Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A father and his 12-year-old son were seriously injured when something exploded on their small family farm in Randle yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters called about 4:10 p.m. to the 100 block of Peters Road found the two burn patients and the mother at the house.

The two males were flown by a LifeFlight helicopter to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, which has a burn center, according to Lewis County Fire District 14.

Fire Chief Jeff Jaques said the mother, who is a member of the volunteer fire department, was taken to Morton General Hospital with burns on both her hands from trying to help them.

“I don’t know for sure what happened,” Jaques said last night about 9 p.m. after returning from notifying other relatives.

It appeared to have occurred outside near a shop building, as when they arrived, they also found a car burning, Jaques said. Jaques said he suspected they were working on or with some equipment or tools.

Eight Randle firefighters handled the patient care and they let a crew from Glenoma deal with the burning car, he said.

Jaques was informed by the hospital last night the males’ conditions were critical, he said. Someone was going to be taking the mother down to be with them, he said.

The chief said he planned to return to the scene once it was light again to continue his investigation.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office responded as well and said they believe the incident involved a plasma cutter, a power tool used to cut metal.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A lawyer representing the Chehalis woman accused of stealing more than $50,000 from a concrete business where she was the bookkeeper told a judge the alleged victim and the defendant were in a relationship and the allegations came up after they broke up.

Angela D. Sawyer

Angela D. Sawyer, 39, was arrested and jailed on Wednesday after the Chehalis Police Department finished an investigation that began this summer, following a report from Jerry Nixon, the owner of Apex Mobile Mix.

Sawyer was charged in Lewis County Superior Court on Thursday with first-degree theft and first-degree identity theft.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher requested high bail, telling the judge Sawyer was suspected of wrongdoing involving a number of debit cards from other individuals.

Defense attorney for the day Joely O’Rourke countered that the allegation involved just one card belonging to one man and requested unsecured bail in the amount of $10,000. Meagher apologized and said he must have misread the filing, drafted by another prosecutor.

Judge Richard Brosey agreed with the unsecured amount.

Sawyer, who now works with the Area Agency on Aging, resides in Chehalis with her teenage son, according to O’Rourke.

According to charging documents, Nixon contacted police on July 27 after recently signing up to receive Internet bank statements and saw several transactions he did not make or authorize, including some for cash. He told the officer he learned from his bank they were made on a debit card he did not know existed.

Detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said the owner of the business with locations in Napavine and Chehalis was asked to gather up financial records.

Charging documents go on to give the following account:

Nixon told police he found out the debit card had been mailed out and he learned Sawyer had the card. He said she admitted to having the card and returned it to him.

Late last month, Nixon brought the various documents to the police department and showed receipts he said had nothing to do with company purchases totaling $51,772.89.

“Also in the papers Nixon brought were questionable checks written by Sawyer,” prosecutors wrote. “These checks appeared to be paying for Sawyer’s personal bills and needs.”

The total comes to more than $72,800, missing from between July 2012 and the end of this past July.

Nixon told a police detective that Sawyer and he were in a relationship, but she was never a co-signer on the account.

He said Sawyer told him she got into drugs and was using the money to support her habit.

Sawyer has no criminal history, according to prosecutors.

Because she earns only $1,300 per month, she qualified for a court appointed attorney. Her arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The homeless man whose campfire is believed to have ignited a small brush fire in Onalaska earlier this month remains held in the Lewis County Jail as his lawyer seeks out a psychologist to evaluate him.

Luke U. Hall, 32, was the subject of a manhunt for several hours after the morning-time incident on Sept. 5 near Middle Fork Road and Centralia-Alpha Road.

He allegedly stepped out from behind his camping area and pointed a pretend handgun at the land owner who arrived after learning his property was on fire.

And when a sheriff’s detective caught up with shaggy-haired suspect walking along Leonard Road and deployed his Taser, Hall reportedly pulled the detective to the ground and began punching him in the face.

As Hall and detective Dan Riordan fought and wrestled on the ground, both were getting shocked by the stun gun because the wires had wrapped around their heads, according to prosecutors.

“Once they both were standing, the defendant ripped detective Riordan’s exterior bullet resistant vest off and continued to strike him,” Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer wrote in charging documents.

Riordan was able to pull Hall’s jacket up over Hall’s head and gain some distance from him until help arrived, according to Meyer.

This isn’t a typical third-degree assault, with someone spitting on an officer, Meyer said.

“But for other deputies showing up, Mr. Hall may not be with us any longer,” Meyer said.

Hall has an extensive assaultive history, including three prior convictions for third-degree assault, according to the prosecutor’s office. He was only released from custody in June.

Two years ago, he was arrested after neighbors called for help, saying the he was trying to crash his Jeep into their house after yelling at them for hours. His mother at the time told authorities he shouldn’t be released without treatment for mental health and substance abuse issues, according to court documents.

Defense attorney Bob Schroeter told a judge Hall has significant physical and mental health issues.

Hall’s court-appointed attorney Jacob Clark yesterday said he needs to have an expert evaluate his client, to determine if he was delusional at the time of the events earlier this month.

Clark and Hall appeared before a judge yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court for a review hearing, and will return next Thursday for another.

Hall was arrested the afternoon of Sept. 5 for reckless burning, felony harassment, third-degree assault, resisting arrest and trespassing. Prosecutors then filed charges instead for second-degree arson, felony harassment and third-degree assault.

The fire burned an area of about 40 feet by 40 feet on property previously logged and then replanted with young trees.

Prosecutor Meyer said the information in the affidavit of probable cause that supported the arson charge was that Hall was seen in the area of where the fire started. The remains of a tent were found at the scene.

Hall has pleaded not guilty. His bail is set at $50,000. His trial is currently scheduled for the week of Oct. 27.

Updated at 2:15 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The skeletal remains found earlier this year off Little Hanaford Road outside Centralia have been identified as an 18-year-old Spanaway man reported missing more than two years ago.

A DNA match was confirmed yesterday, using family reference samples of Christopher D. Virdell, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Virdell was reported missing by family members in February 2012 to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, according to the sheriff’s office.

Christopher D. Virdell

Pierce County has had an ongoing investigation into the young man’s disappearance and is now working closely with Lewis County detectives to determine what led to his death, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said in a news release.

Brown declined to speak about Virdell’s cause of death, saying Pierce County is the lead in the investigation.

The partial remains were found the evening of Feb. 28 by a resident in the area out walking his dog. The sheriff’s office said at the time they believed they had been dumped there.

The (Tacoma) News Tribune reports Pierce County detectives believe Virdell was killed and have interviewed more than 100 people in the case but have not released a motive.

According to Crime Stoppers of Tacoma and Pierce County, Virdell was last seen at 10 a.m. on February 9th, 2012, as he left a friend’s residence on 223rd Street East in Spanaway to catch a bus to work. He was reported missing later that night after he failed to show up to work or home.

The property near the 2800 block of Little Hanaford Road is wooded, close to the roadway, and owned by Trans Alta, according to the sheriff’s office.

The remains were sent to King County to be examined by a forensic pathologist who has expertise with skeletal human remains. The identification through DNA was made by the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification and reported to detectives yesterday.

Further dental testing will be conducted, but it is strongly believed the remains are those of Virdell, Brown indicated.

The news prompted a conversation at the sheriff’s office about another unsolved case, the still unidentified remains of a female found near Morton in the spring of 2011.

A motorist who pulled off U.S. Highway 12 to take a break spotted the remains off the side of a logging road on April 7. The sheriff’s office has said they suspect foul play, but they still don’t know who the victim is.

Dental records and DNA have been entered into databases with no matches found. An examination by the specialist at the King County Medical Examiner’s Office could not determine the cause of death.

The woman is believed to have been between 20 and 35 years old when she died, small in stature and possibly of mixed ethnicity.

“We’ve done everything we can,” Brown said. “We’re still hoping someone will step forward to report their loved one missing.”

•••

For background, read “Breaking news: Human remains found on TransAlta property” from Saturday March 1, 2014, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 48-year-old Morton woman was arrested for robbery after a confrontation when she was caught allegedly stealing toys from a neighbor’s front yard, but not before a low-speed pursuit involving three law enforcement agencies that ended with her car in a ditch.

Deputies called about 9:50 a.m. to the 700 block of Davis Lake Road were told Julie A. Erickson pulled into her neighbor’s driveway and began loading the items into her vehicle, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

When the woman who lives there and her friend asked Erickson what she was doing and pulled a tricycle from the trunk, Erickson allegedly shoved one of them and punched the other in the face, according to the sheriff’s office.

Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said Erickson tried slapping her several times before the woman could get away

Brown said Erickson then got into her car and drove off with a wagon and unspecified other children’s toys.

Law enforcement spotted her vehicle fairly quickly but Erickson wouldn’t pull over, continuing for several miles along state Route 508, Brown states in a news release.

A spike strip set up at Cinebar Road punctured one of her tires, but Erickson continued to drive on its rim until finally stopping in a ditch near Centralia-Alpha Road, according to Brown.

Brown states Erickson spoke nonsensically and had no explanation for her behavior or the theft.  They don’t believe alcohol was a factor, according to Brown.

Erickson was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree robbery and attempting to elude.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Police are investigating a man who allegedly falsely claimed he was a relative of a Chehalis resident who died in January, and left all of his property to him.

Chehalis police were contacted by Walter Pettit’s family last week, who went to Pettit’s house near Chehalis Middle School and found it had been cleaned out and someone was remodeling it, Chehalis Deputy Police Chief Randy Kaut said.

A detective interviewed 46-year-old Michael J. Dobbs yesterday and subsequently arrested him on suspicion of theft and forgery. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

Court papers state Dobbs transferred the decedent’s car into his own name, by claiming to be the decedent’s son, and the detective learned from the funeral home they released the cremated remains to Dobbs’ on Dobbs’ representation he was the nephew.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Eric Eisenberg however, charged Dobbs today only with possession of methamphetamine.

The detective found a baggie of suspected meth in Dobbs’ pocket when he was searched following his arrest, according to Eisenberg. He said it wasn’t his, court papers state.

Eisenberg said Dobbs produced a will from 2011 which made Dobbs personal representative and sole heir of the estate.

“The presence of the will makes it unclear if Dobbs’ behavior regarding the decedent’s estate was lawful,” Eisenberg wrote in court documents, explaining why he filed only the drug charge at this time.

Kaut said this afternoon detectives are continuing to investigate. He didn’t yet know how the two men were acquainted or what Pettit died from, only that the 55-year-old was transferred to a hospital in Thurston County where he passed away.

Dobbs appeared before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court and was released on a $10,000 signature bond.

Defense attorney Bob Schroeter said Dobbs is not employed, but is a full time parent of three children in Centralia.

Kaut said police don’t yet know what happened to Pettit’s belongings. Eisenberg stated in court documents Dobbs offered several improbable stories about how they’d been stolen, returned and then stolen again.

The will, ostensibly signed by Pettit and witnessed by two individuals, looks valid, Eisenberg said this afternoon. But detectives are looking into that issue further, he said.

Court papers state Dobbs has prior convictions in California, including receiving stolen property in 1999 and 2001.

Updated at 9:13 p.m.

DRUGS

• An investigation by Centralia Police Department’s special Anti-Crime Team led to a search warrant yesterday at the 1200 block of North Fork Road south of Chehalis and the arrest of two individuals. Officer Patty Finch said police found three grams of suspected heroin at a residence there and arrested Brandon M. Cruzan, 24, of Chehalis, for possession of heroin with intent to deliver. Arrested at the same time was Riley R. Jones, 27, of Chehalis, for delivery of methamphetamine, possession of meth with intent to deliver and possession of heroin, Finch said. They were both booked into the Lewis County Jail.

INTERRUPTED BURGLARY

• Chehalis police were called just before 8 o’clock yesterday morning by a resident of the 1400 block of Southwest Kelly Avenue who said his neighbor just called because him to say someone was in his house. The neighbor knocked on the door and noticed someone leaving out the back and hop into a car, according to the Chehalis Police Department. “Nothing ended up being taken,” department spokesperson Linda Bailey said. The investigation is ongoing, Bailey said.

COLLISIONS

• A 33-year-old Centralia man was arrested for driving under the influence last night after his vehicle allegedly struck the rear tail light of a car parked on the 1300 block of Central Boulevard in Centralia. Officers responding about 8:20 p.m. reportedly caught up with Nicholas A. Rickart on Roswell Road and then booked him into the Lewis County Jail for DUI as well as hit and run, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A 25-year-old Vader man ended up with a possibly broken collarbone when the vehicle in which he was a passenger swerved for a deer, went into a slide and rolled several times yesterday morning near Winlock. He was cited for not wearing a seatbelt, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy responding to the approximately 5:30 a.m. wreck on the 1500 block of Winlock-Vader Road learned the 34-year-old driver, also from Vader, was headed northbound when the deer ran into the road, according to the sheriff’s office. Responders extricated the patients from the 1990 Ford Bronco and they were taken to the emergency room at Providence Centralia Hospital, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. The driver was cited for not having insurance. He had a cut on the top of his head, Brown said.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, misdemeanor assault, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, disputes, disorderly person, suspicious person collision on city street … and more.