Benjamin R. Morrison had been out four-wheeling Sunday and apparently wanted to do more.

He chose Cirque Bridgeport Park in University Place, Pierce County prosecutors allege, and ended up in handcuffs after tearing up a grass field.

The 28-year-old Tacoma resident is now charged with second-degree malicious mischief after causing $2,000 worth of damage at the park.

Court documents provide the following information.

Several people called 911 on Sunday after seeing a truck “doing doughnuts” on the field at the park on Cirque Drive.

“Witnesses later reported the driver spun the tires on his truck while on the field and …

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Authorities today released surveillance photographs of a man wanted for robbing 13 pizza and sandwich shops in Pierce County.

The suspect has held up several Little Caesars Pizza, Papa Murphy’s Pizza and Subway sandwich shops in Tacoma, Puyallup, South Hill and University Place. The robberies occurred between Oct. 17 and Nov. 21.

In each case, the man displays a handgun and demands cash before fleeing the restaurant.

He is described as white, 20-30 years old with a slender build. The suspect is usually wearing a hat and hooded sweatshirt to conceal his face.

Anyone with information is asked to call …

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Firefighters are investigating the cause of an upstairs fire this morning at a University Place home.

West Pierce firefighters were dispatched to the home at 4312 Robin Road W. at 9:55 a.m. when a resident said she smelled smoke. The home’s smoke detectors weren’t functioning, said Hallie McCurdy, West Pierce battalion chief.

The fire originated in an upstairs living area in the multi-story home. The fire was reported under control a little more than 15 minutes after firefighters arrived.

No damage estimate has yet been made, said McCurdy. No one was injured in the blaze.

Authorities have released a sketch of a man who reportedly assaulted an elderly woman and tied up both her and her 3-year-old grandchild during a home invasion robbery in University Place on Monday morning.

The suspect posed as a deliveryman and punched the woman in the face when she answered the door to her home on the 1900 block of Westridge Avenue West. The robbery occurred at 10:10 a.m.

After the suspect let a second person into the home, they stole numerous items, including credit cards, documents, prescription medication and a gaming console.

One of the suspects held an object …

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UPDATE:

Joseph Lester pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder in connection with the slaying of his former girlfriend Halloween Night in University Place.

He was ordered held in lieu of $2 million bail during his arraignment this afternoon.

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Press release from the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office:

Today Prosecutor Mark Lindquist charged Joseph Lester, 23, with Murder in the First Degree and, in the alternative, Murder in the Second Degree. Lester stabbed to death his girlfriend Kiesha Lewis, a 21-year-old mother of two, at a University Place residence on Halloween.

Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a duplex

…

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UPDATED: 8:25 p.m.

A woman was found dead today in a University Place home, and her 9-month-old daughter is missing, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said. An AMBER Alert was issued just before 7 p.m. today.

Police are looking for 23-year-old Joseph Lester. He is driving a blue or purple 1992 Chevrolet Caprice with the license plate ADP3753. The car has a loud exhaust system and large rims, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Lester is a 5-foot, 8-inch black male. He weighs about 155 pounds. He has brown eyes and black hair, which he wears in braids.

“At …

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A 62-year-old Fircrest man died tonight after a crash involving a Pierce County sheriff’s deputy.

The crash occurred about 7 p.m. on Emerson Street near 67th Avenue West in University Place.

The deputy was responding to a call for backup from a reserve officer who was trying to locate suspects who had fled during a traffic stop, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The deputy struck the Fircrest man, who was driving a 2007 Honda scooter, and went over an embankment before coming to a stop in a ditch.

West Pierce …

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Here’s a story to remind you there’s a whole other world out there.

Pierce County prosecutors charged three men this week with promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor and residential burglary after they allegedly broke into a University Place man’s house to steal the buds off his marijuana plant.

Sharp-eyed witnesses, an underage prostitute and an errant piece of mail led authorities to the defendants, according to court records.

The alleged burglary occurred May 19 at a house on Colgate Drive.

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