Mill Valley Patch Turns One: Best of the Blotter

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

12 p.m. - At Cascade Drive and Throckmorton Ave., the same place where Italian visitors  a resident last week by asking her about the so-called Trailside Killer of the early 1980s, a caller reported to police at noon that a man on a path near the creek was carrying a serrated knife. The caller said she saw the man climb into the trees and thought it was suspicious. Officers searched the area and found the man sitting in a vehicle. The man said he was simply washing his utensils in the creek. Police determined that there was no merit to the call.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

1:30 p.m. - A doctor called police from outside the  because he was upset that a chiropractor was peddling his "false medicine" in front of a federal facility. Caller said the man had a sandwich board with a fake spine set up. Officer responded but was unable to locate the chiropractor.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

7 a.m. - A resident of E. Blithedale Ave. called police to report that a man was outside rummaging through the trunk of a vehicle. An officer responded and contacted the man, who was the registered owner of the car looking through the belongings in his trunk.

Monday, September 13, 2010

9:45 a.m. - Someone put a bag of dog feces in the mailbox of a resident of Hillside Avenue on Sept. 11, the resident reported to police. The U.S. Postal Service told the woman to report the matter to police, and police advised the caller that it was a possible prank at the wrong mailbox.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

9:31 a.m. - A man called police from Acqua Hotel to report that he'd left his car in the hotel's parking lot two days ago but that it had gone missing. The man had contacted local towing companies and the hotel, to no avail, and wanted to report the car stolen. Police responded to the scene but were cancelled en route by the caller's son, who had found the car at Safeway. The car had not been stolen.

Friday, October 29, 2010

2:28 p.m. - A caller reported to police that a man was walking along E. Blithedale Avenue from Hwy. 101 carrying a backpack that contained a stop sign. Police contacted the man and found that he was on his way to work as a crossing guard on Lomita Drive.

Friday, November 5, 2010

2:55 a.m. - A resident of Corte Madera Avenue called police to report that a man was sitting in a pickup truck outside and the caller was concerned because people had been stealing recyclables in the area recently. Police responded to the scene and found that it was a couple on their first date and they were just sitting in the truck talking.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

8:41 p.m. - A resident of Oakdale Avenue called police to report that she and her boyfriend purchased two brownies for $2 at a Mill Valley theater and was now having difficulty breathing. The caller was concerned about what was in the brownies.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

9:10 p.m. - A resident called police to report a suspicious man outside the Laundromat near the on Miller Avenue. The man was wearing white pants and a Santa hat and was rolling a joint, according to the report. Police responded and contacted the man but found there to be no merit to the call, except for the donning of a Santa hat at an unreasonably early date.

Monday, November 15, 2010

5:26 p.m. - A man reportedly attempted to save a table at Starbucks by placing his keys on the table. Another customer objected, demanded that he leave the table. Police were called to the scene and found the man's keys in the bathroom.

8:22 p.m. - A resident called police to report that a man with a beard and wearing a red/green clown hat was acting suspicious in the area of Miller and Montford avenues. Police found the man outside of the and found no evidence of intoxication and that the man was just waving at people. Officers told the man that he could only be a clown in Mill Valley, not outside city limits.

Friday, November 19, 2010

7:45 p.m. - A resident of Lovell Avenue came home to find an animal on her staircase. The woman called police and said she was afraid to go past it in case it is injured, and asked police to assist. An officer arrived and determined that it was not an animal on the stairs but a rock. The rock was not injured.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

11 a.m. - A resident of Manor Drive reported that sometime during the previous night, both of her vehicles were covered in baking flour and "thank-you" stickers. Neither vehicle was damaged - beyond the overabundance of gratitude, of course.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

2:55 p.m. - A resident of Cascade Drive reported that a bunch of juveniles made a bonfire in the area. Police responded and found a man meditating near the water with one candle for light.

Monday, December 6, 2010

10:30 a.m. - A woman called police to report that her back-up battery was not working on her sump pump and she needed assistance. The woman said it sounded like the motor was on but it's not draining. Police advised the woman to call a plumber.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

2:22 p.m. - A resident of Lovell Avenue called police to report that an unknown subject had contacted her son via Facebook with a friend request. Police provided the woman with advice about how to decline the friend request.

Friday, January 14, 2011

1:08 p.m. - After seeing two subjects laying down on the front lawn of the , a resident called police. Police responded and determined that the man and woman were simply relaxing.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

10:32 a.m. - A resident called police to report that a woman was selling cheetah and zebra skins on the corner of La Goma Street and Miller Avenue. The caller said she was concerned that it is illegal to sell those animal hides. Officer responded and determined that a woman was having a garage sale and there was no violation.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

5:36 p.m. - A resident of Plymouth Avenue and Oxford Avenue called police to report that he was being harassed by his 9-year-old neighbor, who was slamming down the cover of a hot tub. Police provided advice as to how to deal with the matter.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

5:20 p.m. - A customer at Pearl’s Phatburgers called police to say that they gave her the wrong burger and refused to give her another one. She told police that she was going to slap somebody, hurt some people, break glasses and be loud and disruptive in order to scare customers. She wanted another burger. Employees made the woman another burger and avoided getting slapped.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

3:01 p.m. - Someone called police from Piatti’s Restaurant to report seeing a boat that is possibly overturned and something splashing behind it. The caller wanted someone to check and make sure everything is okay. An officer responded and checked the Richardson Bay area but couldn’t find an overturned boat. The officer then contacted the caller, who told police that he hadn’t in fact seen a boat, but did see a lot of splashing. The officer spotted a number of birds resting in shallow water.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

8:04 a.m. - A resident of Edgewood Avenue called police to report that a neighbor has a rooster in violation of a noise ordinance. The caller told police that he wanted to remain anonymous but that he had spoken to at least 30 neighbors who have complained about the rooster. The man said the rooster’s crowing sounded like a “low volume chainsaw.” Police were unable to locate a rooster.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

4:09 p.m. – A woman called police from near Camino Alto to report that a Hispanic man in a small economy vehicle looked at her in a threatening way. Police were unable to find a small economy vehicle in Mill Valley.