Ice cream vendor threatens rival in turf war, police say

MARYSVILLE — It appears to have been a fight over Popsicles, rocket pops, ice cream sandwiches and other frozen novelty treats.

“Ice cream wars are heating up,” Marysville police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said.

Police say an Everett man on Sunday threatened a rival ice cream truck vendor in Marysville. He reportedly was anything but the Good Humor man.

The man, 51, threatened to kill the rival if she didn’t get off his turf.

“You better not come here again or I will kill you,” the man reportedly shouted. He also waved a steak knife to make threats, according to a police affidavit filed Monday in Everett District Court.

The man admitted talking with the woman, but denied making threats, Lamoureux said.

It all happened Sunday afternoon in a cul-de-sac north of Smokey Point. The woman told police she was driving her ice cream truck when the man confronted her and told her to get out of his area.

Lamoureux said there is an unwritten code among ice cream truck drivers about where they sell their snacks. The woman didn’t believe she was violating the code, he said.

The woman told police the man allegedly grabbed the door to her truck. She told detectives she thought she was going to be stabbed, according to court records.

Police arrested the man and booked him into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of second-degree assault. They recovered a knife from his ice cream truck.

Ice cream trucks are required to have state- and city-issued business licenses, Marysville city administrator Gloria Hirashima said.

“They do not have zones that they ‘own.’ ” she said.

The man’s brother and son appeared in court Monday, but didn’t want to talk with reporters. A judge ordered the man held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

That’s a lot of Fudgesicles.

Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.