Lewis County Sirens.com

Doneia A. Santiago turns to hug family members goodbye following her sentencing hearing this morning in Lewis County Superior Court.

Updated at 6:25 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The now-former Mossyrock city clerk-treasurer is heading to prison with a five year sentence for embezzling what the mayor says comes to more than $67,000.

Doneia A. Santiago, 53, came to Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis today, free on a signature bond since her June arrest, and was taken into custody at the end of the hearing.

Defense attorney Don Blair didn’t ask the judge for a particular amount of time for his client, but noted she was cooperative after the mayor approached her and left her job without taking her final paycheck. She even borrowed a large sum of money from a friend in an attempt to begin repaying the loss, but prosecutors wouldn’t accept it as part of a deal for less time, he said.

“She got into a situation where she was short on funds and started using the city’s bank account to pay her mortgage,” Blair told the judge. “Clearly she regrets that.”

The defendant told the court she was very sorry.

Santiago was charged initially with first-degree theft, for what at first looked like less than $8,000 taken over a less than three-year period. By mid-July, documents were filed indicating investigators found evidence more than $37,000 was taken. A deal was struck in which she pleaded guilty to nine counts of first-degree identity theft earlier this month.

Mossyrock Mayor Tom Meade addressed the court, on behalf of the town’s 750 residents, he said, about how Santiago breached the public’s trust.

“She failed completely in her duties,” Meade said. “It’s an example of why people have lost faith in government.”

Meade spoke of stolen credit cards, late night transfers, false invoices submitted to the council and a scheme so complex even three audits by the state missed it.

“She was that clever, she was that good at it,” the mayor said.

Mayor Meade said some of her family members should be ashamed of themselves for what he claimed was participation in the wrongdoing.

More than a dozen apparent supporters sat in the benches behind Santiago, including family. Roughly the same number, including city council members, were on the other side of the courtroom with the mayor.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello recommended to the judge Santiago get five years, plus community custody following her release and pay various fines and fees. Restitution will be determined at a future date, he said. Masiello looked to the mayor for the preliminary number of $67,079.95.

“With the conduct in this case and the length of time it went on, we think 60 months is appropriate,” he said.

Judge Nelson Hunt agreed with the state, saying it’s his experience that almost everyone caught embezzling comes up with excuses and then apologizes.

“The jail time starts right now,” Hunt said.

Outside the courtroom, Masiello said the particular charges to which she was convicted helped the state get the amount of time it sought, and because of the sentencing guidelines, keeping the theft charges would not have resulted in a longer sentence.

Santiago started working for the central Lewis County city in August 2013 and was terminated in June.

The deputy clerk, Daydra Stewart, was confirmed by the council as acting city clerk-treasurer in July. Mayor Meade suggested they are in no hurry to make a final decision about a new clerk-treasurer.

“We’re going to let some time pass,” he said.

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For background, read “Former Mossy city clerk pleads guilty to putting city funds in  personal account” from Wednesday September 7, 2016, here

Drannon B. Smythe sits with his temporary defense attorney this afternoon in from of judge in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – He said he came to the door with a loaded AK-47, but put it down when law enforcement outside verified who they were, court documents state.

Twenty-three-year-old Drannon B. Smythe was charged today in Lewis County Superior Court with possession of heroin with intent to deliver, possession of methamphetamine and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

The criminal charges follow his arrest at his Chehalis home yesterday on the 200 block of Newaukum Valley Golf Course Drive, according to the documents.

Drug detectives served a search warrant there, seizing thirteen firearms from around the apartment, several of which were loaded, including a TEC-9 that was on the wall, the documents relate.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello writes law enforcement collected approximately one ounce of heroin, roughly a quarter ounce of meth, digital scales and just over $3,000 cash as well as several prescription pills. They found thousands of clean, unused baggies, according to Masiello.

Smythe allegedly told detectives the guns belonged to him and he’d obtained them through drug transactions.

He reportedly said if law enforcement had served the warrant the previous day, he’d have had pounds of methamphetamine, but he was robbed.

The case was handled by the local Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team. Further details were not readily available this afternoon.

Temporary defense attorney Joely O’Rourke told the judge this afternoon her client was currently unemployed and has only one previous conviction.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Joel DeFazio requested bail be set at $25,000. Judge Nelson Hunt ordered Smythe held with $100,000 bail.

Updated at 12:09 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 35-year-old Centralia woman has been arrested following an investigation into as much as $70,000 discovered missing from the account of an association she worked for while employed at the Lewis County Health Department.

April K. Kelley was booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree theft on Friday and is tentatively scheduled to go before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.

Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said that Kelley was the treasurer for the Association of County Human Services between 2010 and 2014 while she worked at the county health department.

A new treasurer last year reviewed the books and found $60,000 to $70,000 missing, according to Breen.

The association takes in about $90,000 each year in dues from members, comprised of representatives from each of Washington’s 39 counties, according to Breen.

ACHS is a non-profit group with members who provide or administer programs related to chemical dependency, mental health and developmental disabilities. It is an affiliate of the Washington State Association of Counties, according to information on its web site.

Breen said this morning Kelley admitted to removing money from the account, saying she didn’t keep track but estimated around $90,000. She replaced $50,000 of it in 2011 with money borrowed from a family member, he said.

He said the amount stolen is currently estimated as between $40,000 to $70,000.

Kelley was hired at the Lewis County Department of Public Health & Social Services in July 2007. She is no longer employed there, as of this past Friday, according to Director Danette York.

She was the social services manager, with responsibilities for programs for housing, behavioral health, developmental disabilities, and senior services.

It appears she may have bailed out of jail yesterday, from information on the Lewis County Jail’s online roster.

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AUTO THEFT

• A 29-year-old Centralia man was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle in connection with a case associated with a location at North Tower Avenue and Susan Street on Friday night, according to the Centralia Police Department. David J. Eslick was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Someone broke into a vehicle parked on the 500 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia and stole a Galaxy Note tablet computer, according to a report made to police just after 3 p.m. on Friday.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called to the 100 block of South Tower Avenue about 10:40 p.m. yesterday where tires had been slashed on a parked vehicle.

AIRPLANE DOESN’T CRASH

• Chehalis firefighters stood by at the airport after being notified a small plane was going to make an emergency landing on Friday. Chehalis Fire Department Capt. Casey Beck said he got a phone call from Seattle air traffic control, asking for their assistance. “They said, ‘hey, we’ve got a plane having difficulty with their alternator, they think it will be fine, but they’re going to land in Chehalis’,” Beck said. He notified dispatch at about 11:30 a.m. the crew was heading to the Chehalis-Centralia Airport, he said. “Probably about 15 minutes later, it came down and landed without problems,” he said.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, protection order violation, driving with suspended license, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, dispute, disorderly person, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street … and more among 280 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 48-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Former Chehalis Chief of Police and Fire Services Randy C. Hamilton passed away on Saturday in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, at age 65.

Randy C. Hamilton
1951 – 2016

Hamilton retired from the city of Chehalis in March 2002, and went on to work for the U.S. Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center traveling the country and teaching, according to his daughter.

“He taught a lot of classes, all over the U.S. really, and even Guam,” Kalessa Markham said.

The Chehalis native moved to the Tacoma area about 10 years ago and worked as a handyman and then, as general manager of a bar in Tacoma called The Mix, Markham said.

He retired for good in August and decided he would move to a place he enjoyed visiting so much, she said.

Markham said her father’s death was unexpected, but he died peacefully with family members around him.

“I’m realizing what an impact he had, not just in our community, but everywhere,” she said. “It’s so nice to know he’s missed by so many people.”

Hamilton began his law enforcement career as a Lewis County sheriff’s deputy, spending his last five years as the undersheriff. He ran for sheriff, and lost. Then in 1987 was hired by the city of Chehalis.

Hamilton leaves behind three children, three grandchildren and other family.

A public viewing at Brown Mortuary in Chehalis is scheduled for tomorrow between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. A family graveside service will be held on Saturday.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. at the Chehalis Middle School Commons. Everyone is welcome, his daughter said.

Erin Snodgrass is escorted out of the courtroom to jail after hearing in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Green Hill School counselor who engaged in a sexual relationship with a student-inmate was sentenced today to 14 days in jail plus 46 treatment sessions.

Erin Snodgrass, also known as Erin Stiebritz, was arrested in January following an investigation that began after a letter was intercepted at the state juvenile detention facility.

The student, who turned 18 during the period of time in question, told detectives they had sex a few times in her office, according to court documents.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead told a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court he and her lawyer came to an agreement to recommend she be sentenced to a lower than usual amount of time.

Snodgrass, 37, pleaded guilty to first-degree custodial sexual misconduct in July, an offense with a standard sentencing range of six to 12 months in jail.

Halstead said the reason for less time included the fact that she has taken responsibility for it and also the interview with the student was not recorded and he later denied everything.

Snodgrass began working at Green Hill in June 2013. The events investigated occurred during the latter half of 2014. She has been free and out of custody with an unsecured bond since her arrest.

Defense attorney Blake Kremer told the judge his client takes all of this very seriously.

“She made a terrible mistake,” Kremer said. “That’s what she’ll be paying for forever.”

He noted her family stands by her, although she didn’t want them to come to the hearing. Kremer pointed out three friends in the courtroom who were there to support Snodgrass.

She addressed the court, her voice breaking.

“This has really done a lot of damage to my family and my friends,” Snodgrass said.

Judge James Lawler said he’d read the pre-sentencing report and the sentencing memorandum, and it was obvious to him the defendant felt remorse. He adopted the recommended sentence.

On paper, she was given 60 days in jail, however all but 14 of those days were each converted to one treatment session.

Neither Halstead nor Kremer mentioned, nor would they say outside the courtroom, the nature of the treatment.

Green Hill in Chehalis is run by the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, a division of the Department of Social and Health Services. It’s a secure facility in Chehalis that provides older, male offenders education and vocational training.

Earlier this year, the state Department of Health suspended Snodgrass’s counselor credential for at least four years.

The judge also ordered that she serve 12 months of community custody and have no contact with the victim.

Snodgrass was taken into custody at the end of the hearing.
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For background, read “Guilty plea accepted in Green Hill counselor-inmate sex case” from Wednesday July 27, 2016, here