Kent officer cites pair for illegal camping at East Hill park | Police Blotter

Kent Police cited two people for investigation of illegal camping at an East Hill park after the pair refused to leave and littered the area with human feces, toilet paper, beer cans and other items.

An officer visited Morrill Meadows Park, 10600 S.E. 248th St., on Sept. 4 to follow up an Aug. 22 visit when he saw tents in the northwest corner of the park and lots of litter, according to the police report.

The officer asked the Parks Department to clean up the area but park employees later refused to clean it up because of all the human feces. They recommended the officer contact the city jail for its inmate program that cleans up transient sites.

The officer found two people at the camp Aug. 23. He recognized them from past contacts. He told them no camping was allowed on city property and gave them a week to pack up and move. The two said they would move.

But when the officer returned to the park with city jail staff the two were still in the tent and said they hadn’t finished packing. The officer gave them one hour to leave because the area needed to be cleaned up.

When the two people were still there an hour later, the officer cited them for illegal camping.

Police also had received reports last year of illegal camping at the park.

Assault

Officers arrested a man for investigation of fourth-degree assault and harassment after he allegedly grabbed his girlfriend by the hair, threw her to the ground and punched her numerous times over a period of about three hours.

The incident occurred at about 5:19 a.m. Sept. 4 at a house in the 10700 block of Southeast 216th St., according to the police report.

The girlfriend called 911 and whispered that she needed the police and confirmed her address before hanging up.

Officers found out from the woman that she had dated the man for about two years and they had two young children together. She said she had been out celebrating her birthday with her sister and her boyfriend became angry because she came home so late.

The woman said her boyfriend grabbed her hair, threw her to the ground and punched her with an open palm as well as his fists. She added that he tossed her around the house for about three hours. He also threatened her because she did not answer her phone during the time she was out with her sister.

When questioned by police, the boyfriend said they had just been arguing. He said his girlfriend got hurt when she fell.

Drugs

Police cited a woman for investigation of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia after officers checked out a car parked at about 11:41 p.m. Sept. 1 in the parking lot of McDonald’s in the 10700 block of Southeast 240th Street.

Officers noted that the area is a known area for drug dealing so they walked up to the car with fogged-up windows to investigate, according to the police report.

An officer shined his flashlight into the car and saw four people in the vehicle. He also reportedly smelled marijuana. The four said they had just gotten off work.

One woman had a small plastic bag with green leafy material inside. Officers later tested the material which turned out to be 0.3 grams of marijuana. The woman also had a smoking device known as a bubbler in the car. The device is used to smoke marijuana.

Police told the woman she would receive a court date in the mail. The other three people were released without any citations.

Vehicle prowl

Officers arrested two men for investigation of vehicle prowl and obstructing after an incident at about 11:51 p.m. Sept. 3 near 122nd Place Southeast and Southeast 256th Street.

A passerby spotted three people near a vehicle and called 911 to report suspicious activity, according to the police report.

When officers arrived, two men took off running from the vehicle. A K-9 unit helped track down two men in the bushes along a Greenbelt near the parked car. Officers ordered the two men to the ground by gunpoint after the men refused to come out when ordered.

One man admitted they had opened a car door to look inside the vehicle when a passerby asked them what they were doing. The men initially told officers they were drinking and ran because they weren’t 21 yet.

Harassment

Police arrested two men for investigation of disorderly conduct after they reportedly threatened security personnel at about 2 a.m. Sept. 2 outside Jimmy T’s Bar and Grill, 23803 104th Ave. S.E.

A security officer waved down a nearby police officer because two men were making verbal threats to security personnel, according to the police report.

When police came over to the parking lot, they heard two men yelling threats. The men initially refused to stop when the officer got out of his patrol car. They stopped walking away when the officer drew his Taser and aimed it at the men.