Lewis County Sirens.com

Chehalis resident Lisa Isom, center, is coached by self defense instructor Rob Gebhart on a move she’s trying with Katie Gift.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – One of them is a registered nurse who sees potentially out-of-control patients, three are teenage girls who want to feel safer on college campus’s and two are mothers of those girls.

Their instructor is a friendly-looking man who’s been studying and teaching martial arts for about 40 years.

On a recent cold weekend in Chehalis, they came together to learn what he calls common sense self defense, for women.

“We won’t be doing a bunch of wristy-twisty, trying to hold someone down type stuff,” Rob Gebhart said.

The focus is how to protect yourself and then get away, he said.

“My goal is to make you harder to kill,” he said.

Gebhart is a fourth-degree black belt in Danzan Ryu Jujitsu. He operates Ohana Martial Arts in Chehalis.

The two-day class was held in the upstairs of the Chehalis Fire Department, where Gebhart is a captain.

The lecture and hands on training is drawn from various disciplines and only one-third of it involves the physical aspects of a fight. As important, according to Gebhart, are the emotional and psychological components of a confrontation.

And preparation.

For example, Gebhart tells the group to get comfortable with violence, in terms of, instead of looking away from it, to do some research to reduce the fear of it. Like someone might do if they’re afraid of snakes, he said.

He talked to the women about paying attention to their intuition, that feeling one might get in the pit of their stomach when something is not quite right in their environment.

The introductory physical responses to a surprise attack were straightforward and simple.

“We take what the body wants to do naturally and show how that can be used in self defense or combat,” Gebhart wrote as he described the course in an invitation to observe.

The class ran from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on a Saturday and was scheduled for the same hours the following day.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The cause of the fatal house fire in Packwood just before Christmas is going to be undetermined.

Fire Investigator Derrick Paul said he has some suspicions and theories that fit, but without proof he can’t say for sure.

Michael J. Pierson, 56, lived alone there according to his family, Lewis County Fire District 10 Chief Lonnie Goble said.

Dec. 20, 2016

While the coroner has not yet confirmed the identity of the victim, the family has placed an obituary for the Packwood man.

Born in Morton Pierson was injured in a logging accident in his early 20s and unable to work again, according to the notice published by Cattermole Funeral Home. He leaves behind his mother, a brother, a sister, two children and two grandchildren, the obituary states.

The Lewis County Coroner’s Office has established he died from smoke inhalation.

The fire at the modular home behind the Chevron gas station along U.S. Highway 12 was reported about 5:20 a.m. on Dec. 20.

Chief Goble said when they arrived, only half the house was engulfed in flames as the fire had already moved from the other side. The roof had already collapsed, he said.

It turns out it had been burning as early as 3:15 a.m., based on footage from the gas station’s security system, Goble said. Around 4:15 a.m., a large explosion could be seen, which may have been a window blowing out, he said.

“How the neighbors didn’t hear that, I don’t know,” he said. “The fire could have started at 12 o’clock that night, no one really knows.”

Once the fire was extinguished, the man presumed to be Pierson was found dead inside.

Goble said Pierson walked with a cane whenever he’d see him in town, and had very poor vision. The family told Goble and Paul that Pierson sometimes smoked in bed and had mishaps with lit cigarettes.

“He’d put cigarettes out and it would be on the night stand instead of the ashtray,” Goble said.

An errant cigarette is one of the investigator’s theories as to the cause of the fire. Paul said the bed was in the front room and the fire started around the bed.

Paul was also fairly certain there was not a working smoke detector in the house. Some of the rooms were still intact and he didn’t find a smoke detector, he said.

“Whether it would have saved his life, we don’t know,” Paul said.  “But I have never had a fire fatality with a working smoke detector in 20 years.”

Paul said once the coroner verifies the victim’s identity, he can finalize his fire report. And the official cause will be undetermined.
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For background, read “One dead in Packwood house fire” from Tuesday December 20, 2016, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Washington State Supreme Court issued an opinion yesterday disqualifying a local judge from presiding over a resentencing that has twice been ordered in a drive-by shooting committed by a former Centralia High School student at age 16.

Guadalupe Solis-Diaz Jr. is serving a nearly 93 year sentence imposed by Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt.

Guadalupe Solis-Diaz Jr.

In 2012, the Washington State Court of Appeals ordered the local court to conduct a new hearing, referencing various matters that it believed should have been handled more thoroughly, given the defendant was a juvenile. In 2014, Judge Hunt held the hearing, criticizing the appeals court decision calling some of their conclusions insulting and ludicrous.

He sentenced Solis-Diaz for the second time to 1,111 months in prison.

The case grew out of an incident in the summer of 2007.

Solis-Diaz Jr. was arrested after gunfire was sprayed along the east side of South Tower Avenue in Centralia, missing six bar patrons. Witnesses testified it was gang-related. Solis-Diaz maintained he was innocent.

Judge Nelson Hunt

He was tried as an adult and convicted of multiple offenses, including one count of first-degree assault committed with a firearm for each bullet that was fired.

The six assault counts were ordered to be served consecutively and each carried a mandatory extra five years because they were committed with a firearm.

Judge Hunt was asked to consider an exceptional sentence downward, but Hunt maintained several reasons why he should not do that.

This past spring, a different three-member panel of the appeals court stated the sentencing court must conduct a meaningful, individualized inquiry into whether Solis-Diaz’s youth should mitigate his sentence. That hearing has yet to be held.

However, they declined to disqualify the sentencing judge and Solis-Diaz went to the Supreme Court about that.

In its opinion issued yesterday the state Supreme Court stated the law requires more than an impartial judge, it requires the judge to also appear to be impartial.

Hunt would be asked to exercise discretion of the propriety of a sentence he has already imposed and, “the record reflects that he not only has strong opinions on sentencing generally and juvenile sentencing in particular, but also suggests he has already reached a firm conclusion about the propriety of a mitigated sentence in this case and may not be amenable to considering mitigating evidence with an open mind,” the court wrote.

Judge Hunt retired last Friday after 12 years on the bench.

The opinion was issued by the court as a whole without a named author.
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For background, read “Former Centralia high school student wins a second appeal of virtual life sentence” from Tuesday May 17, 2016, here

Read the Washington State Supreme Court decision here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A woman arrested in mid-November for her alleged role in a rural Chehalis home invasion robbery that followed her visit by invitation through a contact on Backpage.com was released from jail with just a misdemeanor conviction.

Toyleasha J. Greene, 26, was initially charged in Lewis County Superior Court as an accomplice with first-degree robbery, first-degree assault, first-degree burglary and also with first-degree kidnapping as were two men she’d gotten a ride with to Lewis County. The 53-year-old victim was attacked, tied up and pistol whipped by two males, according to authorities.

It happened on April 29 at a home on Logan Hill Road and when he was able to get himself untied, the victim discovered his television and other valuables missing. Two Pierce County men were arrested, charged, pleaded guilty and then sentenced to prison terms this summer.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello said he decided to enter into an agreement with Greene in which she would plead guilty to third-degree theft. Greene admitted stealing the victim’s laptop computer, in an attempt to prevent him and authorities from identifying and finding her, he said.

“Because that’s really what the evidence supported,” Masiello said. “The victim said yeah, that’s what she did, she didn’t involve herself more than that.”

Masiello said Greene did go to the home to meet up with the man, but it seems the plan for robbery was hatched after she went inside.

One of the men told her to leave the door unlocked, but she didn’t, he said. “That’s why they came in through the window,” Masiello said.

Greene was sentenced last Thursday to 364 days in jail with all but 56 days suspended and then released from jail with credit for those days, according to Masiello. She will be on probation for two years.

Samath L. Hem, 23, of Tacoma, who told detectives he drove the three of them to Lewis County in his grandmother’s rented red Charger, was sentenced in August to just over 12 years in prison.

Natrone D. Bostick, 19, of Lakewood, was given a 15-year  sentence in June. The pair were arrested a few days after the robbery for shoplifting at Home Depot in Chehalis and items belonging to the home invasion victim were found in their car.
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For background, read “Second defendant pleads guilty in Chehalis Backpage.com related robbery” from Wednesday August 3, 2016, here

Judge-elect Joely O’Rourke introduces her family as she prepares to take oath for new position.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Joely O’Rourke was surrounded with supporters who witnessed the formalities of her transition from attorney to Lewis County Superior Court judge.

The gathering yesterday on the fourth floor of the Lewis County Law and Justice Center was presided over by Judge James Lawler, while newly retired Judge Richard Brosey administered the oath of office.

Retired Lewis County District Court Judge Michael Roewe offered his endorsement of the lawyer he first came to know as a deputy prosecutor in his courtroom in 2009.

Roewe spoke of mentoring O’Rourke, among as many as 60 young new lawyers he came across during his 24 years on the bench.

“Joely immediately stood out in that context,” Roewe said. “She constantly sought feedback to improve her performance.”

The qualities she demonstrated caused him to encourage her to consider running to replace him, but she declined, he said.

O’Rourke won her place in history as the first female superior court judge in the county, in a contested race in November with more than 70 percent of the vote. The term is four years.

The Chehalis resident is married to Centralia-based attorney Shane O’Rourke, who helped her don the black robe after she was sworn in.

Monday’s proceedings were attended by all the Lewis County judicial officials, including Lewis County Superior Court Judge Andrew Toynbee who was sworn in last week.

When Judge O’Rourke faced the audience, she thanked her parents, her husband, her son, colleagues and others who helped in her journey to the bench.

“I sit before you today, humbled and honored by your faith in me,” she said.

O’Rourke singled out her 11-year-old son Brock who was a trooper, she said, spending his summer walking in parades and knocking on doors as she campaigned.

She thanked Roewe and the other judges who have guided her.

“The three judges and Commissioner Mitchell, each of you encouraged me,” she said. “I also want to thank you for setting the bar so high, I will spend every day the rest of my career feeling challenged.”
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For background, read “Judge-elect O’Rourke secures her place in Lewis County history” from Tuesday November 29, 2016, here

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Now-retired Judge Richard Brosey administers the oath of office to Joely O’Rourke, with her husband Shane O’Rourke.

A helicopter lands on Interstate 5 to pick up a victim from one of the several crashes in the aftermath of the pedestrian death. / Courtesy photo by Sarah Gee

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 16-year-old girl crossing Interstate 5 on foot to meet friends was killed when she was struck by a passenger vehicle last night in Centralia, according to the Washington State Patrol.

It happened in the southbound lanes south of Mellen Street near the overpass for the new interchange, according to responders.

The state patrol identifies her as Lukah K. Herren, of Toledo.

Firefighters, police and medics responding to the approximately 6:48 p.m. call were soon joined by other responders for a minor wreck just across the freeway and then a serious multi-vehicle collision farther south in the backup.

Interstate 5 was shut down in both directions for a period of time.

Lukah Kimberly Herren

Trooper Will Finn said Herren died at the scene.

Finn said that he spoke to a sergeant who said the girl tried to cross Interstate 5 to meet some people to get a ride somewhere.

“She was in contact with some friends on the other side of the freeway,” Finn said. “The friends, I don’t know how many there were, were making their way to her side, in a car.”

A brief summary of the incident from the state patrol stated a 2006 Saturn Vue sport utility vehicle was traveling southbound and struck the pedestrian who was in lane two.

The driver of the Saturn, 19-year-old Sandra F. Grubbs of Longview, was reportedly unhurt, but her vehicle was totaled, according to the state patrol. Finn said he didn’t expect any charges to be filed.

He called it an unfortunate incident.

Chehalis Fire Department Capt. Rob Gebhart said a passenger car and a truck collided in the northbound lanes very close to the same area a few minutes after the call for the pedestrian, but resulted in only minor injuries.

Just before 7:30 p.m. farther south in the northbound lanes, a collision involving a semi truck and at least four other vehicles left one of those drivers pinned in his car, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

That driver, in his 30s, was extricated and then airlifted with suspected serious and internal injuries, according to RFA Capt. Scott Weinert. A helicopter landed on the freeway to pick him up and take him to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, according to the state patrol.

Two other victims in other vehicles were treated and transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to Weinert.

Trooper Finn said the state patrol had been getting calls of the 2006 Freightliner driving erratically, and it failed to slow for the stopped traffic. Its driver was evaluated by a drug recognition expert, found to be impaired and was arrested, he said.

A service dog in one of the involved cars was killed, Finn said.

The southbound lanes weren’t reopened until just before 9:30 p.m. according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. The northbound lanes were not cleared until just before 3 o’clock this morning, according to WSDOT.
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CORRECTION: This news story has been updated to reflect that the state patrol revised its brief summary about what the pedestrian was doing from ” … struck the pedestrian who was standing in lane two” to “… struck the pedestrian who was in lane two.”

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The northbound lanes near milepost 80 are closed with a multiple vehicle wreck. / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority

Updated at 10:41 a.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – An elderly man crossing the street in Chehalis was killed when he was hit by a car this morning.

Firefighters were called just after 6 a.m. to South Market Boulevard at Fourth Street, according to the Chehalis Fire Department.

Fire Capt. Casey Beck they began CPR but the man died at the scene.

Lewis County 911 Communications recommends motorists use alternate routes as the area was shut down for the investigation.

Chehalis Police Department spokesperson Linda Bailey said the victim was crossing in the crosswalk, and the vehicle was traveling north on Market.

Bailey said no arrests have been made but she presumes interviews will be conducted. The driver of the Suzuki Aerio is a 22-year-old Chehalis woman, she said.

The Washington State Patrol is assisting the police department in its investigation, Bailey said.

The victim, Clifford C. Seng, is an 82-year-old Chehalis resident who resides nearby, according to authorities