Kent Police arrested a man for investigation of illegal camping after they reportedly spotted him sleeping in a tent in the outfield of a city park.
The officers were on patrol at about 10:35 a.m. on March 17 when they saw a tent in left field at a city park in the 800 block of West Meeker Street, according to the police report.
The officers saw someone sleeping inside and announced for the man to come out of the tent. The man told officers he had found the tent the night before and didn’t know where else to go so he set it up in the ball field.
When one officer escorted the man to a police vehicle, the other officer yelled that the tent was on fire. The man had a camp stove on inside the tent. The stove fell onto a backpack that caught fire. The officer put out the fire but the contents inside the tent were destroyed.
Police discovered the man already had a trespass warning that banned him from city of Kent parks so they also arrested him for second-degree criminal trespass for the repeated violation.
Man drives without headlights
Officers arrested a man for investigation of negligent driving after he allegedly drove at night with the headlights off and crossed into oncoming lanes at about 2:14 a.m. on March 18.
An officer saw a vehicle, with its lights off, turn westbound on Southeast 240th Street in the 11400 block, according to the police report. The vehicle went into the oncoming lanes and nearly hit a eastbound car that had to stop suddenly.
The driver pulled into a 7-Eleven store parking lot. The officer noted the driver had bloodshot eyes. The man said he had four beers earlier at Sam’s Sports Bar. He passed the majority of the field sobriety tests.
The man told officers he was trying to track down a possible burglar he heard at East Hill Self Storage, 10625 S.E. 240th, where he lives and watches the property at night.
After police transported the man to the city jail, he told them he was going to call the mayor in the morning because he shouldn’t have been arrested.
Man steals dog collar
Police arrested a man for investigation of third-degree theft after he allegedly took a dog training collar and a circuit breaker on March 17 from Home Depot, 26120 104th Ave. S.E.
Officers responded to a shoplifting call that a man had taken items from Home Depot, exited the store without paying for the items and walked toward the Walgreens, according to the police report.
Officers looked inside the drug store for the man and a short while later found him outside the store. He had an electric dog training collar, valued at $105, and a circuit breaker, valued at $62, in a bag. He said he took the items because he needed them and couldn’t afford them. He later told police he knew it was wrong to take the items but he planned to sell them to get cash.
Man caught with drug items
Officers arrested a man for investigation of possession of drug paraphernalia after they responded to a report of man trying to break into a laundry room at about 2:28 p.m. on March 20 at an apartment complex in the 200 block of West James Street.
Officers found the man near the complex. The man had a glass pipe in his pocket with burnt residue with a white stain, according to the police report. The officer noted that it was the type of pipe used to smoke meth.
Police also discovered the man had a baggie of meth and $800 cash.
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