Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Bad boys, bad boys 6/18/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 Philandering dirt biker? Probably not, police say By Jackson Holtz Herald Writer STANWOOD -- A Stanwood man was driven to settle a score over a dirt bike, a girl and alleged tire marks across his kitchen floor. Police believe the trouble was all a figment of his drug-fueled imagination. On Monday, police arrested the man, 25, after he allegedly confronted someone he believed rode a dirt bike through the kitchen of his Stanwood home and also was having an affair with his girlfriend. The victim told police he had never met the man before and doesn't know the woman, according to documents filed in Snohomish County Superior Court. Police could find no evidence that a bike was to blame for scuff marks on the suspect's kitchen floor. Instead, detectives believe a refrigerator pulled across the floor most likely made the marks, Stanwood Police Chief Dave Bales said. "People under the influence of alcohol and other drugs occasionally put two and two together and get five," Bales said. "I think that's probably what happened here." Police said the man drove up to a Stanwood home in the 27600 block of 73rd Avenue NW where he apparently believed a philandering dirt bike rider lived. He threatened the startled man who lives there with a baseball bat, saying, "We're going to settle this," the documents said. "The Twilight Zone just parked in (his) driveway," Stanwood police Sgt. Rob Palmer said. "You have a complete stranger show up and accuse him of some bizarre act." Police believe the suspect may have gone to the victim's home because of a white pickup truck parked in the driveway, similar to the truck driven by a man friendly with the suspect's girlfriend, the chief said. "This person looked as good as any … Someone who might be responsible for some of the things that were bothering him," Bales said. After threatening the man, the suspect left and returned a few moments later, this time without the bat. During the second visit, the suspect chased the man into the house. The frightened victim locked the door behind him. The suspect kicked the man's door in, again saying, "We're going to settle this." The suspect later told police someone drove a dirt bike through his living room, scraping doorways and leaving tire marks on the kitchen floor and "burnout marks" on his lawn, the documents said. "There's no evidence that indicated that the suspect's story had any merit at all," Bales said. Police inspected a dirt bike owned by the victim for fresh scrapes and signs of chipped paint, the documents said. Then they went to the suspect's home. Detectives found the aluminum baseball bat used to threaten the victim. The suspect was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of second-degree assault and second-degree burglary. "This was a real weird one to figure out," Palmer said. "His allegations are fantastic. The reality is that every indication we've got is that he just missed the boat on reality."

1. I-5 crash injures Washington State Patrol trooper 2. Map of Everett in 1893 a gift to Northwest Neighborhood residents 3. Marysville 's Electric Lights Parade goes dark 4. Lynnwood couple’s fight ends in woman’s arrest 5. Mill Creek church uses tattoos to teach 6. Does today’s Huskies-Cougars Apple Cup or Sunday’s Seahawks-Rams NFL game merit your attention? 7. Fire rips through Everett paintball arena 8. Contest inspired by ‘Biggest Loser' helps Mill Creek neighbors 9. Everett building rules may be loosened 10. Brown paper bags for fans 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Ruling in the pool • Holiday Lightings & Santa Sightings • Archbishop Murphy takes title • A season of performing arts • Budget numbers have official fuming • Wildcats move on to 2A semifinals • Holiday Bazaars & Fairs Calendar • Edmonds’ Westgate Chapel serves up hospitality for holiday • Mavericks fall • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million