Bristol Blotter 02-19-10

By: Claire Galofaro | TriCities.com
Published: February 19, 2010

Bristol Virginia Police Department
Feb. 16
* A guy, who was “highly intoxicated” by 11 a.m., lurched out of a Lee Highway motel parking lot in a gray Nissan pickup truck.
* The driver of a white Infiniti pumped $43 in gas at an Old Airport Road station, then took off without paying.
* A Maple Street resident called police at 4:30 p.m. when their bearded, drunken neighbor was wandering the street in blue jogging pants.
* Someone on Island Road called to say that the drunken people in a trailer behind their house were “breaking things inside and being loud” at 10:30 p.m. They called back 16 minutes later to report “loud music and screaming.”
* A man called from West State Street at 11:30 p.m. to say “someone is refusing to leave his house and he wants [police] to come make him leave.” Officers were happy to comply when they discovered an active arrest warrant for his unwelcome guest.

Bristol Tennessee Police Department
Feb. 15
* A man called from a body shop on Virginia Avenue to report that his car was “hit by the salt” of a passing truck salting Tennessee Route 394. He said it damaged his passenger door glass.
* The victim of a West State Street hit and run decided not to take the crime lying down. The driver chased the car that banged into him to the Bristol Regional Medical Center parking lot, and blocked the car into a space. That’s when two guys leapt out of the offending car and tried to run into the emergency room. Police tracked down the driver, and found that he had a revoked driver’s license. So he was arrested for that, along with leaving the scene of an accident and disregard for a traffic signal.
Feb. 16
* Someone figured that an alley behind Walmart was the perfect place to fire off a BB gun at 7 p.m.

Neighborhood Watch
* The Bristol Virginia Chief’s Kids program is recruiting volunteers to help children in high-risk neighborhoods with homework from 5 to 6 p.m. Mondays. For more information, contact Northstar Baptist Church at (276) 466-1825 or northstar@bvunet.net. They also are hosting an information meeting at 7 p.m. March 18 at the Bristol Virginia Police Department.
* Anyone interested in starting a Neighborhood Watch in Bristol, Va., should contact Nicole Slagle, crime prevention specialist with the Bristol Virginia Police Department, at (276) 645-7281.
* Anyone interested in starting a Neighborhood Watch in Wise County should contact Sgt. Chuck Stapleton, crime prevention officer with the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, at (276) 328-3566.