Sammamish Police Blotter: K9 Unit Finds Possible 'Bath Salts' at Eastlake, $10,000 Embezzled from Mail Post

A 27-year-old man is being investigated for embezzling $10,000 from the Mail Post in Sammamish. According to a Nov. 21 Sammamish Police report, the man worked at the Mail Post in Sammamish for 5 years, recently, the owner looked over receipts and believed the person had embezzled some $10,000 from the business by ringing up customers on the till, then voiding the receipts and using a person square device to charge the customers’ credit cards into a personal account for himself via an attachment to his mobile phone.

Customers began to complain about being double charged, as the manager would see that the work was done, but not paid for and charge the customer for the job, then the customer would complain they had been charged twice. When confronted, the employee sign an admission of guilt typed up by the storeowner and was fired.

Thursday, Nov. 15

Sammamish man crashes into tree: A 21-year-old Sammamish man faces DUI and reckless driving charges after he crashed a 1994 Toyota Camry into a tree around 4:20 p.m. on the 26600 block of SE 22Way.  The visibility was poor due to heavy fog, but the driver was apparently drunk, and he blew a .301 PBT at the scene; and later two Breathalyzer samples of .274 and .280.

Friday, Nov. 16

New twist on package theft: A woman returned home to the 4700 block of 225th Ave SE, to find that the boxes four items she had ordered had been opened an their contents removed, and the empty box from a theft nearby also was left on her porch.

Saturday, Nov 17

We don’t need no stinkin’ pizza: Someone threw pizza at the garage and front door of a Sammamish home on the 2000 block of 211 Pl SE. The victim reported the incident to police, but did not request officers come out to take a report. Another family reported a similar crime, with Costco pizza strewn about their driveway and pizza sauce smeared on their garage door, at the 1900 block of 211th Ave SE

Sunday, Nov. 18

Imaginary Friend Responsible in DUI: A 29-year-old Sammamish man was arrested for DUI after police found him by his pickup in a ditch on Sahalee way about 5:20 p.m. on Nov. 18.  The man said his friend had been driving and left an open can of Budweiser in the truck bed, but the man claimed that his friend had been driving when it ran off the roadway. He didn’t know his friend’s address or phone number, and he was slurring his speech and having difficulty standing without holding onto the truck. He declined to take field sobriety tests, telling police he would not pass them. He took a Breathalyzer later and blew a .177 and a .173. He later admitted he had been driving the pickup, and said he had drunk 40 cans of beer since 7 p.m. the previous evening.

Monday, Nov 19

Vandalism at Lower Commons Park: Someone damaged a glass cover and bulb for a streetlight and 9 metal covers for the electrical outlets on light poles at lower commons park, a cost of about $850. The damage occurred sometime over the weekend.

Tuesday, Nov. 20

Adirondack Chairs stolen: Someone stole four Adirondack chairs worth a total of about $450 from a dock at the 2700 block of 22 Ave SE.

Stolen excavator recovered: A man was driving behind a white truck, pulling a trailer that he believed was carrying his stolen excavator. The man said he knew who the driver was, and that he was known for stealing heavy construction equipment. Officers stopped the truck near the taco time at 228th street, and the driver at first told them the machine was his, and then said he picked up the excavator in Hoodsport WA for a private job in Sammamish (he works at GCS in Renton).  Then later, he said he was renting to own the equipment from Gierke Equipment, but the numbers he gave police led to wrong numbers. Police then determined he was the suspect in a number of excavator thefts. It turned out that the excavator didn’t belong to the person who first reported it, but had been stolen from Plats Plus construction in Redmond in July. The office in Renton where the driver told police he had the paperwork stored does not exist in Renton.

Possible “Bath Salts” found by K9 at Eastlake High School: On Nov. 19, Eastlake High School conducted a narcotics search of designated classrooms. A K9 unit reacted to a backpack in one of the rooms, and officials discovered two capsules containing an unknown substance. The field test turned up negative, but two days earlier, the school resource officer contacted a student who admitted being high on marijuana, and recovered more than 40 empty capsules from that student’s backpack. The officer was concerned the substance could be a synthetic cannabis known as spice or bath salt, which can produce hallucinations. The pills were sent to the state crime lab for analysis.

Vandalism: A man living on the 21000 block of NE 42nd Street had the rear window smashed out of his car, but nothing appeared to be disturbed and it was unclear how it was done.

Saturday, Nov. 24

Elderly woman burglarized, caregivers questioned: A 73-year-old Sammamish woman reported to police that she was missing several pieces of jewelry, worth a total of about $1,800. The woman had removed the jewelry for several days while she was hospitalized in October, and she’s been receiving in home care from Accent Care due to her illness. One of the aid workers at the house during the police investigation appeared nervous, and police called the employer. One of the caregivers had recently pawned two gold rings and a chain with a pendant at a pawnshop in Burien, which put the items on police hold. Police are still investigating, and no arrests had been made at the time of the report.

Sunday, Nov. 25

Welcome to Sammamish sign vandalized: A man called police to report that he was on his way home shortly after midnight and saw a group of people vandalizing a city sign. Police saw the Welcome to Sammamish sign at SE Issaquah Beaver Lake Road and E Beaver torn off the pole. Police stopped a group of people, who said they were walking home from a bar in Klahanie, and denied vandalizing the sing. Police called the reporting party, but he said he would not be able to positively identify anyone, so the group was allowed to go on.