Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – After repeated delays, the case of the Pe Ell softball coach accused of sex crimes involving a teenage team member is in court for a trial.

Todd D. Phelps

Todd D. Phelps, 52, is charged with third-degree rape as well as second-degree sexual misconduct with a minor in connection with encounters last spring and summer with a 16-year-old girl.

They are both residents of the small West Lewis County town.

The prosecution told a story to jurors yesterday of a man who gradually seduced a girl already troubled with low self esteem and depression.

Phelps’ defense attorney spoke of a coach who became close to her because he was worried because she was cutting on herself and might even commit suicide.

“At no time did Todd commit or even think his relationship was inappropriate,” Defense attorney Don Blair told the jury.

It took most of yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court to whittle down almost 70 potential jurors to a panel of 12 with two alternates.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Debra Eurich spoke for 40 minutes, telling jurors what they would hear in the following three days.

The incident of sexual misconduct occurred on or about April 2 of last year, while Phelps was employed by the high school as coach, Eurich said.

The alleged rape happened on July 27, she said, after Phelps had been forced to quit his job.

Eurich said Phelps talked her into breaking up with her boyfriend and then drove a wedge between her and her family, in attempts to isolate her.

“When you hear all the evidence, watch the witnesses, there’s not going to be any other verdict than guilty,” Eurich said.

Blair took only about 10 minutes in the Chehalis courtroom for opening statements.

He pointed out jurors would not see the emails or texts or any “hard” evidence.

His client was at work at Weyerhaeuser at the time the July incident supposedly occurred, Blair said. Until the girl learned that and changed her story, he said.

“What I’m trying to say is this; I don’t know why she is saying these things about Todd,” he said. “It could be because Todd revealed a bunch of her secrets to her parents, trying to get help for her.”

The trial resumes at 9:30 a.m. today.
•••

For background, read “Former Pe Ell coach faces charge of third-degree rape of teenage student” from Tuesday November 29,  2011, here

Updated 7:56 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The first journalist to conduct a one on one interview with Toledo Elementary School Principal Ron Reynolds about the controversial 1998 death of his wife in Toledo says he was left thinking it was a mistake Reynolds chose to remain mum during last October’s coroner’s inquest.

Ron Reynolds

Reynolds and his son Jonathan answered every question and told a very convincing story about what they say was the suicide of former trooper Ronda Reynolds, Peter Van Sant said yesterday.

“They look you in the eye, they didn’t shy away from anything,” Van Sant said. “They gave detailed answers.”

Van Sant spoke yesterday from his office in New York, in advance of this weekend’s airing of 48 Hours Mystery, featuring the Lewis County case that is now ruled a homicide.

Ronda Reynolds, 33, died with a bullet in her head in the home she shared with husband of less than a year, Ron Reynolds and his sons. She was found dead on the floor of a small walk-in closet, covered up by a turned-on electric blanket the morning of Dec. 16, 1998.

Her death was labeled by then-Coroner Terry Wilson and the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office as a suicide, but her unconvinced mother Barbara Thompson battled for more than a decade for a more thorough investigation of what she believed was more likely murder.

A crew from the CBS true crime series 48 Hours Mystery joined local and regional reporters last autumn in Chehalis when the new coroner held an inquest.

Ronda Reynolds

The five-member inquest jury was unanimous in its conclusions of homicide and named Ron and Jonathan Reynolds as responsible.

Van Sant arrived in town for the end of the inquest and the 24 hours before the two men were brought into a Chehalis courtroom.

In his 10 years with the show, he has never gone through such drama as that period, he said.

Their one-hour documentary on the case will run on Saturday at 10 p.m.

Van Sant, who spent about half his career doing CBS evening news, said he spoke with the main players in the case, keeping an open mind with all sides.

“Everyone knew going in I was going to hear their story, and challenge their story,” he said.

He met with Ron and Jonathan Reynolds at a restaurant in Olympia for their major interview, he said. Their attorney Rick Cordes was there, as were some of the family, he said.

“Jon and Ron spoke for themselves,” Van Sant said.

He called it a fascinating conversation.

“I was surprised they chose to stay away from the inquest,” he said. “The fact is, I thought that was a mistake.”

Barb Thompson

Ron Reynolds, on the advice of attorneys, avoided testifying not only at the inquest, but at the 2009 judicial review in Chehalis. He’s spoken publicly only once before, when he answered numerous questions at a press conference in November.

Van Sant also traveled to Spokane to interview Barb Thompson, an individual he called a “wonderful salt of the earth woman.”

“We have been remarkably impressed with how dedicated to her family, dedicated to Ronda she is,” he said.

He called her quest to get the death certificate changed a testament to her determination and her heart.

“I thought it was interesting at the end of the day, Barb Thompson was not upset that these men were not prosecuted,” he said.

And although she doesn’t believe it, she did leave the door open to the possibility it was a suicide, he said.

His producer reached out to former coroner Wilson, but they ended up not meeting with him, he said.

Van Sant interviewed former sheriff’s detective Sgt. Glade Austin and former sheriff’s deputy Jerry Berry, two men who worked the investigation originally.

“Both make eloquent, convincing arguments for their side of the case,” he said. “There’s no one in this story we found to be unprofessional or a simpleton or anything like that,”

For those who have watched the case closely over the years, there won’t be really any surprises, he said. No definitive “gotcha” moment. No “smoking gun.”

They put it together in the way 48 Hours does so well, he said. The story unfolds and viewers won’t know the outcome until the end of the hour, according to Van Sant.

“It’s a classic mystery, with twists and turns, unexpected details and compelling characters,” he said.

Van Sant, who grew up in Seattle and Bellevue, and graduated from the Edward R. Murrow broadcast journalism program at Washington State University in 1975, said during much of the inquest he was elsewhere working on other stories.

But his field producer Susan Mallie would call him, he said.

“Her head was spinning throughout,” he said. First one way, and then the other, he said.

It’s the kind of story where you go back and forth in your feeling of what really happened, he said.

When it came time for a screening, with a corporate vice president, the attorney, interns and others, the room was pretty well divided between suicide and homicide, he said.

“That’s what makes this story so intriguing,” he said.

A total of 10 individuals worked on the piece in Chehalis, Seattle and Spokane, he said. They reviewed documents and did extensive background research.

Among their interviewees is Ann Rule, author from Seattle who published a book on the case. Also, firearms expert Marty Hayes gave them demonstrations in Onalaska, he said.

Most 48 Hours stories have a conclusive ending; this one does not, he said. Those watching will be left to make up their own minds, he said.

“I think the people of Lewis County will find it fascinating,” he said. “I’m sure around dinner tables people have debated this for years, and I’m sure after, that debate will go on.”
•••

Van Sant will be personally moderating a conversation on 48 Hours Mystery’s Facebook site during the show.

Coroner Warren McLeod takes a brief break from writing a grant application at his Chehalis office

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Lewis County’s first new coroner in almost three decades has gained accreditation for his office, fourteen months into his four-year term.

Warren McLeod announced yesterday the stamp of approval by the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners.

“We’re excited about it, we’re accredited now,” McLeod said this afternoon.

The certification makes his one of three coroner’s offices in Washington state which are accredited. The Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office earned its accreditation on Monday and Franklin County gained partial accreditation – because it does not have an autopsy suite – before that, he said.

It means they’re conducting operations in compliance with standards set by the professional group.

The process began last summer and ended on Tuesday with an on-site inspection by a pair of auditors from the IACME, according to McLeod.

“You have to show you have a written policy to meet each standard,” McLeod said. “When I came in, there were no written policies at all.”

His office now has a 180-page policy and procedural manual.

Although reluctant to compare his office with the previous longtime administration of Lewis County Coroner Terry Wilson, McLeod said he thinks it’s a step in the right direction to restoring citizens’ faith they have a coroner’s office they can be proud of.

Wilson ended his 28-year reign with his chief deputy coroner getting arrested for driving under the influence of prescription medications, falling asleep repeatedly as she was questioned by a trooper on her way to work.

When Wilson left office in December 2010, he was still embroiled in a years-long battle over his label of suicide in the 1998 death in Toledo of former trooper Ronda Reynolds. A judicial review concluded Wilson’s finding was incorrect, arbitrary and capricious. A coroner’s inquest last October ruled it a homicide.

McLeod, who teaches forensics at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, said probably the most important change he has made is the “chain of custody” issue with the medications they collect from deceased individuals.

Now, all narcotics are counted and put into an evidence bag at the scene – witnessed by a second person – and then stored in the sheriff’s office evidence facility.

It hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing for the new coroner.

Earlier this year, evidence from a 2010 triple homicide turned up in the work locker of a former deputy coroner, never getting into the hands of law enforcement or attorneys in the case before the trial. McLeod said it was collected during the autopsies in 2010 before he took office.

About 14 coroners offices around the country are currently accredited by the IACME, according to its executive administrator Nicole Coleman. Medical examiners’ offices are accredited by a different association, she said.

IACME has been in existence since 1927, but only began the accreditation program in about 2005, according to Coleman. Twenty-nine more counties are currently in the process, she said.

“There are over 130 standards they have to meet, and they’re pretty strict,” Coleman said.

The certification has to be re-examined every five years.

In what Coleman said was a coincidence of scheduling, the two auditors from IACME who visited Chehalis this week are McLeod’s former bosses, the coroner and assistant coroner from the Clark County Office of the Coroner / Medical Examine in Las Vegas.

McLeod said that put more pressure on him, because he used to work for them and now he has his own office.

The Lewis County’s Coroner’s Office achieved an overall compliance rate of 94 percent, combining the categories of administration, facilities, forensics and investigative standards.

“What we were really impressed with was the “investigative” got 100 percent,” McLeod said.

McLeod said some of the areas he fell short in involve equipment he can’t afford, such as a body scale and a X-ray light box.

One of the standards however was showing he has a mass fatality plan in place.

He took delivery on Tuesday of a mass fatality trailer, something that can be pre-loaded with body bags, generators, extra lighting and other supplies should the worst happen.

The navy blue unit is about the size of a horse trailer and cost $2,500, according to McLeod. It was funded with a grant.

“There’s a lot going on here, I’m excited, very excited,” McLeod said.

He now has eight deputy coroners and two more in training.

“The staff really pulled together to get this done,” he said. “It’s not Warren McLeod, it’s the office.”

•••

Correction: This has been updated to reflect the new trailer cost $2,500 and not $11,000 as McLeod mistakenly said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Centralia Pastor Bill Bates will be able to keep his record clean if he stays out of trouble, pays restitution and refrains from shooting or killing any animals for the next six months.

"Susie"

Bates, 60, found himself charged with two gross misdemeanors after he admitted he killed his neighbor’s cat with a pellet gun in late February.

Bates is also a Centralia city council member. One of the violations was of a city ordinance which prohibits firing of an air gun at someone else’s animal.

The outcome of the case comes not from a judge or a jury, but something called a non-judicial, non-statutory, diversionary agreement between his lawyer and the prosecutor.

Both the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office and Bates’ lawyer Peter Abbarno said they thought it was a good way to resolve the case. Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said the owners of the pet were satisfied as well.

Bates has said it was an accident, that he was only trying to run it out of his yard because he was tired of it using his flower beds as a litter box and walking on his clean cars.

The 10-year-old cat “Susie” died in Bates’ yard on the 900 block of Ham Hill Road.

Afterward, he went knocking on the Pannette family’s door and confessed what he’d done.

It’s not an uncommon type of deal that sometimes occurs at the District Court level, Meagher said today.

Bates was originally charged in Centralia Municipal Court which had jurisdiction because it happened inside the city limits. Abbarno was granted a request to move it to Lewis County District Court because of the conflict.

Both lawyers said Bates admits the conduct, but has no criminal history and can keep it that way if he abides by the terms of the agreement.

“The statute requires intent,” Abbarno said. “In the end, I think it was a real fair agreement.”

There will be no fine, but he must pay $110 restitution to the Pannettes, according to the attorneys.

He was scheduled for his arraignment this coming Friday, but the parties went before Lewis County District Court Judge R.W. Buzzard last Friday instead.

Bates pleaded not guilty to killing a pet; the air gun charge had already been dropped.

The agreement means the prosecutor will dismiss the final charge if Bates abides by the terms.

He has apologized publicly, and told the Pannettes he usually shot at the cat’s feet, according to Dusty Pannette.

He has also said what he did was stupid, and he ought to have spoken to his neighbors about his concerns.

Bates is serving his fourth year on the city council and is minister at Destiny Christian Center, an Assemblies of God church on North Tower Avenue in Centralia.
•••

For background, read:

• “Minister, city council member shoots neighbor cat dead with pellet gun” from Thursday March 1, 2012, here

• “Centralia city council member charged for killing neighbor cat” from Tuesday March 6, 2012, here

• “Council member’s lawyer: Cat killing case needs a judge who isn’t paid by the city” from Tuesday March 27, 2012, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A former Lewis County employee is suing the county for $3 million saying he was discriminated against because of his religion.

Geoff Nelson was a detention officer in the juvenile court division until he was fired a little more than a year ago for what his superiors said was insubordination. He had worked there about four and a half years.

Nelson and his attorney contend he was ordered not to bring a Bible to work, “harassed” for being Christian and treated differently repeatedly because of his beliefs.

“As a matter of fact, they threatened him about reading a Bible at work from the time he started working there,” his attorney Mark Knapp said.

The suit is filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.

Nelson, who is now 28 and lives in Rochester, is looking forward to taking the case to trial, something he says is scheduled for this coming December.

“I’m actually excited to go to court, and not just for the money, I want to get things made right,” Nelson said. “You can’t treat people different just because their religious views are different than yours or their beliefs are different.”

The county, through its attorney, denies the allegations.

Holly Spanski, the administrator of the Lewis County Juvenile Court division, said it’s an ongoing case and she can’t comment.

“The only thing I can speak about, about the allegations he’s making, is I would invite you to visit,” Spanski said earlier this week. “You would find Bibles and other religious materials here for anyone to read.”

The Lewis County Juvenile Court division in Chehalis consists of a courtroom and a 24-bed detention facility, as well as services for probation and other kinds of cases involving youth like dependency petitions and truancy issues.

About a dozen of its 28 employees are detention officers.

Nelson, according to documents provided by the county’s lawyer, was hired in November 2006 with no previous experience in the corrections field; but he graduated at the top of his class at the Juvenile Corrections Officer Academy.

The conflict came to a head in mid-January of last year, during a night shift in the detention center, according to both sides.

The workplace is described with televisions in various locations, including in the control room and in a day room shared by incarcerated juveniles and the detention officers, as well as allowances for casual reading by workers during down time.

Attorney Knapp says Nelson ought to have been able to read his Bible the same way other workers might read magazines about Hollywood stars or fishing.

Knapp said on one particular night, his client and another detention officer were watching religious DVDs when the lead individual on the three-person crew ordered them to turn it off.

“Jeff gets called in to talk with his boss, his boss is really hot under the collar and actually confiscated the DVDs, ” Knapp said.

The document from an arbitration hearing that came several months later indicates Nelson disagreed about the lead person’s directive, and subsequently told his supervisor Chuck West to put in writing an order to stop watching religious material at work.

The document also includes the following:

A memo then went out saying no television watching in the control room and television watching by employees could be done after 10 p.m. when the detainees were locked down.

West wrote to Nelson and co-worker Chevalo Duckett their DVDs should only be viewed in a private area because a co-worker found them offensive.

The document from arbitration also describes the disagreement over the television as occurring over two shifts and starting with the lead worker telling Nelson to turn off an NFL playoff game in the control room early one evening and Nelson turning it back on after the lead, Robin Hood, turned it off.

Nelson and Duckett both told Hood it had been allowed before 10 p.m. until then, during the previous year when Duckett was the supervisor during the shift.

Duckett’s supervisor position had since been cut and the two of them had not before worked with Hood as the lead.

Nelson was suspended, and then fired on Feb. 18 of last year.

The reason for his termination, according to the arbitration document, was his insubordinate and defiant attitude toward Hood, West and Spanski.

Nelson had been suspended less than three years earlier for “engaging in open Bible study on the work floor” while on duty after being warned not to, according to the arbitration document. He had also been talked to by Spanski about an allegation he was quoting scripture to detainees.

Attorney Knapp characterized the investigations as harassment and as ongoing since the time his client was hired.

“It’s a pattern of people bringing up religious subjects and discussions and (then) reporting Geoff for some type of ‘proselytizing’,” Knapp said.

Both Duckett and Nelson filed grievances through their union and complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Knapp also represented Duckett, who was not fired.

Nelson lost a hearing trying to become eligible for unemployment compensation, and he lost the arbitration between his union and employer.

He closed the EEOC case so he could file the suit in federal court, he said.

John Justice, the Tumwater attorney representing the county, said he thinks the arbitrator’s ruling upholding the termination substantiates that it was proper.

Justice said sharing the documents was the best he could do in the way of commenting on the lawsuit.

Knapp says the various hearings looked at the issues too narrowly.

“They really were very rough-shod in the way they treated him,” Knapp said.

Nelson, a father of four who has yet to find work, isn’t deterred.

He made the decision to sue the day Spanski fired him, he said. The troubles had been ongoing since early 2007, he said.

He wants to makes things right, not just for himself, but for others, he said.

He’s just a Bible-believing Christian, not someone who “went around Bible thumping,” he said.

“If that was the case, I wouldn’t be fighting it,” he said.

The case was filed October 24. It is labeled 3:11-cv-05876-RJB Nelson v. Lewis County, Washington