Kent man punches taxi driver after told to sit in the back seat | Police Blotter

Published 4:08 pm Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Kent Police arrested a man for investigation of fourth-degree assault after he reportedly punched a taxi cab driver in the face after the driver refused to let him sit in the front seat.

The incident occurred Sept. 9 outside of the Days Inn, 1711 W. Meeker St., according to the police report.

A taxi driver told officers he drove to the hotel to pick up a man named Mike, who appeared very drunk and wanted to sit up front in the cab. The driver told him to sit in the back.

After the man entered the cab, he allegedly continued to complain about sitting in the back and then punched the driver in the face about four times. The driver got out of the car and called 911. The passenger got out of the cab and fled the scene. Officers noted the driver had blood running down his face and a swollen lip.

The man had given the driver a destination address in Kent. Officers went to that home and stopped a man walking near the home who matched the description.

During an interview with officers, the man said he tried to do the right thing by taking a cab home because he had been drinking. He claimed the driver was rude to him and tried to hit him so he hit back.

Drugs

Officers arrested a man for investigation of possession of a legend drug (Hydrocondone) and possession of drug paraphernalia after they spotted him sitting in a Cadillac at about 10:33 p.m. Sept. 7 at an apartment parking lot in the 1100 block of West James Street.

Officers saw two people in the car who appeared to be passing something back and forth when they went to the apartment complex to investigate a burglary, according to the police report.

Both the driver and passenger had warrants, so police had them step out of the car and arrested them. Officers saw a case inside the car with a glass pipe in it. An officer had his drug-sniffing police dog search the car and the dog placed his nose at the driver’s door seam and gave a positive alert sign by sitting.

Police decided to seize the vehicle and obtained a search warrant from a judge. The search turned up a glass pipe, about 2 grams of crystal meth and four Hydrocondone pills, a prescription narcotic.

Theft

Police arrested a man for investigation of third-degree theft after he allegedly stole several food items Sept. 8 from the Fred Meyer store, 25250 Pacific Highway S., on the West Hill.

Store loss prevention officers had watched the man place several food items in a shopping cart and then go to a bedding aisle where he placed a comforter over the items before placing them in an re-useable shopping bag, according to the police report.

The man then left the store with no attempt to pay for the food items. Store security stopped the man outside of the store and called police.

When asked by an officer if he came into the store to shoplift items, the man replied, “Yes, I did.”

Drug paraphernalia

Officers arrested a woman for investigation of possession of drug paraphernalia after they responded at about 7:38 p.m. Sept. 7 to a report of an intoxicated subject at a bar in the 100 block of Railroad Avenue North.

The woman had aggressively asked customers for money and cigarettes before she left the bar, according to the police report.

Officers stopped the woman at a gazebo across from the bar. Police discovered a glass pipe on the woman, the type often used to smoke meth.