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A Year in Review — Best of the Blotter

Aug. 11
Mack Maschmeier





Aug. 11
8:07 p.m. Officers were called to a report of a bear at Eighth and Aspen streets. The bear wasn’t doing anything, so no action was taken.

Mack Maschmeier

Jan. 20

10:29 a.m. Officers were called to a report of vandalism in the 2700 block of Burgess Creek Road. A pedestrian carrying skis and poles was startled by an oncoming shuttle bus and accidentally broke a shuttle window with a pole.

Jan. 23



7:40 p.m. Officers were called to a report of a suspicious incident in the 3300 block of Après Ski Way. A man came home and thought an intruder was inside. He locked himself in the basement with a gun and waited for police. There was no intruder. Police said the man was hallucinating, and he claimed he had just smoked marijuana. He was cited for prohibited use of a weapon and false reporting.

Jan. 28



8:56 p.m. West Routt Fire Protection District firefighters were called to a report of a crash near mile marker 112 on U.S. Highway 40. A man was driving, and a mattress blew out from the bed of his pickup. When the man retrieved the mattress, his truck rolled into the ditch. The man was not injured.

Feb. 2

8:55 a.m. Officers were called to a report of a woman who walked out of a convenience store without paying for two trays of nachos. The loss was $5.41, and the woman could not be located.

Feb. 25

1:45 p.m. Officers were called to check on the welfare of a woman at a motel in the 200 block of Lincoln Avenue. The woman’s boyfriend reported she had left and took their car. The couple was in Steamboat because the woman had a religious premonition that there was a ranch somewhere in Colorado that was going to offer her a job. She was supposed to find the ranch and open the door at the ranch house, and a cowboy would be there to offer her the job. The woman later returned to the motel. She said she went to a ranch in Yampa and opened a door at a ranch house. There was no one there, so she left and returned to Steamboat. The people staying at the ranch were told to contact police if there were any problems when they returned to the ranch. They did not contact police.

Feb. 26

12:05 a.m. Steamboat Springs Police Department officers were called to a report of a car stolen from the 800 block of Lincoln Avenue. The car was located after it drove off the road near mile marker 15 on Routt County Road 14. The driver denied the car was stolen and said it was his rental car. Apparently, the stolen car was parked next to the similar-looking rental car downtown. The 27-year-old male driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI and careless driving.

March 3

10:22 p.m. Officers were called to a report of a noise complaint in the 600 block of Mountain Village Circle. A resident said it sounded like an upstairs neighbor was dropping bowling balls on the floor and slamming a door.

March 10

3:11 a.m. Officers were called to a report of a drunken man passed out on steps behind a hot dog stand. He was taken to Yampa Valley Medical Center, and the man’s dad came and got him.

March 15

2:41 p.m. Officers were called to a report of someone who drew some “graphic” pictures in the dust on some vehicles parked in the 1200 block of Hilltop Parkway. One of the vehicle owners claimed the drawing scratched the paint on the vehicle. Police have not identified any suspects.

April 6

8:28 p.m. Officers were called to a report of a person who saw people steal the street sign that is named after former police chief JD Hays. Police were able to recover the sign.

June 1

9:05 a.m. Officers were called to a report of illegal dumping in the 500 block of Laurel Street. A bunch of clothing and other items had been left on a porch. They had been left as a donation, but were brought to the wrong house.

July 13

4:21 p.m. Routt County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to a report of a vehicle that was stolen from the 100 block of Main Street in Yampa. Deputies determined the vehicle was not stolen. The transmission had popped out of gear and the vehicle rolled down the street.

July 22

12:51 p.m. Officers were called to a report of a suspicious incident in the block of Lincoln Avenue at the Yampa River. A male was seen smoking marijuana, was building a four-foot-tall structure with rocks and was yelling at people. Officers observed the man speaking with people at the river, but there was no evidence of marijuana consumption.

Aug. 5

3:56 p.m. Officers were called to a report of harassment at a restaurant in the 800 block of Oak Street. A man lost a retainer and took a bill to the restaurant demanding the restaurant pay for the retainer. The man was told not to come back to the restaurant.

Aug. 12

6:26 p.m. Officers were called to a report of theft in the 200 block of Anglers Drive. A woman in the area picked up some cats found running loose in the area. The woman then went through a coffee shop drive-thru, and a transient man jumped on her car. The woman freaked out and drove home with the cats. The cats were later picked up by a deputy, taken to the animal shelter and checked out by a vet. The cats were then returned to the transient man, who owned the cats. The transient man wanted the woman charged with theft, and the woman wanted the transient man charged with attempted carjacking. No charges were filed.

Sept. 1

10:09 a.m. Officers were called to a report of two people smoking marijuana in a car at Little Toots Park. The person who called said there were lots of kids in the area, and the people should find a better place to smoke.

Sept. 9

12:25 a.m. Steamboat Springs Police Department officers were called to a report of a suspicious incident at a convenience store in the 500 block of South Lincoln Avenue. A customer was concerned because there was not an employee in the store. Police discovered the employee was working in the cooler.

Sept. 9

9:08 a.m. A person came to the police department and wanted some advice about a harassment situation that occurred over the weekend in the 200 block of Logan Avenue. A Realtor got upset because some kids had moved the Realtor’s “for sale” sign to set up a lemonade stand.

Sept. 15

2:20 a.m. Steamboat Springs Police Department officers were called to a report of a person who could not sleep because a car was revving its engine for 30 minutes in the 2600 block of Après Ski Way. Someone was trying to back up a trailer.

Sept. 23

1:18 p.m. Officers were called to a report of a burglary in the 500 block of Lincoln Avenue. Someone broke into a food storage building behind a restaurant. Crab legs and other meat were missing.

Sept. 27

2:24 p.m. Officers were called to a report of a man mooning Steamboat Springs High School homecoming parade participants in the 700 block of Lincoln Avenue. Police contacted the 24-year-old man and gave him a warning.

Sept. 28

8:44 p.m. Officers were called to a report of a raccoon stuck in a light fixture at Colorado Mountain College. Wildlife officials were going to check on the animal.

Oct. 4

12:53 p.m. Officers were called to a report of a person who couldn’t find the cruiser bikes they rode in the Steamboat Springs Mustache Ride the night before. The person thought they locked the bikes to a post outside a bar at Lincoln Avenue and Eighth Street. Police determined the person forgot the cruiser bikes were actually locked outside a different bar a block away.

Oct. 19

11:01 a.m. Officers were called to a report of a suspicious person on the Yampa River Core Trail. A man reportedly had a samurai sword on his back and was having an argument with himself. He could not be located.

Oct. 26

1:03 a.m. Officers were called to a report of bears in the 1000 block of Lincoln Avenue. The person who called said it was an “extremely dangerous situation to have bears running through downtown.”

Nov. 5

1:14 a.m. Steamboat Springs Police Department officers were called to a report of two males having sex in a hallway bathroom in the 600 block of Lincoln Avenue. They were gone when officers arrived.

Nov. 8

1:54 p.m. Officers were called to a report of a Volkswagen Jetta that had significant damage done to it in the 2600 block of Burgess Creek Road. Police determined a bear had ripped the back bumper off of the vehicle and tried to get into the car through the front door. There were claw marks and paw prints on the front door.

Nov. 15

4:13 p.m. Officers were called to a report of a New England Patriots flag that was stolen from a porch in the 400 block of Cherry Drive. The victims of the theft requested immediate assistance from police because they were superstitious and the Patriots were losing against the New York Giants. The flag was not located, but the Patriots won the football game. The people did not think their neighbors stole the flag because they were Packers fans.

Nov. 18

11:59 p.m. Officers were called to a report of a disturbance at a hotel in the 3100 block of South Lincoln Avenue. A drunken man was being belligerent at the front desk. He was at the wrong hotel, and police took him to his hotel next door.

Nov. 21

8:03 p.m. Officers were called to a report of a disturbance near Sixth Street and Lincoln Avenue. A woman had given her car keys to a man to warm up her car. The woman thought the man had stolen her car, but he had instead had gone to fill the car with gas.

Nov. 23

4:36 p.m. Officers were called to a report of shoplifting in the 1800 block of Central Park Drive. A man dropped the $250 worth of merchandise while trying to flee. The man also dropped a birth certificate police believe belonged to the man. Police have been unable to find the man.

Dec. 10

3:50 a.m. Steamboat Springs Police Department officers were called to a report of a suspicious person in a home in the 500 block of Gilpin Street. A man entered the wrong residence, took a blanket and left.

Dec. 20

1:39 p.m. Officers were called to a report of a suspicious man walking around a parking lot with a large kitchen knife in the 1500 block of Shadow Run Court. Police determined the man had lost the key to his mailbox, and the only way he could open it was with the kitchen knife. Police told the man he needed to get a new key.


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