Lewis County Sirens.com

Jose F. Chagolla Flores steps away from the defense table after his bail hearing in Lewis County Superior Court

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Onalaska teen who allegedly stabbed another teen in the chest in Wal-Mart’s parking lot told police he was engaged with someone else when the 17-year-old showed up and hit him in the face hard enough to knock him to the ground, according to authorities.

Eighteen-year-old Jose F. Chagolla Flores said he got up off the ground, was “hell mad” and tired from working – and hates to be hit in the face – so he pulled out his knife and stabbed the 17-year-old, according to charging documents.

Chagolla Flores was ordered held on $500,000 bail when he went before a judge yesterday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court. He was charged with first-degree assault.

The condition of the 17-year-old victim, who has not been named, is unknown.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh told the judge the allegation is the boy was stabbed in the heart. She said in a conversation with a detective, the suspect claimed to be a gang member.

Temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller said her client lives with his mother, who was in the courtroom along with his father. He has juvenile “matters” that are sealed, she said.

Tiller said he was working but probably has now lost his employment so she believed he qualified for a court-appointed lawyer.

According to the Chehalis Police Department and charging documents, officers were dispatched just before 9 p.m. on Thursday for a fight between two males at the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue. Wal-Mart employees told them on was white and the other was black, charging documents relate.

The males had already left in separate vehicles.

Soon after, police were advised of a 17-year-old boy who was seeking medical treatment at Providence Centralia Hospital for a stab wound. They contacted the patient, who was not cooperative with officers. He was transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and would later go through surgery to repair the damage done by the knife.

Friends of the 17-year-old in the hospital waiting room said he’d gotten into a fight with another male who stabbed him. The friends gave police a name for the suspect.

The following day, Chagolla Flores was located at a friend’s home. His vehicle was found at a residence on Brockway Road and was impounded.

Chagolla Flores reportedly gave a statement to police, that he had been meeting a third party at Wal-Mart to sell marijuana and they were about to do the transaction when the 17-year-old showed up. And then he relayed his account of what transpired.

He was arrested and “the knife” was located in his backpack which was with him.

“Officers did not see any injuries to Chagollan’s face and when asked he stated he had injuries except to one on his hand which was caused from the knife,” Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wrote in charging documents.

Charging documents gave his name as Jose F. Chagollan Flores and Chehalis police stated yesterday his name was Jose Chagollan. Tiller advised the court the “N” at the end was incorrect.

His arraignment is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Thursday in  Lewis County Superior Court.

The Chehalis Police Department yesterday morning indicated the condition of the victim and extent of his injuries were unknown. Department spokesperson Linda Bailey this afternoon said she still had not learned that information.
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For background, read “One injured, one arrested following stabbing outside Wal-Mart” from Monday October 9, 2017, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The fire department in Winlock shared details of its weekend rescue of a woman from near the bottom of an approximately 50-foot deep well.

She was reportedly unhurt, but spent more than an hour with a foot hold that kept her in waist-deep water while responders carried out an extrication, according to Lewis County Fire District 15.

It’s not yet clear how it might be related but later the same evening, on Sunday, one of the woman’s brothers allegedly shot and killed a younger brother and then himself at the same property. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the two deaths; no names have been released.

Firefighters and deputies were called at 4:14 p.m. on Sunday to the 600 block of Tennessee Road north of Winlock, because the woman had been attempted to disinfect the well with chlorine when the floorboards broke loose and she fell into the well, according to authorities.

Responders found she was conscious and she told them she was not injured, according to Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Anderson. They learned she was initially completely submerged, but was able to swim to the water’s surface and find a foothold, Anderson stated in a press release.

The sheriff’s office described her as trapped by debris which had collapsed through the opening.

The hand dug well was inside a pump house and crews had to stabilize the area to prevent a pump, a pressure tank and more flooring from tumbling down on top of the woman, according to Anderson.

Rope rescue technicians from the Centralia area’s Riverside Fire Authority were summoned and a hole had to be cut in the roof of the structure to provide access for a rope and pulley system. Firefighters lowered a life vest and helmet down to the vicim for protection, according to Anderson.

She remained conscious and communicating throughout the operation, he said.

A rescue harness was lowered and the woman was finally hoisted to the surface at approximately 5:29 p.m., Anderson stated.

The sheriff’s office said yesterday morning the woman is 64 years old, but later indicated she is 63 years old.

Anderson said in his press release she was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital in stable condition, but didn’t know specifically for what reason.

The sheriff’s office has said that during the rescue operation, the woman’s 59-year-old brother was disruptive and arguing with his 56-year-old brother, so he was asked to leave.

Deputies were called back to the property at about 6:30 p.m., when witnesses said the 59-year-old man had returned with a handgun and shot his 56-year-old brother multiple times before turning the gun on himself. Rescue crews had all departed before that occurred, according to Chief Deputy Dusty Breen.

The Lewis County Coroner’s Office is expected to release the names of the two men once they have completed family notifications for both.
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For background, read “Two dead after family dispute in Winlock” from Monday October 9, 2017, here

Danny Wing, in red, appears before Judge Andrew Toynbee

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Danny A. Wing was back in court in Chehalis this morning after winning an appeal that allows him to take back his guilty pleas in the death of a 3-year-old boy he and his wife were caring for.

Wing was sentenced to almost 35 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter and third-degree child assault following the Oct. 5, 2014 death of Jasper Henderling-Warner.

The family, with three children of their own and from the Vancouver area, had  been living in Vader about two weeks when the Wings called 911 to say the toddler was unconscious and not breathing. The coroner concluded Jasper died of chronic battered child syndrome.

Jasper Henderling-Warner

In February of this year, a division of the Washington State Court of Appeals concluded Wing’s plea was premised on an incorrect offender score for the third degree assault of a child conviction, rendering the plea involuntary. At the time, Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said if Wing withdrew his plea, prosecutors would take the case to trial.

Wing, now 29, appeared in Lewis County Superior Court this morning, represented by Vancouver attorney Sean Downs.

Representing the state before Judge Andrew Toynbee were Lewis County senior deputy prosecutors Will Halstead and Sara Beigh. Jasper’s mother, flanked by supporters, was in the audience.

The hearing was brief, and a longer hearing was set for 2 p.m. this Friday, to determine what happens next, according to Beigh.

Wing’s wife, Brenda A. Wing, was convicted and sentenced similarly to her husband, and won an appeal on the exact same issue.

Beigh said she’s not sure when Brenda Wing will be brought back to  Lewis County Superior Court, as she has petitioned for review by the Washington State Supreme Court on part of the appeal she lost.

Danny Wing also had petitioned for review but the higher court declined to do so, according to Beigh.
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For background, read “Appeals court reverses conviction in Vader child death” from Friday March 3, 2017, here

Sheriff’s detectives are investigating apparent murder, suicide north of Winlock

Updated at 12:26 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a 59-year-old man allegedly fatally shot his younger brother and then turned a gun on himself in rural Winlock.

The events at the 600 block of Tennessee Road began earlier yesterday afternoon when a 64-year-old woman went out to drop chlorine into a well, the floorboards broke loose and she fell into the well, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies and aid called about 4:15 p.m. were working to rescue the woman, when her 59-year-old brother was asked to leave because he was being disruptive, Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said. The two brothers had been arguing, he said.

The woman was retrieved from approximately 50 feet down inside the hand dug well where she had been trapped by collapsing debris and was transported to the hospital, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies were called back to the property at about 6:30 p.m., when witnesses said the 59-year-old man had returned and discharged a handgun multiple times, striking and killing his 56-year-old brother, according to Breen.

Witnesses said the 59-year-old then shot himself, Breen said. He is from Malone. His younger brother is from Winlock.

Breen said the sheriff’s office is conducting an investigation and he expects the names of the brothers will be released by the Lewis County Coroner’s Office.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Centralia area man is off to prison with a seven year sentence for hitting a pedestrian on a sidewalk with his car outside the Southwest Washington Fair grounds this summer.

Christian D. Brown, 30, admitted using methamphetamine earlier in the day, prosecutors said at the time.

Wednesday August 16, 2017

Brown pleaded guilty in Lewis County Superior Court on Wednesday to vehicular assault and possession of heroin and also to two counts of drug possession from an earlier case.

The judge found a chemical dependency contributed to the crime and ordered a drug and alcohol evaluation, according to court documents.

Brown was arrested by Centralia police on Aug. 16, after the mid-day incident at the 1900 block of South Gold Street during fair week. Witnesses told police the car was going about 35 mph when it traveled onto the east sidewalk and hit the man.

When his car came to a stop, the victim fell off its hood, court documents related.

The victim, a 58-year-old Chehalis resident who was attending the fair with family, was airlifted with several traumatic injuries to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The 84-month sentence was the top of the standard sentencing range for vehicular assault, a range specific to Brown given the number of “points” Brown had accrued from previous criminal convictions, according to his lawyer Jacob Clark.

The judge ordered 24-month sentences for the drug crimes, to be served concurrently, Clark said.

Also on Wednesday in Lewis County Superior Court, a 20-year-old defendant was sentenced by a different judge for vehicular assault while under the influence.

Brenden K. Banta, from Kalama, and his 17-year-old passenger from Woodland were both injured when Banta’s car ran into the back of a semi truck on northbound Interstate 5 near milepost 60 the night of April 21, according to authorities.

Banta admitted he had consumed a “few shots” and smoked a bowl prior, court documents stated.

Court documents relate the hood of his Kia Soul entered the right passenger compartment, causing a gash in the passenger’s forehead that exposed the skull.

Banta had an offender score of zero so the standard sentencing range for his conviction was three to nine months in jail. The judge imposed four months and ordered a drug and alcohol evaluation, according to court documents.
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For background, read “Bail set at $1 million for driver accused of hitting man on sidewalk” from Friday August 18, 2017, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Campfires will be allowed once again under certain conditions beginning tomorrow in unincorporated Lewis County since weather conditions have improved, according to authorities.

The city of Centralia will rescind its temporary ban on outdoor recreational fires at the same time.

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A total outdoor burn ban was enacted at the beginning of August because of wildfire danger.

“After careful review of the current and extended weather forecast, the Lewis County community development director and fire marshal, in conjunction with the Lewis County Fire Chief’s Association … will modify the burn restriction to allow recreational campfires in designated campgrounds and on private lands if built in the following manner,” Lewis County Community Development Director Lee Napier stated in a press release today.

Here’s what’s required of your campfire and you:

• Shall be no greater than three feet in diameter and have a ring constructed of metal, stone, or brick which is eight inches above the surface with a two-foot wide area surrounding the outside of the pit cleared down to the soil.

• Shall have an area of at least 10 feet around it cleared of all flammable materials, with at least 20 feet of clearance overhead from flammable materials or fuels.

• Must be attended at all times by a responsible person at least 16 years old, with the ability to extinguish the fire with a shovel and a five-gallon bucket of water or with a connected and charged garden hose.

• When finished, someone must completely extinguish campfire by pouring water or moist soil into it and stir with a shovel until all parts are cool to the touch.

• The use of self-contained camp stoves are encouraged as an alternative.

The Lewis County fire marshal and fire chiefs strongly urge all county residents and visitors to be attentive to the conditions of their properties through proactive fire prevention measures.

The changes are effective at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, Friday.

Chehalis Fire Department Chief Ken Cardinale sent out a press release today also with the title “City of Chehalis Burn Restrictions Modified – To Allow Recreational Fires” which states that beginning at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, recreational fires using approved barbecues will be allowed at all city parks, including using charcoal briquettes.

For further information about what is and is not allowed in Chehalis, call the fire department at 360-748-3394.

For questions in the city of Centralia, call Riverside Fire Authority at 360-736-3975.

For information regarding unincorporated Lewis County, contact Lewis County Fire Marshal Doyle Sanford at 360-740-2696. The 24-hour automated information line can be accessed by calling  360-740-1133.

Lewis County’s Community Development Director Napier also noted today that the ban on open burning in unincorporated Lewis County will be modified again beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 16.

Outdoor burning of garbage, paper and other refuse is always prohibited.