Raid uncovers 150 marijuana plants in Issaquah home
December 4, 2012
Police discovered more than 150 marijuana plants during a raid on a downtown Issaquah home, and later arrested a 52-year-old man involved in the grow operation.
Officers surrounded a home in the 100 block of Northwest Dogwood Street at about 11:30 a.m. Nov. 20 to serve a search warrant. Police called for occupants to come outside and, after officers realized the home was empty, entered the building and discovered the plants.
Issaquah Police Cmdr. Scott Behrbaum said charges have not been filed against the man arrested in the incident and the investigation is ongoing.
Police raid marijuana operation in downtown Issaquah home
November 28, 2012
NEW — 11:55 a.m. Nov. 28, 2012
Police discovered more than 150 marijuana plants during a raid on a downtown Issaquah home, and later arrested a 52-year-old man involved in the grow operation.
Officers surrounded a home in the 100 block of Northwest Dogwood Street at about 11:30 a.m. Nov. 20 to serve a search warrant. Police called for occupants to come outside and, after officers realized the home was empty, entered the building and discovered the plants.
Issaquah Police Cmdr. Scott Behrbaum said charges have not been filed against the man arrested in the incident. The investigation is ongoing.
Behrbaum said the grow operation was connected to a medical marijuana operation based in Seattle.
Issaquah police plan no immediate changes after Initiative 502 legalizes marijuana
November 13, 2012
In a milestone, Initiative 502 legalized marijuana for recreational use among adults 21 and older in Washington.
In the days after the measure passed, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg dismissed 175 cases involving people 21 and older for possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana.
The law outlined in I-502 is scheduled to take effect Dec. 6. Meanwhile, Washington Liquor Control Board officials must formulate rules to grow, sell, tax and regulate marijuana.
Investigation into Skyline threat continues as attendance drops elsewhere
September 20, 2012
UPDATED — 5 p.m. Sept. 20, 2012
Police continue to investigate a shooting threat against students at Skyline High School, as attendance at other Issaquah School District campuses — particularly Sammamish Plateau schools near Skyline — declined Thursday.
District administrators announced a decision late Wednesday to close Skyline after a threat made online targeted the school for a mass shooting. The district kept all other schools open.
Skyline also canceled all extracurricular activities and school athletics events scheduled for Thursday.
Sammamish Police Administrative Sgt. Jessica Sullivan said police continue to follow several leads on the identity of the user behind the threat posted Wednesday on the online bulletin board 4chan. Investigators have not yet been able to determine if the user is a Skyline student.
Issaquah Police Department seeks residents’ help to curb burglaries
August 7, 2012
Police increased patrols in Issaquah neighborhoods in recent weeks as officers work to curb residential burglaries, particularly daytime incidents.
The stepped-up patrols and public outreach campaign started last month, and officials credited the effort in a recent arrest connected to a string of burglaries.
Issaquah officers responded to 53 burglaries — 33 residential and 20 commercial — between January and July. In the same period last year, police responded to 47 burglaries — 30 commercial and 17 commercial.
Police responded to 107 burglaries overall in Issaquah last year and 101 burglaries in 2010, according to the annual Crime in Washington report compiled by the Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs and the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.
Issaquah police officers earn top law enforcement honor
May 8, 2012
Officer Jesse Petersen, Cpl. Christian Munoz, and officers Brian Horn and Laura Asbell (from left) stand at the Washington Law Enforcement Memorial after receiving the Law Enforcement Medal of Honor in a May 4 ceremony in Olympia. By Jacqueline Kerness/Issaquah Police Department
In a solemn ceremony not far from the state Capitol, Gov. Chris Gregoire slipped a Law Enforcement Medal of Honor around the necks of police officers involved in a deadly September 2011 shootout at Clark Elementary School.
Police endure icy plunge for Special Olympics fundraiser
March 6, 2012
Kasey Keller, a Special Olympics Washington board member and former Seattle Sounders FC player, emerges from Lake Union at the Polar Plunge on Feb. 11. By Rod Mar/Special Olympics
The temperature in Lake Union held steady at 41 degrees, but the chill did not stop Issaquah police officers and police department employees from a dip on a gray February day.
The police department descended on a stretch of shoreline along the Seattle lake Feb. 11 for the Polar Plunge, a frigid fundraiser for Special Olympics Washington. Combined, Issaquah officers and department employees raised about $1,000 for the nonprofit organization.
Police Communications Specialist Jacqueline Kerness rounded up more colleagues for the February event for the Polar Plunge after she and coworkers dipped into Puget Sound for the 2011 endurance test.
“It was a moment of shock for a good cause,” she said. “It’s something easy to do to raise funds for a lot of people.”
Issaquah Police Department targets holiday shopping grinches
November 22, 2011
NEW — 9:40 a.m. Nov. 22, 2011
Black Friday means bargains galore for shoppers — and tempting targets for thieves.
Issaquah police officers plan to head out in patrol cruisers and on foot Friday and throughout the holiday season to search for prowlers and remind shoppers not to leave valuables out in the open.
“During the holidays, parking lots can be very enticing to prowlers looking for quick and easy targets,” Police Chief Paul Ayers said. “We’re hoping these extra patrols will remind our shoppers to protect their property.”
Homecoming party bus incident leads to charges, suspensions
November 1, 2011
Teenagers drinking beer and liquor on a party bus headed for the Issaquah High School homecoming dance led to student suspensions and charges against the bus driver after the Oct. 22 event.
Issaquah High School administrators suspended nine students for alcohol infractions in connection to the party bus incident. Police and school administrators started investigating the incident after intoxicated students arrived at the homecoming dance.
The bus driver, a 49-year-old Auburn woman, faces charges in Issaquah Municipal Court for furnishing liquor to minors and reckless endangerment — both gross misdemeanors punishable by up to one year imprisonment and a fine of up to $5,000.
Police said students aboard the bus — rented from Seattle Party Bus, a bus and limousine service — convinced the driver to purchase alcohol for them and collected money for the purchases.
Investigators said the driver then headed to the state-run liquor store in Issaquah, along Northwest Gilman Boulevard, and purchased beer and liquor for the underage riders just before 6 p.m. Oct. 22.
Police said about 20 students rode the bus to homecoming at the school’s downtown Issaquah campus. The driver did not consume alcohol, Issaquah Police Patrol Cmdr. Scott Behrbaum said.
Later, at the dance, officers and school administrators encountered intoxicated students from the party bus.
Owner: Issaquah party bus drinking violation is ‘isolated incident’
October 28, 2011
NEW — 1 p.m. Oct. 28, 2011
Hours after Issaquah police recommended charges against a party bus driver accused of purchasing booze for teenagers, the bus’ owner said the violation is “an isolated incident” for the company.
The party bus driver, a 49-year-old Auburn woman, faces charges in Issaquah Municipal Court of furnishing liquor to minors and reckless endangerment — both gross misdemeanors punishable by up to one year imprisonment and a fine of up to $5,000.
Issaquah High School administrators suspended nine students for alcohol infractions in connection to the party bus incident. Police and school administrators started investigating the incident after intoxicated students arrived at the Oct. 22 homecoming dance.
