Feb. 6 — An officer investigated when an apartment resident on the 1100 block of Pacific Avenue N reported she arrived home after being gone several hours and found her doorknob appeared damaged, as if someone had tried to gain access. The doorknob and dead bolt were still locked and nothing in the apartment appeared to be missing or out of place. The officer documented the reported damage in case it is needed at a later date.

An officer checked out a second-hand report of a male subject walking up and down 14th Street NW yelling, but was unable to locate anyone yelling. A person near the scene said he was just going for a walk on the beach and that the person who was yelling had already left and was heading toward Pacific Avenue.

Feb. 9 — At the intersection of Main Street and First Avenue in Ilwaco an officer investigated a report of a disorderly male and female throwing their belongings in the parking lot. The male stated that a person he identified tried to puncture [redacted]’s tires with a knife and then went after him and may have “nicked” him. Witnesses stated that the subject beat on the male but did not see a weapon or see the female subject try slit his tires. The male subject who told officers there was a “knife” left before the officer could speak with him. In the end, the couple were told they were free to leave and were told to leave Ilwaco and “if we had to contact them again someone would be getting arrested.”

Feb. 10 — A person at the downtown Long Beach Supermart reported that as a few male subjects were leaving the store they threatened to kill him and he was worried they would return. When the officer arrived the person further explained that the male subjects, who he believed were in the Aryan Brotherhood and driving a white Crown Vic, said that the brother of someone named [redacted] wanted him dead, not the actual subjects he heard talking. The person himself had two misdemeanor warrants and a DUI warrant, however the officer told him that “the jail would likely not take on it.” He said he was afraid and homeless and had nowhere to go, and asked for a ride to a friend’s place at Driftwood RV Park that might let him stay over. The officer gave him a courtesy transport to the trailer park. “It should also be noted that I had been inside Supermart just a few minutes prior and I did not see any subjects or cars that I said he saw,” the officer said. Later, the person claimed the same car showed up at the trailer park. “He said he wanted to leave the trailer park and asked for a ride but would not tell me where. I told him that I already provided him with one ride and that we’re not a taxi service.”

Donald J. Garber, 41 and homeless, was booked on two misdemeanor warrants after refusing to leave a residence at Driftwood RV Park. “While I was en route, dispatch told me that Garber had a DUI and four assault domestic violence warrants. I then had dispatch ask the jail if they would take on the warrants and they agreed given Garber’s frequent calls throughout the night. When I arrived, Garber immediately came out to my car and put his hands in the air. I placed him into handcuffs and told him I was arresting him on his warrants. He told me that his friend did not let him stay so he went to his mother’s trailer instead. He said that he grabbed a knife to protect himself and laid on the ground. Garber told me that he believed his mother was going to lie to me and tell me that Garber threatened her. Garber kept repeating himself over and over that he was never going to hurt anyone and just wanted to protect himself from the people he thought was following him. I spoke with [the reporting party] and she told me that Garber did have a knife but did not make any threats or hold the knife in a threatening manner and when she asked him to give her the knife he did.”

At about 4:30 p.m. officers responded to a report of a vehicle fire at the intersection of 2nd St. NE and Oregon Ave. N. Multiple callers reported an unoccupied 2001 Chevrolet Silverado was on fire near the KeyBank. The cab of the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames at the time. After officers blocked north- and southbound traffic on Oregon Avenue, an officer attempted to extinguish the fire with his fire extinguisher “but it was completely worthless for the severity of the fire. An engine from the Long Beach Volunteer Fire Department arrived minutes later and extinguished the fire in approximately 10 minutes.” The owner was located and uninjured, and was able to exit the vehicle before it caught fire. He said he left his residence and drove to the Supermart to purchase cigarettes. After pressing his cigarette lighter, he noticed white colored smoke coming out of the air vents on his dash. He immediately pulled over into the vacant lot north of the KeyBank, shut off and exited the vehicle, and opened the hood to disconnect the negative battery terminal. Shortly after, the smoke increased from under the hood and the vehicle caught fire from somewhere underneath the dash near the floor boards. The officer was able to retrieve his wallet from the vehicle before it was completely engulfed.