
An officer was conducting patrol checks behind the Super 8 motel when he stumbled upon a woman with a Department of Corrections (DOC) felony warrant. He promptly took her to jail, then returned to the city. As he was exiting the freeway at Kitsap Way, he came across yet another DOC felony warrant suspect. She had been sharing a purse with her friend, which contained a small amount of heroin and related drug paraphernalia. The officer hopped back on the freeway and took the second suspect back to jail. Unfortunately, he did not collect $200. [Sergeant Ryan Heffernan]
The patience of Job
Officer Bill Prouse was dispatched to a local motel for an unwanted person. A now former guest was being 86'd after she refused to stop smoking in the lobby and going into drunken Berserker mode. Officer Prouse escorted the unwanted guest to her room so she could pack her bags. About 20 minutes later, she called 911 and asked for a different officer. A supervisor responded and found Officer Prouse, who had the patience of watching the woman as she packed her bags. They were able to get her to leave the hotel and she was told not to come back. Aid crews were later called to the ferry for the woman after she and her box of wine had a disagreement. She was transported to the hospital. Hopefully she'll learn to make better life decisions.