Lewis County Sirens.com

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By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The U.S. State Department helped local prosecutors track down a man wanted for allegedly running an illegal online betting website out of an office in downtown Chehalis.

When investigators were looking into the enterprise in the late summer of 2008, they learned that Ronald W. Ehli had moved to Costa Rica four months earlier, but they interviewed two of his employees at 34 N.E. Boistfort Street, according to court documents.

They learned he was using a bank in Minnesota, another bank in Chehalis and used website server services from a Centralia business, the documents relate.

“It’s an interesting deal,” Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said today. “There was a lot of money involved and we seized every nickel of it.”

Charges were filed in Lewis County Superior Court in the fall of 2008 but Ehli has just recently been taken into custody.

Meagher said the state department revoked Ehli’s passport and when he tried to travel to Nicaragua, where his wife lives, he was located. Ehli was brought to Florida and Meagher had him extradited from the Dade County Sheriff’s Office.

He was booked into the Lewis County Jail yesterday and brought before a judge this afternoon.

Judge Andrew Toynbee allowed him release pending trial on a $10,000 unsecured bond, defense attorney Kevin Nelson said.

Ehli, 58, is charged with second-degree professional gambling and also with unlawfully transmitting or receiving gambling information. Both are offenses with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

He has no known criminal history, according to Meagher.

Charging documents detail how a special agent at the Washington State Gambling Commission decided to look into Sportbetting.com to see if it had any illegal gambling activities in the state.

The agent, using an undercover name and an undercover Visa account, signed up, made bets and won several times, according to the documents.

Sportbetting.com is an Internet website that allows wagering on sports competitions, horse racing, casino games and poker. Its activities are not sanctioned by the Washington State Gambling Commission.

The documents go on to make the following allegations:

The agent received a payout for his winnings with a check drawn on Citizens State Bank in Clara City, Minnesota. It was signed by Ehli and the account belonged to EZPay Financial Services.

That business is a Washington state corporation registered to Ehli, who is listed as president, secretary and treasurer.

The two employees at the Boistfort Street office admitted to checking the email for updates and transferring money to Ehli’s account at West Coast Bank in Chehalis, then printing checks. There were four batches: for Canada, Mexico, International and United States. The computer was seized.

The computer’s server was located at Rainier Connect on Kresky Avenue in Centralia.

Ehli also owns a business called Outsource Printing, based in the same office on Boistfort Street.

Search warrants were served for electronic data from EZPay, West Coast Bank and Citizens State Bank.

It’s not clear if the two employees have been charged with any crimes.

Meagher said that the forfeiture of the business’s accounts was done by the Washington State Gambling Commission and amounted to almost $5 million.

The prosecutor’s office and the sheriff’s office applied to receive a portion of the money, to be used to investigate fraud, he said.

Nelson was appointed to represent Ehli. His arraignment is scheduled for Thursday of next week.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The former Centralia College student who admitted to a string of fast food restaurant rooftop break-ins in which thousands of dollars were stolen has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.

Alexis Cardenas, 26, was arrested in February for the incidents in the late spring of 2015 in Centralia.

Alexis Cardenas

Most of the victim establishments discovered someone had broke into their safes after entering the building by cutting a hole in the roof. Cardenas was released from prison in 2014 for a similar caper at a KFC in King County, according to authorities.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead and defense attorney David Arcuri on Wednesday made the agreed recommendation of 148 months to a judge in Lewis County Superior Court. Judge Andrew Toynbee agreed.

Cardenas pleaded guilty in March to five counts of second-degree burglary, five counts of first-degree malicious mischief and one count of attempted delivery of cocaine. The businesses locally included Arby’s, Wendy’s and McDonalds in Centralia.

Halstead said three of Cardenas’s accomplices have been sentenced for their roles.

Joaquin Armenta recently was given five years and eight months and Cole T. Moon received the same amount of time. Moon had previously gotten 45 days in jail for the McDonald’s burglary.

Cardenas’s girlfriend at the time was originally charged with one count each of second-degree burglary and first-degree malicious mischief but Halstead said her participation turned out to be even more limited.

Morelia V. Ayala Garcia, now 20, of Centralia, was completely cooperative, Halstead said.

She pleaded guilty to reduced charges of three counts of third-degree malicious mischief and was given 30 days in jail, which could be served on electronic home monitoring.

Halstead said today more suspects are still outstanding.
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For background, read “Fast food roof top burglar convicted after plea deal” from Wednesday March 22, 2017, here

Hailee Olsen and Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza, center, with Explorer advisors Deputy Jeremy Almond, left and Deputy Tyson Brown, right.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – She’s just 17, a junior at W.F. High School, but already she’s invested more than two years into preparing for her hoped for career.

Hailee Olsen said she tried sports and didn’t care for that so much.

In her after school time, when she’s not watching her young cousin, or working as a courtesy clerk at Safeway, she’s over at the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office volunteering.

“I help out with office work, I help with a lot of evidence stuff, just various tasks,” Olsen said.

And the Onalaska girl knows what she’s doing, because she joined the sheriff’s office Explorer program when she was 14 and a half.

Members of the post and their advisors meet three times each month at the Lewis County Law and Justice Center in Chehalis. A typical meeting includes an inspection, to make sure their uniforms are nice and clean, she said.

They learn about such things as patrol procedures and do domestic violence classes, she said. They also get to join in with actual deputies’ training, something she especially enjoys.

“We’re in training to be a deputy, pretty much,” Olsen said.

Her uncle, Lewis County sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Riordon, suggested to her when she was 13 years old the program was something she might want to do. But it wasn’t until a friend invited her to an Explorer meeting that she got hooked, she said.

“It was nothing I was expecting when I first walked in,” she said.

It was fun and the Explorers were all so nice, she said.

Olsen said she was bullied a bit in middle school and the program has helped her build up her confidence.

Her dedication led to last year being named the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Explorer Post #9771 Explorer of the year. And the same honor was bestowed up on her again, at the end of last month.

Advisor Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jeremy Almond in his nomination letter notes she volunteered more than 400 hours last year. She is a sergeant who supervises  squad.

“Many deputies she rode with in 2016 provided excellent feedback about her motivation and professionalism with the public,” he wrote. “Sgt. Olsen, during a patrol physical assessment at the W.F. West High School track, saw a deputy struggling on the run. She circled back around and ran with the deputy providing motivation and encouragement to finish the assessment.”

When Sheriff Rob Snaza presented her with the award at Bethel Church during the volunteer appreciation gathering on April 28, he told how now-Chief Deputy Dusty Breen began his career through the same path.

“This is what the Explorer does, not only just for the individuals who want to be in law enforcement,” Snaza said. “But helps them grow as individuals, as young men and women.”

Olsen is working to turn her experiences into a job in law enforcement.

“I am shooting to be out on the road when I turn 21,” she said. “I’m going to apply, and hopefully get hired on.”

Now, she has been recognized statewide for her dedication.

Border Patrol Agent John Tafolla who came to know the teenager at a 2015 winter academy for Explorers said she proved to be an outstanding student. Tafolla wrote a letter to the Washington Law Enforcement Explorer Advisors group’s nominating Olsen to be Explorer of the year. And they chose her.

“Miss Olsen’s level of dedication to her post and law enforcement in general is rare in youth, even in Explorer’s that I have worked with,” Taffolla wrote.

Olsen will travel to Spokane to accept the award during a luncheon at the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs spring conference at the end of the month.

Updated at 11:57 a.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A family living out of their vehicle escaped when it caught fire last night in Chehalis although the father sustained severe burns to his hands pulling their child to safety.

Firefighters called about 12:20 a.m. to the end of a street between Wal-Mart and Home Depot found their van fully engulfed in flames, according to the Chehalis Fire Department.

Fire Capt. Casey Beck said the father suffered third-degree burns to his hands moving burning material, grabbing the baby and then threw a small propane cook stove out of the vehicle.

They had been using the portable stove for heat during the night, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

Fire Chief Ken Cardinale said all three were transported to the hospital, the mother and 3-year-old boy for observation and the dad for his injuries.

Red Cross was contacted to assist them, according to police.

Capt. Beck said they have been staying in their vehicle for at least the past couple of weeks. The van was destroyed.

He expected the 37-year-old man was probably transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

A fire investigator will check into the cause of the blaze, Cardinale said.

It’s very dangerous to use items such as a small barbecues or propane-fueled equipment in confined spaces, he said, because they produce carbon monoxide. People can easily be overcome by the colorless, odorless gas, he said.

“So, people don’t know they’re being poisoned by it,” he said. “It takes far too many lives.”

Vehicle found burning off Northeast Kresky Avenue, just south of Yard Birds Mall

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A body was found inside a car after flames were extinguished overnight in Chehalis.

Firefighters were called just before 1 o’clock this morning to the 1900 block of Northeast Kresky Avenue for a vehicle fire and found it fully involved, according to the Chehalis Fire Department.

It was about 12 feet away from a two-car garage associated with a manufactured home near the southeast corner of the Yard Birds Mall property, Fire Capt. Casey Beck said.

Once the fire was put out, Beck said, he shined his flashlight inside and saw there was a deceased person in the driver’s seat.

Law enforcement was at the scene before the fire crew arrived, he said. Police Chief Glenn Schaffer and Fire Chief Ken Cardinale came out, he said.

The car was a 1992 Honda Accord with Washington license plates, according to Beck.

The incident is under investigation. Nobody was available from the Chehalis Police Department this morning to answer any questions.

David L. Huisenga appears in Lewis County Superior Court this afternoon.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Bail was set at $100,000 today for the driver who allegedly admitted to being involved in yesterday morning’s fatal motorcycle collision in Chehalis, but left the scene and then torched his truck.

David L. Huisenga, 44, was charged today with hit and run involving death and second-degree arson in Lewis County Superior Court.

Temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller argued for a lower amount, telling the judge her client has a stable lifestyle, working as a union laborer the past decade, residing in Castle Rock for the last 17 years and Longview before that.

Her client’s significant other was present in the courtroom, she said.

Michael Fields

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said he was concerned about interference with the administration of justice, given the allegations.

Meagher said Huisenga’s history included two hit and run unattended accidents in 1998 as well as reckless driving from the same year.

Exactly what occurred on northbound Interstate 5 near Centralia around 5 o’clock yesterday morning remains unclear, except that the motorcycle went down and its rider was then run over by a semi truck, according to authorities.

Michael T. Fields, 57, of Chehalis, died at the scene.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer wrote in charging documents officers discovered a license plate at the scene belonging to Huisenga.

His pickup truck was found burning about 9:15 a.m., according to Meyer, east of Interstate 5 near exit 63, and although the vehicle was destroyed, a license plate matching the one left at the scene was located.

Tiller told Judge R.W. Buzzard this afternoon that Huisenga walked 20 plus miles to the Castle Rock Police Department to turn himself in. Meyer wrote in charging documents Huisenga reported to Castle Rock police his vehicle had been stolen, but then recanted during subsequent interviews.

He said he had been driving northbound in the right lane and saw a motorcycle approaching from the rear in the same lane, according to Meyer.

“According to the defendant, he attempted to go into the left lane to get out of the way of the approaching motorcycle, but collided with the motorcycle,” Meyer wrote. “The defendant was unclear as to how the collision occurred.”

Meyer wrote that Huisenga said he saw the motorcycle go down and as a rider himself, knew the rider did not survive, based on the speeds they had been traveling.

He allegedly admitted fleeing, then passing back by and seeing troopers at the scene, and then using matches to set the front seat of his truck on fire.

The state patrol has described Huisenga’s pickup as a red 2001 Chevrolet Silverado.

The offenses he is charged with are both class B felonies, with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and / or $20,000 fine.

Tiller said Huisenga qualified for a court appointed lawyer, and Don Blair was appointed.

Meager outside the courtroom said the charges filed today are based on the evidence prosecutors possessed today, but that the investigation being conducted by the state patrol is not yet finished.
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For background, read “Pickup that left scene of fatal motorcycle crash found burning near I-5” from Wednesday April 26, 2017, here

Updated at 10:01 a.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – It was a Chehalis man who died in the motorcycle wreck yesterday morning on Interstate 5.

It’s unknown exactly what transpired between him and a pickup truck that caused the motorcycle to go down and slide to the shoulder ejecting the rider onto the roadway, but he was then run over by a semi truck, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Michael T. Fields, 57, of Chehalis, was dead at the scene when responders arrived, according to authorities.

The accident about 5 o’clock yesterday morning in the northbound lanes at milepost 80 just south of Centralia shut down the freeway for hours while detectives investigated.

A license plate found at the scene belonging to a pickup truck found burning not far from the freeway in south Lewis County led to the arrest of its owner for hit and run and arson, according to the Washington State Patrol.

It was a WSDOT worker who spotted heavy black smoke off Camus Road near the Gospodor monuments and firefighters dispatched at 8:50 a.m. found the truck fully engulfed in flames, according to authorities.

The owner of the red 2001 Chevrolet Silverado called to report it stolen yesterday afternoon, and after meeting with detectives was booked into the Lewis County Jail, Trooper Will Finn said this morning.

“It doesn’t sound like there was a reason he left the scene, he just panicked and didn’t know what to do,” Finn said. “If he’d have stuck around, it would have been just an unfortunate accident, but now he’s facing two felonies.”

“It’s just a sad story all the way around,” he said.

Field’s 2012 Harley Davidson FLTRU was impounded. The burned Chevrolet Silverado was impounded.

The driver of the 2018 Freightliner, a 64-year-old man from Phoenix, was uninjured, according to the state patrol.

Finn said detectives are still trying to figure out exactly the nature of the contact between the pickup and Field’s motorcycle.

“It may have been a lane change, they’re still investigating,” he said.
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For background, read “News brief: I-5 freeway fatality under investigation” from Tuesday April 25, 2017, here