The Aberdeen Police Department, with some assistance from departments in surrounding communities, dealt with a rash of noteworthy crimes over the blustery weekend.
Officers handled themselves with aplomb and verve, said Lt. Andy Snodgrass, as they responded to incidents through the weekends.
Hit-and-run/Suspected DUI
The first notable incident occurred Saturday afternoon after a patrol officer observed a crash.
“On the 21st at 14:46, one of the officers was on routine patrol,” Snodgrass said in a phone interview. “He witnessed a vehicle driving erratically, and before he could apprehend the driver, it was involved in a collision.”
The officer observed the driver failing to stop at a stop sign, among other indicators that they were driving while intoxicated. Then, at the intersection of Market Street and Jefferson Street, the vehicle, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, was involved in a motor vehicle crash with another vehicle.
“The driver, as soon as the collision occurred, took off and started running,” Snodgrass said. “He was taken in to custody for vehicular hit and run and suspected DUI. Looks like he also took out a stop sign and hit a building as well.”
The suspect driver, 44-year-old Johnny William Johnson, struck another vehicle carrying an adult man and woman and three juveniles, Snodgrass said. Two people were transported to Harbor Regional Health Community Hospital by the Aberdeen Fire Department, Snodgrass said.
Johnson was taken in to custody after being evaluated for injuries for driving under the influence, multiple variations on hit-and-run and operating a vehicle without a valid license.
Attempted robbery
A man was taken into custody for multiple misdemeanor warrants after passing a note to a clerk at the ampm store demanding the contents of the register early Sunday morning, Snodgrass said.
“He did go in there with a note,” Snodgrass said. “He was just acting odd, ducking down when the officers arrived.”
While no charges were proffered for the attempt, the 31-year-old Aberdeen man was taken into custody for five outstanding warrants and taken to Aberdeen city jail.
Firearm threat
On Sunday afternoon, a King County man, Nicholas A. Kintgen-Helland, 31, was arrested in Montesano after allegedly threatening another person with a firearm.
“So that started as an argument over by the (Young Street Bridge),” Snodgrass said. “There was an argument there. A male allegedly pointed a firearm at a female on scene.”
Kintgen-Helland left the scene in a vehicle but was stopped heading east by personnel from the Montesano Police Department and the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office, Snodgrass said. Kintgen-Helland was arrested by the Aberdeen officers and transported to the Aberdeen city jail on charges of driving under the influence and first-degree assault.
Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.
