Prosecutors said a 31-year-old man attempted to break into a Northwest Gilman Boulevard coffee stand and then masturbated outside as terrified employees called police.

Preston resident Samuel K. McDonough faces a felony indecent exposure charge for the Feb. 2 incident. Police also arrested McDonough for indecent exposure in 2006, 2008 and last year.

Prosecutors said the latest incident occurred at about 8:30 a.m. at the BigFoot Java stand, 736 N.W. Gilman Blvd. The two female employees said McDonough purchased a drink and then asked to use the restroom inside the drive-thru coffee stand, court documents state.

The women refused to allow the man to enter. Then, he sat outside and started blowing kisses at the employees.

McDonough then sat outside the stand and started masturbating, court documents continue. Prosecutors said one employee noticed the man sitting on a chair outside and staring inside the stand during the incident.

Then, as the employees hid inside the stand, McDonough approached the door again and attempted to go inside, but could not get past the locked door.

Police said one employee said the incident left her feeling ill and “overwhelmingly violated.” The other employee told police she feared for her safety, and added, “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

Issaquah police arrived soon after and arrested McDonough after a coffee stand employee pointed him out to officers. Prosecutors said he told police he acted “inappropriately” and he “shouldn’t have done it,” but did not admit to masturbating outside the coffee stand.

Later, as McDonough sat inside a holding cell at the Issaquah Jail, female dispatches monitoring the cell said he started masturbating again.

The court also imposed a no-contact order among McDonough, BigFoot Java in Issaquah and the coffee stand employees.

McDonough remains in the King County Jail on $50,000 bail. He is due in King County Superior Court for arraignment Feb. 16.

But, contrary to rumors, the thieves did not cause extensive damage or make off with enough in stolen goods that AtWork! clients lost any work, according to CEO Chris Brandt.

Based in Bellevue, AtWork! serves persons with special needs, aiding them with finding employment or providing them with employment.

Police reports show that on the morning of Jan. 23, AtWork! officials reported someone cut the wires on three machines at the Issaquah AtWork! facility, Issaquah Police Patrol Sgt. Bob Porter said. Police reports further said about 200 feet of wire was taken. Police put the value of the theft at about $1,500; Brandt said that was roughly the cost of repairs.

The AtWork! facility was then the victim of another crime. At about 12:30 a.m. Jan. 28, police arrested two people who allegedly were attempting to leave At Work! with various computer parts, Porter said. The two were charged with obstructing justice and third-degree theft.

The suspects are a Redmond man, 44, and a transient woman, 46. Police were alerted to the scene by a call from a resident, whom Porter praised. Officers have been giving the area around the recycling center extra attention, he said, but added police obviously can’t be everywhere at all times.

Following the earlier incident, the damage to AtWork! equipment was repaired quickly, Brandt said. The facility was never closed because of the incident, she said. The incident reported Jan. 23 was not the first time the AtWork! recycling center has been the target of criminals, she added.

“None of the incidents were significant enough to hurt the operations of the center,” Brandt said.

Center officials now are looking at ways to quickly beef up surveillance and security at the site.

Tom Corrigan: 392-6434, ext. 241, or tcorrigan@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Expect to see extra police cruisers on roads in Issaquah and King County as officers look for impaired drivers on Super Bowl Sunday.

The evening of the Super Bowl game is historically a dangerous time on Washington roads due to the high number of people driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Police in Issaquah plan to participate in the anti-DUI blitz. Officers in nearby cities and Washington State Patrol troopers plan to participate, too.

“Make the right call and choose a safe ride home this weekend,” Dr. David Fleming, director and health officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County, in the statement. “Before your party begins, designate a sober driver, ride the bus or take a cab.”

Half of all traffic deaths in Washington state on the Super Bowl evening involved impaired drivers. Since 2009, police arrested 191 people for DUI on Super Bowl Sunday in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.

“We want to get the word out so people can make safe choices this Sunday,” John Cheesman, chief of the Fircrest Police Department and chairman of the Tacoma Pierce County DUI and Traffic Safety Task Force, said in a statement. “Watching the Super Bowl and all the commercials is a lot of fun, but when the game is over, fans who have been drinking need to make sure they don’t get behind the wheel.”

The application from the nonprofit medical marijuana operation, GreenLink Collective, came after planners, officials and residents crafted a medical marijuana ordinance designed to balance public safety concerns and patients’ access to the drug.

GreenLink organizers applied to occupy units E, F and G in a commercial building at 160 N.W. Gilman Blvd. The organization does not intend to grow marijuana in the space. GreenLink founders Jake and Lydia George applied for the license on behalf of the organization Dec. 19, the day the ordinance took effect.

The facility is proposed as a place to process and deliver medical marijuana to qualified patients, offer classes and information, and sell supplies for people to produce and consume marijuana under the framework of state law.

Organizers said medical marijuana deliveries should not be visible from public spaces, in order to meet city code.

The code requires a 1,000-foot buffer between a collective garden and a community center, school or another collective garden. The rules set a 500-foot buffer between a collective garden and park, preschool or daycare center. The ordinance also established a limit of a single collective garden per site.

In addition, applicants for a collective garden safety license through the city must undergo a background check by the Issaquah Police Department. The city can deny applications to people convicted of a felony drug law violation in the past 10 years.

If the city approves the application, GreenLink operators must install a security system and cameras onsite.

The collective opened in late 2010 at a former daycare center near Issaquah Valley Elementary School in a neighborhood not zoned for commercial operations. Though advocates said nonprofit status afforded the medical marijuana operation some flexibility, officials ruled against GreenLink’s initial application for a city business license.

The decision launched a monthslong process to set rules for medical marijuana operations in Issaquah.

In June, council members imposed a moratorium on collective gardens as local and state officials scrambled to ease patient access to medical marijuana. Changes in state law for medical marijuana also shifted early last year. Still, city officials upheld the moratorium in July to allow planners additional time to formulate rules for medical marijuana operations.

Patients using GreenLink for access to medical marijuana offered emotional testimony throughout the process. The city received few complaints about the proposed ordinance.

Though marijuana remains illegal under federal law, enforcing state-level medical marijuana laws is left to local and state law enforcement officers, despite the obvious conflict between state and federal regulations.

Washington Initiative 692, passed in 1998, allows people suffering from certain medical conditions to possess a 60-day supply of marijuana. Under state law, physicians can recommend — but not prescribe — the drug for patients.

Washington law allows up to 10 qualifying patients to join together and form a collective garden of up to 45 plants, so long as the marijuana is not visible from public spaces.

The voter-approved state law permits medical uses for patients suffering from debilitating conditions, such as AIDS and cancer. Washington and 15 other states — plus Washington, D.C. — allow health care providers to authorize medical marijuana as a treatment.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

The potential for more snow — plus flooding as the snow melted — reminded emergency planners to gird for harsh La Niña conditions, albeit later in the season than expected.

“It’s going to be pretty messy in the next couple of days,” said Johnny Burg, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Seattle. “People should just pay attention to the forecast.”

The forecast could change, of course, but meteorologists predicted additional snow in the days ahead. Then, urban flooding along streets could occur as the snow starts to melt, perhaps later in the week.

“Usually, we try to get things nailed down within the next 48 hours,” Burg said. “Anything beyond that, really, the accuracy kind of falls off. It all depends on if the models are all in agreement and if the models are doing well.”

The city Public Works Operations Department and King County Road Services Division start to dispatch crews to plow and sand slushy roadways as snow materializes. Crews may also apply de-icing material to major arterial streets and bridges. Sometimes, city crews stage equipment along major roadways if snow is certain to fall.

The city focuses on high-priority, hillside routes — such as Highlands Drive Northeast, Mountain Park Boulevard Southwest, Northwest Talus Drive and Southeast Issaquah-Fall City Road — to maintain access to Issaquah hillside communities and the Sammamish Plateau amid inclement conditions.

Officials also reminded motorists to pay special attention to bridges and overpasses, because both can be more prone to freeze during late night and early morning hours. So, drivers should be on the lookout for black ice, as well as snow.

Unlike snowstorms in 2010 and 2011 — including a pre-Thanksgiving 2010 nightmare responsible for transportation gridlock throughout the region — officials said this snowstorm did not cause as many headaches, at least in the initial days. Issaquah police did not encounter vehicles abandoned en masse at the base of steep hills after the Jan. 15 snowstorm — a change from past incidents.

“It’s been really quiet on the roads,” said Communications Coordinator Autumn Monahan, the city official responsible for disseminating information to the public during snowstorms and other emergencies. “I think people have either been staying at home or being prepared and checking their routes before they leave.”

Planners credited residents for preparing for inclement conditions and opting to ride out the snowstorm at home rather than attempt a commute to the office. Some commuters encountered a smoother ride because the Issaquah School District and many government offices closed Jan. 16 for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

“Traffic has been very light because it’s a holiday weekend — and that really helps,” Monahan said.

La Niña poses challenge

Sara Niegowski, Issaquah School District spokeswoman, said officials prepared early for possible cancellations or delays related to inclement conditions. The district did not need to cancel or delay classes due to weather during the 2011-12 school year through Jan. 16.

“We’re very, very happy with that,” Niegowski said. “We know it’s bound to catch up with us at some point. In the past couple years, it’s been hitting us in November. For January, this is not too bad.”

Issaquah, King County and state Department of Transportation crews toiled around the clock to clear streets, and to dump sand and apply de-icing fluid to roadways. (The holiday weekend did not affect staffing levels for snow-response crews.)

“We encourage people to take major arterials, or to get onto a major arterial as soon as they can, because they’re the ones that will be cleared first,” Monahan said.

King County crews started responding to snow and ice on roadways in north areas of the county the afternoon of Jan. 14, and by early the next day, officials placed all crews on 12-hour shifts to conduct around-the-clock snow and ice operations countywide. Officials placed about 150 county maintenance staffers on snow duty.

The county focuses on major roadways during regional snowstorms. The setup could mean less attention on neighborhood streets and closures for steep roads.

In inclement conditions, the Issaquah School District’s transportation team fans out on roads across the district before 4 a.m. to assess conditions. The team focuses on the most treacherous areas in the sprawling district. (The district stretches from Preston to Newcastle, and from Sammamish to Renton.)

The team then relays the information to district officials. Superintendent Steve Rasmussen then makes the decision to cancel or delay school.

“If it’s something really obvious, we’ll try to make the decision the night before,” Niegowski said. “But if it’s something where the weather might change, it might drop off and there’s still a question, I think people have got to get up in the morning and just start driving the roads.”

If the district cancels school, officials built in days throughout the school year to accommodate possible snow days.

“We like it when they don’t occur, but we’re ready when they do,” Niegowski said.

Meteorologists said harsh conditions could continue due to La Niña. The phenomenon means unusually cold temperatures in the Pacific Ocean near South America — and colder-than-normal temperatures and greater-than-normal rain and snowfall in Western Washington.

The double whammy from significant snowfall, rain and subsequent snowmelt could cause flooding along Issaquah streets. Monahan said city crews prepared for flood response in addition to snow removal.

La Niña is considered the opposite of El Niño — a phenomenon defined by unusually warm temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. In the Pacific Northwest, El Niño tends to mean drier winters. (Meteorologists use data collected at Sea-Tac International Airport for official, long-term climate records in the region.)

“We have plenty of the winter left — we have the rest of January, February and until March,” Burg said. “We’ll probably get more snow, and we’ll have to see how the rest of January shakes out as far as temperatures go.”

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Officers cited six people for furnishing liquor to minors during the Dec. 21 operation. The crackdown encompassed businesses throughout Issaquah.

Such enforcement is part of the routine compliance checks conducted by the liquor board and law enforcement agencies.

“Enforcement of all of the liquor laws — not just these — are important,” Police Chief Paul Ayers said. “They’re there for the purpose of making sure that a person can go into a bar and have a drink if they want, but that they’re not driving after being overserved or that they’re not underage and having alcohol. It’s just important that we enforce all of those laws.”

In the December operation, Ayers said a minor presented identification to employees showing the buyer to be younger than 21.

In the operation, police cited and released the following suspects for furnishing liquor to a minor:

• A 25-year-old Ellensburg woman at Hilton Garden Inn, 1800 N.W. Gilman Blvd., at 5:56 p.m.
• A 27-year-old Bellevue woman at Time Out Sports Bar, 185 Front St. N., at 7:26 p.m.
• A 33-year-old Seattle woman at Fred Meyer, 6100 E. Lake Sammamish Parkway S.E., at 7:41 p.m.
• A 37-year-old Federal Way man at JaK’s Grill, 28 Front St. N., at 7:55 p.m.
• A 37-year-old Maple Valley man at Sip, 1084 N.E. Park Drive, at 8:30 p.m.
• A 22-year-old Kirkland woman at Starbucks, 1460 N.W. Gilman Blvd., at 9:13 p.m.

Under state law, furnishing liquor to a minor is a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and up to a $5,000 fine.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

“It is always the hope that the new year starts with people driving safe and sober,” Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste said in a statement. “But, I am proud that our troopers are out ensuring impaired drivers are taken off the roads.”

The number of people arrested statewide for DUI by troopers during the holiday weekend decreased from the 286 people arrested for DUI during the same period in 2010. The total from the 2011 holiday weekend includes 32 people involved in DUI collisions.

The holiday weekend started at 5 p.m. Dec. 31 and ended at midnight Jan. 2.

The search for more information about a lethal September shootout on the Clark Elementary School campus is due to deepen soon, as a court inquest into the officer-involved incident opens.

Ronald W. Ficker, 51, died in a firefight against Issaquah police officers on the school campus. The gun battle ended a meandering midday journey across downtown Issaquah after the rifle-toting Ficker brandished guns at passers-by.

In a decision expected since the Sept. 24 shootout, King County Executive Dow Constantine on Dec. 27 ordered the inquest — a standard procedure in officer-involved shootings. The order directs King County District Court Presiding Judge Barbara Linde to assign a judge to set a date and conduct the inquest.

Linde did not set a date before county offices closed for the New Year’s holiday.

The inquest is a fact-finding hearing conducted before a six-member jury. Such a panel is called to determine the circumstances in any officer-involved shooting in King County.

Inquest jurors answer a series of questions, called interrogatories, to determine the facts in the case. The jury does not, however, determine whether a person or agency is civilly or criminally liable for the incident.

Prosecutor Dan Satterberg recommended the investigation after the King County Prosecutor’s Office reviewed the King County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the incident. The sheriff’s office conducted the probe because the shootout involved Issaquah officers.

The inquest is expected to include statements from the officers involved in the shooting — Laura Asbell, Tom Griffith, Brian Horn, Christian Munoz and Jesse Peterson. The commander at the shooting scene, Sgt. Chris Wilson, is also expected to offer input.

Following the incident, Issaquah Police Chief Paul Ayers put Asbell, Griffith, Horn, Munoz and Peterson on paid administrative leave, per standard procedure. The officers returned to duty in the weeks after the incident.

“It’s a tragic situation and everyone realizes that, but I also think the officers responded the way we would want them to and the way they were trained,” Ayers said. “The resolution to this incident — while tragic — was still an outcome that was a benefit to the citizens.”

In the inquest, attorneys from the Washington Cities Insurance Association — a statewide organization to provide liability and property protection to Issaquah and other member cities — plan to serve as counsel for the city. In addition, attorneys for the Issaquah Police Officers’ Association represent the involved officers during the inquest.

Besides the involved officers, officials could request information from investigators and witnesses.

The process could last several days at a county courthouse. Inquest juries usually conduct the process at the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle.

Inquest is later chapter in strange incident

Constantine’s inquest order came months after the gunman told others, “Something big is going to happen” in the days leading to the shootout.

The day before the incident, Ficker rented a Kia sedan at a Seattle rental car counter, drove more than 450 miles and, just after 11 a.m. Sept. 24, abandoned the car at a downtown Issaquah intersection and set off to Clark Elementary.

Calls to 911 flooded city and county dispatchers, as law enforcement officers from the region raced to the school.

Issaquah officers encountered Ficker on campus. The gunman fired at least 11 shots at police. Officers returned fire and shot Ficker at a distance greater than the length of a football field.

Meanwhile, on the nearby Issaquah High School campus nearby, coaches, parents and young athletes huddled beneath metal bleachers during the shootout.

Though the incident ended less than 60 minutes after Ficker abandoned the Kia, the subsequent investigation caused Issaquah to grind to a near-standstill for hours, as police collected evidence from the car and the shooting scene on the Clark campus.

The shootout ended a series of strange interactions between Issaquah police and Ficker.

Just before midnight Sept. 15, he stopped at Issaquah City Hall and asked for assistance from a police officer. The man carried a handgun, and told the responding officer a strange tale about saving the planet.

(Ficker lived in unincorporated Maple Valley just south of Issaquah.)

Issaquah police encountered Ficker again at 9:39 a.m. Sept. 24, alongside the stalled Kia on Interstate 90 near the Issaquah Highlands exit. Police came upon the rented sedan parked unoccupied along the interstate. Ficker, carrying a gas can, approached the vehicle as a police officer examined the car.

The car then ran out of gas again just after 11 a.m. at Front Street South at Newport Way Southwest near the Julius Boehm Pool. Then, he abandoned the vehicle and set off to Clark Elementary.

In the days after the shootout, Issaquah residents and people trapped beneath the Issaquah High School bleachers praised police for a quick response to the gunman.

“They did respond to a pretty horrific incident and handled it well,” Ayers said.

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Santa Claus holds the door for (from left) Issaquah Police Cmdr. Scott Behrbaum, Chief Paul Ayers and Officer Karin Weihe as a brigade of officers prepare to deliver Christmas gifts. Contributed

In a Christmas tradition, Issaquah police officers and department employees spread some holiday cheer to local families Dec. 21.

Each Christmas, the Issaquah Police Department adopts a needy family, gathers items from a Christmas wish list and then accompanies Santa Claus for a special delivery.

Santa receives some help from officers — a ride in a police vehicle — to present the gifts to the family.

Once the department picked a pair of families in need, agency employees snapped up items from the wish list.

Then, department employees wrapped the gifts for the family, headed to the home and — spoiler alert — Motorcycle Officer John Lindner donned a red suit to portray Santa Claus.

The figure is down from the 194 arrests troopers made during the period last year. The tally does not include arrests made by local law enforcement agencies, although the Issaquah Police Department is participating in holiday season drunken driving patrols.

“We’re going in the right direction, but these numbers are still too high,” Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste said in a statement. “There’s just no excuse for putting yourself and others at risk by driving while impaired.”

The state patrol noted three fatal collisions during the holiday weekend. Troopers believe alcohol or drugs contributed to the death of a 47-year-old Chehalis man on State Highway 2 in Snohomish County. Investigators said the driver went around barricades and drove onto a pedestrian walkway, killing a man and injuring another.

No fatal collisions occurred during the same period in 2010.

Through Nov. 30, state troopers had arrested 20,130 motorists for DUI for the year — or up about 1 percent from the same period in 2010.