Lewis County Sirens.com

Justin G. Bonifield is led out of the courtroom following his bail hearing.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – He said the firearm accidentally discharged, but his girlfriend said that during an argument Justin G. Bonifield hit her in the face, struck her in the back of the head with a beer bottle causing her to see stars and threatened to kill her as she tried to get out of their Centralia house.

The 40-year-old woman told deputies she slid beneath the garage door after pushing the automatic door opener, and began to run toward a neighbor’s house for help when she heard a gunshot, so she dropped to the ground and crawled the rest of the way, according to court documents.

Bonifield, 47, wasn’t arrested until the following day, but by then, law enforcement was already in the process of uncovering a fully functional meth lab at the Joppish Road home, according to authorities.

The Centralia man was brought before a judge yesterday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court facing six felony charges.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said the defendant has two prior felonies and asked that his bail be set at $200,000.

Temporary defense attorney Kevin Nelson noted his client has only had one warrant in the past and has a job as a fabricator in Olympia. Nelson requested $25,000 bail.

Judge Joely O’Rourke agreed with the prosecutor’s request.

The incidents took place on Monday night, and were investigated after the victim got her neighbor to call 911. She had a bloody lip, large lumps on the back of her head and a concussion, according to authorities. Bonifield had fled in a Ford Mustang.

The girlfriend told deputies Bonifield manufactures methamphetamines in one of the outbuildings on the property, something she’d watched him do on prior occasions, according to Halstead.

Deputies obtained a search warrant and located what was described as a lab, with chemicals known to be associated with the red phosphorous method of meth making, according to charging documents. They collected beakers, tubing, flasks, a condenser and crystal substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the documents.

They also found an empty Corona beer bottle on the floor of the home and a gun, the documents relate. Deputies found a trailer on the property that had been reported stolen within the county late last year as well, according to Halstead.

Charging documents make no mention of any bullet being retrieved.

The suspect was found in Thurston County on Tuesday and taken into custody.

“Bonifield admitted to having the firearm and acknowledged he was not to possess any firearm,” Halstead wrote in charging documents. “He also stated the firearm was accidentally discharged.”

He is charged with second-degree assault, felony harassment and manufacture of methamphetamine – an offense Halstead said he hasn’t seen in his nearly seven years in the prosecutor’s office.

Bonifield is also charged with second-degree possession of stolen property, second-degree unlawful possession firearm and possession of meth.

His prior convictions were from 1995 in Pierce County, for attempting to elude and a violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

His arraignment was scheduled for today.

Cole T. Moon returns to his seat to wait to be taken back down to the Lewis County Jail after bail hearing.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Just as he was finishing up serving jail time for his role in a burglary to the McDonald’s restaurant in Centralia, Cole T. Moon found himself charged with new felonies related to past alleged activities.

Moon, 24, recently pleaded guilty to the McDonald’s incident and was given just 45 days in jail because he was a first time offender.

The break-in was just one in a series of nine which took place during 2015 in cities between Portland and Lacey with similar methods – the thieves cut holes in the roofs of fast food restaurants and then cut holes in their safes and stole money, according to authorities. Three took place in Centralia.

An acquaintance of Moon’s pleaded guilty on Wednesday to five of the crimes and is facing a potential sentence of more than 12 years in prison.

As part of his plea agreement, 26-year-old Alexis Cardenas was required to provide a truthful statement about his activities and the names of all who helped him.

The new information, presented in charging documents, alleges there was an attempted burglary at the Centralia McDonald’s a few weeks before the known break-in on May 28, 2015. But they brought the wrong cutting tool and abandoned the venture, according to authorities.

Moon also is now implicated in the incident at Arby’s on April 14, 2015 as well as others in other counties, according to charging documents.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead charged Moon yesterday with one count of second-degree burglary, one count of attempted second-degree burglary, one count of first-degree malicious mischief and a count of attempted first-degree malicious mischief.

Moon had just completed serving his time the day before in the Lewis County Jail.

Temporary defense attorney Kevin Nelson said his client had a solid place to live and a job lined up as bail was discussed.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Joely O’Rourke agreed with Halstead’s request for bail of $100,000 for Moon.

Moon’s arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.
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For background, read “Fast food roof top burglar convicted after plea deal” from Wednesday March 22, 2017, here

Alexis Cardenas pleads guilty this morning in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Alexis Cardenas cast his eyes downward as he offered guilty pleas today to a string of fast food restaurant break-ins that could bring him more than 12 years in prison.

The former Centralia College student was arrested in February in connection with incidents in the late spring of 2015 in which thousands of dollars were stolen during nighttime burglaries in Centralia, two of which the intruders entered by cutting holes in the roofs of the buildings.

The victim establishments include Arby’s, Wendy’s, McDonalds and local prosecutors combined the case with a February burglary of a Taco Bell in Thurston County and a break-in at a Franklin County Arby’s.

Three other individuals have been charged as well.

Cardenas, 26, was accompanied in Lewis County Superior Court this morning by defense attorney David Arcuri.

He pleaded guilty to five counts of second-degree burglary, five counts of first-degree malicious mischief and one count of attempted delivery of cocaine.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said he and Arcuri plan to recommend a sentence of 148 months in prison. Arcuri alluded to “other things” his client has agreed to do before his sentencing.

Cardenas’s now 20-year-old girlfriend Morelia V. Ayala Garcia, 19, also of Centralia, is charged for her alleged role in the McDonalds case where she used to work as a manager.

Also charged in the burglaries were Joaquin Armenta and Cole T. Moon. Moon pleaded guilty to the McDonald’s incident and was given just 45 days in jail because he was a first time offender, according to Halstead.

Cardenas is expected back in court on April 20 to schedule his sentencing hearing.
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For background, read “Two arrested in Centralia rooftop burglary cases” from Friday February 10, 2017, here

Franklin G. Cole Jr. appears before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 32-year-old man with 21 felony convictions in his past is being held in the Lewis County Jail in connection with a Chehalis home invasion robbery from a year ago.

Franklin G. Cole Jr. was brought before a judge yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller said Cole has lived in Thurston County his entire life, but court documents show a Tacoma address for his residence.

According to court documents, a defendant charged last year in the case agreed in January to identify the other two involved in the incident in exchange for consideration from the state.

Charges were filed last month and arrest warrants issued for Cole and for Joshua A. Little. Little has already posted bail in his case.

According to charging documents, it was just after 11:30 at night on March 26, 2016 when police were called to the victim’s home on Southwest 10th Street just off Market Boulevard.

The 40-year-old woman was living in a shed behind a residence and packing to move out when three males kicked in her door and came inside. They were dressed in black masks and wearing gloves, she told police. She said at least one of them was holding a handgun.

The victim said they took her Playstation 4, 20-inch monitor, a DVR, laptop computer and one of them threw a four-foot long fluorescent light fixture at her. She told police she thought she recognized the voice of one of them as someone who had traded watches with her boyfriend, and his watch turned out to be fake.

Jesse L. Harkcom, 34 at the time, was arrested and charged last June.

Cole’s bail is set at $250,000. His arraignment is Thursday.
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For background, read “Chehalis home invasion suspect facing third strike case” from Friday June 10, 2016, here

Mark E. Grover is shown his seat in Lewis County Superior Court for a bail hearing.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Bail was set at $200,000 for the man who allegedly pointed what turned out to be a BB gun but looked like a 9mm pistol at a Centralia police officer who was chasing him on foot.

Mark E. Grover, 35, of Sequim, was charged in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday with second-degree assault and possession of methamphetamine.

Grover has no felony convictions in his past but has had misdemeanor driving offenses and has a pending case involving obstructing a law enforcement officer, Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Joel DeFazio told the judge.

DeFazio asked for the high bail, citing a threat to the community and a flight risk. He has three active warrants, DeFazio said.

Temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller tried for a lesser amount and conveyed to the judge her client said he has broken ribs and something is “very wrong” with his back.

Grover told the judge the pain was making him nauseous.

Judge Joely O’Rourke told him to work that out with the jail.

According to charging documents and police, Grover wrestled with three officers for several minutes behind the Rite Aid store on Harrison Avenue in Centralia on Wednesday morning.

Centralia police were initially called about a suspicious person who seemed to be prowling vehicles in the Safeway parking lot and were then told a store manager confronted him and pulled him out of a vehicle, according to the documents.

The suspect ran, but saw one officer’s police car and changed directions, according to the documents.

Centralia police Sgt. Brian Warren spotted the suspect in the Rite Aid parking lot, exited his vehicle, identified himself as police and instructed the suspect to stop, according to authorities.

Grover ran, Warren chased him on foot.

Warren was outfitted in plain clothes and driving an unmarked car, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Warren continued to yell he was police and to stop and was three to five feet away from Grover, when Grover stopped, turned around and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at Warren, Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wrote in charging documents.

Rather then stop to pull his duty weapon, Warren continued forward and grabbed the gun with both hands, according to Halstead. Grover also had two hands on the gun and the two men struggled over it, he wrote.

Warren repeatedly told him to let go, but he refused, according to the documents.

“While struggling over the gun Grover asked Warren if he was a cop and Warren said he was and he needed to release the gun,”  Halstead wrote. “Grover stated numerous times, ‘you’re going to get shot.’ ”

Other arriving officers got the gun from Grover’s hands but spent the next several minutes trying to get Grover’s hands out from beneath his body as he lay on his stomach, according to Halstead.

Officers deployed the Taser numerous times, Halstead wrote.

When Grover was searched, officers found a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine on his person, the documents state.

Grover was  taken by ambulance to be checked out before being booked, according to police.

When the gun was examined, it was found to be a loaded, operational BB gun but appeared identical to a 9mm Smith and Wesson handgun, according to court documents.

Grover’s charge of second-degree assault includes an enhancement that alleges he was armed with a deadly weapon other than a firearm.

He was assigned a court appointed lawyer. His arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.
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For background, read “Centralia officer facing gun-wielding man goes hands-on” from Thursday March 16, 2017, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A suspect during a foot chase who turned and pointed a pistol at the officer behind him in Centralia yesterday is booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree assault.

The officer was close enough to reach out and push the gun away and grab the man’s hand then a struggle ensued for control of the weapon, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Centralia police Sgt. Tracy Murphy said it took three officers wresting with the subject almost four minutes before they were able to cuff him. It happened behind the Rite Aid store at Harrison Avenue and Johnson Road.

Once police recovered the gun to clear it, they realized it was a BB gun, Murphy said.

It looked like a Smith and Wesson semi-automatic, he said.

Mark E. Grover, 35, of Sequim, had several outstanding warrants and also was found to be in possession of methamphetamine, according to police.

It’s only by the grace of God Grover wasn’t shot for his actions, according to Murphy.

Had Sgt. Brian Warren been two steps farther behind the guy when the gun appeared, that would have changed everything, he said.

“A split second decision,” Murphy said. “Do I try to beat the guy to the draw or get the gun out of my face.”

The reason for the encounter was a 911 call just before 9:30 a.m. about a suspected car prowler in the parking lot of Safeway; police were told a person was trying car doors, according to Murphy. Witnesses advised 911 of where the suspect headed and Sgt. Warren was the first to arrive, tried to cut him off and then gave chase on foot, he said.

Numerous officers arrived quickly, according to Murphy.

The suspect was taken by ambulance to be checked out, because of the potential effects of the combination of being under the influence of drugs and a prolonged fight, Murphy said. Then he was booked into the jail.

Grover is very fortunate the situation worked out the way it did, Murphy said.

“In the end, we’re very grateful it happened that way,” he said. “He (Warren) is glad it went that way.”

Grover is tentatively scheduled to go before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.

Brian Mendoza-Laureano Zuniga, in red, faces a judge while his three companions, in orange, from Green Hill School await their turns.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Five student-inmates from Green Hill School are charged with prison riot for an allegedly gang-related melee that broke out in the dining hall of the state juvenile incarceration facility in Chehalis.

The incident that occurred on Aug. 11 was investigated by the Chehalis Police Department and the suspects subsequently charged in Lewis County Superior Court. Four of them were brought before a judge yesterday afternoon.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Joel DeFazio said the fifth defendant has since been transferred into the custody of the state Department of Corrections and would be transported to a court hearing on Friday.

“We want all five of them to be arraigned at the same time,” DeFazio told the judge.

Charging documents in the case include statements from six different staff members involved in breaking up the fighting. The attackers were described as Surenos and their targets Nortenos.

One staff member recounted that as dinner was ending, he saw nearly all the Maple A and B Wing residents moving, running and one even climbing over a divider wall to get near or assault rival residents on the other side. One of the staff was reportedly kicked in the face as he tried to protect a resident, according to the documents.

Green Hill School off Southwest 11th Street provides services to as many as 185 male youth incarcerated in the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration for a wide range of felony offenses. They range in age from 15 to 20 years old. A signifiant portion of youth held at Green Hill will finish their sentences in an adult prison.

Yesterday, Brian Mendoza-Laureano Zuniga, now 19, was brought to court via the Lewis County Jail from the state Department of Corrections where he has transferred since the event in August.

Three of them were brought to court from Green Hill School and were to return there after the hearing until their next court date. They are: Angel Flores, 19; Adrian Pimentel Jr., 20; and Juan D. Martinez-Sanchez, 19.

Pimentel is additionally charged with custodial assault, a crime with a maximum penalty of five years.

Not present was Eduardo Humberto Moreneo who is expected Friday.

Charging documents do not make note of what offenses the defendants are currently serving time for. The documents don’t give information about the alleged victims, such as their ages and make no mention of any injuries.

Prison riot is described as two or more inmates together using force, violence or threats of such to disturb the good order of the institution, contrary to commands of officers. It has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Authorities reached out to the Chehalis Police Department the following day, requesting contact about a “major youth disturbance” the night before.

The arraignments are scheduled for March 23.