Blown for a loop
CONIFER — Wildflower wasn’t expecting anything specific in the mail, but she always got something. When she got nothing on Nov. 5, she figured something was up. On the way to Wildflower’s residence, a JCSO deputy noted that about half the mailboxes in the neighborhood were hanging open, some stuffed with mail and others empty. Recalling that high winds had hammered the area the night before, the officer thought it possible the boxes had simply blown open, and that Wildflower was merely experiencing a momentary calm in her customary gale of mail. Finding no obvious evidence of theft, the deputy suggested that Wildflower might feel more comfortable with a locking mailbox.
Third time’s the harm
CONIFER — It was the afternoon of Nov. 9, and the elite ankle-biter academy was on lockdown. A staff member explained to arriving deputies that she’d received three suspicious calls and decided to err on the side of alarm. The first call was from a man, she said, but the connection was so poor she couldn’t get the straight of it. The same man explained the poor connection in the second call, saying “the phone line sounds this way because it’s a secured phone line.” In his third call, Mr. Mystery instructed her to “go into the office and shut the door.” Once satisfied that she’d complied, he told her that “depending on how you react depends on how I will treat the girls.” Not sure what he meant, but certain it was nothing good, she battened down the hatches and called 911. Officers were able to trace the calls as far as Louisiana before losing the connection altogether. Overall, deputies don’t suspect a credible threat, but resolved to step up the pace of their kiddie-campus patrols.
Dogs’ worst friend
SOUTH TURKEY CREEK – The complainant was relaxing at home on the morning of Nov. 9 when her dogs began “barking angrily” in the yard. Curious to know what the ruckus was about, she stuck her head out a window to observe an unfamiliar older gentleman in jogging attire walking her fence line and “teasing” the dogs as he went. “You’re on private property!” the complainant hollered. “And leave the dogs alone!” He responded by not responding, calmly continuing to stroll while “poking” at the pups with a one-foot section of metal pipe. Hurrying outside to confront the pet provoker directly, the complainant insisted he stop “antagonizing” the animals. “I hate barking dogs, and I can walk wherever I want,” he retorted. Perhaps tiring of his little game, he suddenly wanted to walk back to the road. “I hope I catch them outside,” he called back over his shoulder. “I will take care of them.” Knowing a threat when she heard one, the complainant called JCSO. Deputies are prepared to lodge both disorderly conduct and third-degree trespassing charges at such time as the doggie bedeviler’s identity is determined.
The boor next door
EVERGREEN — There’s no love lost between neighbors Taylor and Wilson. Taylor doesn’t like the constant flow of traffic “coming and going” at the Wilson place “at all hours.” Wilson doesn’t like Taylor getting in his business. When several of Wilson’s visitors blocked Taylor’s driveway on Nov. 8, Taylor reported the problem to JCSO, and deputies had a word with Wilson. Wilson fired back on Nov. 9, according to Taylor, by “yelling at my wife.” On Nov. 10, Taylor again called JCSO to express deep concerns about “ongoing issues” and “escalating confrontations” with Wilson. Taylor believes that Wilson is “dealing drugs” and asked for an “advocate” at the department who could advise him on dealing with Wilson. Lacking immediate cause to confront Wilson, deputies scheduled extra patrols of the neighborhood and advised Taylor to immediately report any future confrontations.