Lewis County Sirens.com

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INJURY COLLISIONS

• A 28-year-old Packwood resident riding a dirt bike without a helmet was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after crashing yesterday. Deputies responding about 5:45 p.m. learned from witnesses the man was traveling along Elkhorn Drive in Packwood when he lost control and wrecked near Cannon Road and Holiday Lane, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Chief Deputy Stacy Brown described his injuries as serious and the damage to the 2000 Kawasaki as minor. The sheriff’s office suspects alcohol was involved, according to Brown.

• A 51-year-old driver ended up with a possible broken hand or wrist when she wrecked yesterday afternoon, her Jeep Cherokee rolling end over end along the 400 block of Chilvers Road west of Chehalis. Deputies responding to the approximately 5 p.m. incident were told she was traveling westbound when her vehicle left the roadway and struck a raised driveway entrance, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The Bellevue woman had been wearing her seat belt; the vehicle was totaled, according to the sheriff’s office. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

VEHICLE THEFT

• A white 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 pickup truck with Illinois plates was stolen sometime during the night from the 100 block of South Cedar Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 7:30 a.m. today.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called about 8 p.m. yesterday about a vehicle prowl at the 700 block of Pioneer Way.

• Someone stole a tent from the back of a truck parked at the 800 block of South Silver Street. An officer called about 3:50 p.m. yesterday learned it must have occurred during the night.

• A vehicle was broken into and its stereo stolen on the 700 block of Bengal Court in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called at 10 a.m. yesterday to the 900 block of West Main Street to take a report an individual’s vehicle got spray painted.

BURNING BUSHES

• Firefighters were called about 6 o’clock yesterday evening when hedge trees caught fire in a planting bed at Applebee’s restaurant on Northwest Louisiana Avenue in Chehalis. It was near the road and likely was ignited from a cigarette butt, according to the Chehalis Fire Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarm, dispute, suspicious circumstances, vandalism, collision on city street … and more.

Burning bushes along Northwest Louisiana Avenue. / Courtesy photo by Lori Cusson

Joseph M. Lowery is charged with attempted first-degree murder in Lewis County Superior Court, an offense with a maximum penalty of life in prison.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The 20-year-old who grew up in Winlock is being held on $500,000 bail, accused of leaning into the bushes and taking aim with a pistol – from some 50 feet away – at his former girlfriend as she sat alone next to a stream in the woods.

Shyann Gallimore, also 20, was struck in the back with what authorities believe was a 22 caliber bullet.

But it could be as long as two weeks before the round is removed, and examined.

“It ricocheted off something, and lodged in my shoulder,” Gallimore said yesterday.

The young woman was taken by a friend to Providence Centralia Hospital where she was treated and sent home the same night. Gallimore is home in Winlock, where she lives with friends she said are taking care of her.

Courtesy photo from Gallimore.

The incident took place on the outskirts of Winolequa Park in the South Lewis County community. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said it happened about 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.

“This is a safety issue,” Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh said as she addressed bail for the suspect yesterday afternoon.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey agreed the amount was appropriate.

The sheriff’s office reported the suspect had threatened violence before against the victim and made reference to an ongoing dispute.

Prosecutors in charging documents allege the suspect told deputies he had become tired of Gallimore disrespecting the “Juggalo family.”

Joseph M. Lowery is charged with attempted first-degree murder.

Prosecutors say he and a 16-year-old boy who was with him that evening admitted they are members of the Juggalo gang. And that on a previous occasion, Lowery had allegedly told the teen if he ever saw Gallimore in “his” woods, he would shoot her.

And that he would “put it on the hatchet,” a Juggalo term meaning promise, according to prosecutors.

Juggalo is a name used by fans of performance artists called the Insane Clown Posse. Federal law enforcement agencies identified Juggalos as a non-traditional type gang in 2011.

Whatever exactly the reason for the weekend shooting, temporary defense attorney Joely O’Rourke alluded to another possibility yesterday afternoon when the suspect was given a court appointed attorney.

“I suspect Mr. Arcuri will be asking for a mental health evaluation,” O’Rourke told the judge.

His mother was among those in the courtroom, to support him, O’Rourke said. And he has absolutely no criminal history, she said.

The sheriff’s office and charging documents give the following account of what took place:

Gallimore was at a mutual friend’s home on Limmer Road earlier on Saturday, and when she learned Lowery was headed there, she called a friend to pick her up near Winolequa Park to make sure she didn’t walk home alone. Gallimore was afraid of Lowery.

She walked to a trail leading to the park and was sitting down and on the phone with the friend when she heard a pop, felt pain in her back, reached around to touch and then found blood on her hand.

The friend, who Gallimore said is a roommate and like a little brother to her, took her to the hospital. That’s where deputies responded to learn what happened.

An X-ray revealed an object in her back consistent with a .22 caliber round. An injury near the middle of her back is consistent with a bullet wound.

When deputies located the 16-year-old later that night at a residence on Sears Road, he told them he and Lowery knew Gallimore was at Limmer Road and were on their way there, but as they got to the park, Lowery asked him for the .22 revolver in his backpack.

They went into the woods and as they walked up the trail they saw her, sitting next to the stream. The teen said Lowery told him to keep walking, and then Lowery leaned into the bushes and aimed the gun.

The teen said he heard a pop, he heard Gallimore yelling, and they ran away up a trail.

The 16-year-old, who also lives in Winlock, was booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center and yesterday, Judge Brosey found probable cause to hold him, as prosecutors requested, as an accomplice in the crime of attempted first-degree murder.

His bail was also was set at $500,000.

Prosecutors wanted more time to make a final decision, but the nature of the proposed potential charge, a class A felony, made it automatic the 16-year-old be handled in adult court, according to Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher.

However, today, Meagher said further review of the case indicated the more appropriate charges for the teen were only second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and tampering with evidence. And prosecutors decided not to charge him as an adult.

The charges were filed today.

The 16-year-old, who had been moved to the Lewis County Jail, went before Judge Brosey once again this afternoon, for a juvenile detention hearing.

Deputy Prosecutor Joel DeFazio and a juvenile probation officer urged the judge to continue to hold the teen until his arraignment.

A major concern is the gun has not been recovered, Judge Brosey was told.

The teen was to be sent back to the juvenile detention following the hearing. Court appointed attorney Shane O’Rourke is representing him

The teen’s arraignment is Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. Lowery’s arraignment is Thursday at 10:40 a.m.
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For background, read “Sheriff’s Office: Winlock woman shot in back in park by ex, survives” from Monday July 20, 2015, here

Wellington M. Waggener hasn’t been back to Lewis County Superior Court since he threw himself over the half wall behind the defendant’s table shortly after this photo was taken on Wednesday afternoon.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Centralia resident arrested three times in four days – twice for his alleged actions inside the jail – won’t be arraigned anytime soon.

Wellington M. Waggener, 26, is scheduled to return to court for a review next month.

He was to have the opportunity to make his pleas on Thursday morning to four felony charges, but the judge signed an order for a mental evaluation to be conducted by Western State Hospital.

The former Centralia College basketball player was booked into the Lewis County Jail after a Friday night incident in which a woman said she found him in her bed at a Centralia motel, touching her with his hands.

While being housed in the medical observation portion of the jail on Sunday, he allegedly spit on a corrections officer’s face as he was being served dinner.

Then on Tuesday morning, he allegedly threatened to kill two other of the officers, telling one of them that he would kill her if he saw her outside the jail and telling the other he wanted to slit his throat.

Defendants can’t be arraigned unless they are competent to understand the charges against them.

The judge had already noted at Waggener’s first appearance in Lewis County Superior Court that he was familiar with Waggener, and that he may need to be on some mental health treatment.

Then on Wednesday at his second bail hearing, the handcuffed and shackled  6-foot 9-inch tall defendant threw himself over the half wall that separates the public seating area from the front portion of the courtroom. Guards dragged him out of the courtroom.

It was about 18 months ago that jail staff left Waggener in a cell to suffer for more than five hours without any water for relief after an entire three-ounce can of pepper spray was discharged into his cell. Lewis County had a check for $300,000 delivered to his lawyer last month as a settlement regarding the incident.

The sergeant held responsible was fired.

According to charging documents in his newest case, at about 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Waggener became angry when told he couldn’t take a shower at that moment, and 40 minutes later tried to flood his cell.

He was still being held in the medical observation unit.

When a corrections officer responded, he allegedly said he would shoot her, he would kill her if he saw her on the streets. He acted like he had a rifle in his hand and told he’d like to see her head explode, charging documents state.

Charging documents go on to allege that when questioned, Waggener said they were not threats, but promises.

It was a few hours later when he allegedly told a jail sergeant that he wanted to slit his throat.

He asked the sergeant if that scared him, and the sergeant said no, charging documents state. He allegedly said it should, because when he was released, he would do it.

When Waggener was interviewed about it, he said he’d been asleep all day and made no threats.

He is currently charged with residential burglary with sexual motivation as well as custodial assault, for which his bail was set at $25,000. He is also charged with  two counts of felony harassment, for which bail was set at $50,000.

Waggener’s review hearing is on the court calendar for Aug. 8.
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For background, read:

• “Former Lewis County Jail inmate paid $300,000 for pepper spray abuse incident” from Wednesday July 15, 2015, here

• “Centralia man jailed after woman tells of waking up to stranger in her motel room bed” from Tuesday July 14, 2015, here

Three wooden crosses mark the roadside of Monday night’s collision. / Courtesy photo by Ayla Marie Withey

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The driver of the second vehicle in the Onalaska crash that killed three teens told the investigating trooper he’d drank a beer about five hours earlier, but his breath and his entire van smelled of alcohol, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Joseph W. Rogerson, 36, and his wife were returning home to Chehalis from getting a shovel at Cowlitz Timber Trails when they collided head on with a sport utility vehicle carrying eight young people on state Route 508 near Hyak Road.

The state patrol has said both vehicles crossed the centerline and the investigation is ongoing.

The Monday night tragedy has left a community grieving.

Wooden crosses have been placed beside the road at the scene and a vigil is set for tomorrow night, where organizers hope mourners will encircle the entire Carlisle Lake mill pond.

The state patrol’s initial reports indicated the black 2002 Land Rover Discovery was occupied by four 18-year-olds and four 13-year-olds from Onalaska and Chehalis.

However, the police report indicates slightly different ages.

Dead at the scene were the driver, Arnold W. Mullinax, 17, and Taylor N. Thompson, 12, both from Onalaska, according to Trooper Torson Iverson’s report.

Dakota L. Dunivin, 18, from Chehalis, died the following day at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. All the deaths were caused by blunt force trauma and listed as accidental.

Trooper Iverson writes he arrived shortly after 10 p.m. that night, and saw emergency lights ahead, and then a silver van partially blocking the westbound lane, and the Land Rover on its top in the center of the road.

The bulk of his report focuses on Rogerson, the driver of the Ford Freestar minivan.

The man was crying as he answered questions, and said he’d been doing CPR on someone for about five minutes. When asked if he was hurt, he said he didn’t know.

“Rogerson stated he was driving ‘and all of a sudden, it’s like, you just never think someone like you is going to be involved … all of a sudden bam’,” Iverson wrote.

Rogerson agreed to perform field sobriety tests, during which at some points he stumbled and also swayed from side to side, the trooper wrote. He declined a portable breath test.

From the beginning, the man told the trooper the other vehicle basically was in his lane, and that it ran into him

Three troopers located what they believed to be the point of impact, deep gouges in the roadway, right on the centerline, between the yellow lines that form the centerline, according to the report.

Rogerson, who mentioned the next day was his first day at work as a medical assistant, was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital by ambulance, where the trooper met him to have his blood drawn for testing.

The report does not include his blood alcohol level.

Rogerson was booked into the Lewis County Jail for driving under the influence on the instructions of his sergeant and the prosecutor, Iverson wrote.

The following day, Rogerson appeared in Lewis County District Court where he pleaded not guilty. A $5,000 appearance bond was posted on his behalf.

Among his conditions of release, is that he may not consume any alcohol or go into a bar. The court order stated he had to be equipped with a SCRAM – an alcohol monitor bracelet – before leaving the jail.

And he may not drive without an  ignition interlock device installed in his vehicle.

Rogerson was appointed Chehalis attorney Jacob Clark. His court file does not indicate when he will return to court.

The state patrol indicated the night of the accident that if the investigation reveals his driving is the cause of the collision, the charge could be elevated.
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For background, read “Two dead, at least three injured in head on crash in Onalaska” from Tuesday July 14, 2015, here

Chan H. Oscar is seated with his lawyer David Arcuri at his sentencing hearing in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Chan H. Oscar’s voice broke and he looked down as he apologized to the friend he called his cousin, for shooting him on a Chehalis street.

The round from the 9 mm semi-automatic handgun grazed an eyebrow and traveled through Kevin St. Catherine’s wrist.

St. Catherine did have a full time job and commuted to Bremerton, Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead told the judge. But he’s had two surgeries and won’t be able to bend his wrist.

“He won’t be able to work,” Halstead said.

The two men, are both from the Caribbean, are both Chehalis residents and their families have known each other for quite some time, Halstead said.

“Unfortunately, on this particular day, things got out of hand,” he said.

Oscar was in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday morning, to be sentenced for second-degree attempted murder. He’d made an Alford plea, not admitting guilt.

Halstead as he made his recommendation, told the judge Oscar wasn’t the instigator, that the two 36-year-olds had agreed to go fight. It had to do with a woman, Halstead said.

Defense attorney David Arcuri spoke on behalf of his client, telling of St. Catherine being the aggressor, tracking Oscar down at the Motel 6 where he assaulted him.

“And it wasn’t until my client opened his coat and showed he had a firearm, that Mr. St. Catherine backed off,” Arcuri said. “Our evidence would have showed Mr. St. Catherine said words to the effect, you’re not the only one with a gun.”

The incident took place the night of May 13,  on Southwest William Avenue near Fourth Street in Chehalis. Their two vehicles met up there.

“No doubt Mr. Oscar is culpable for discharging that firearm” Arcuri said. “But one has to appreciate how terrifying that could be.”

Oscar was taken into custody a few hours later, a loaded handgun found on his person.

Arcuri asked for 108 months in prison for his client. Halsted asked for 160.

Judge Richard Brosey imposed 156 months, which is 13 years.

He also ordered three years of community custody with the state Department of Corrections upon Oscar’s release.

And no contact for life with the victim.

Prosecutors dismissed a charge of rendering criminal assistance against 50-year-old Lenard A. Carlile, who was a passenger in the vehicle that police found Oscar in when they took him into custody that night.

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For background, read “Police: Chehalis resident jailed for shooting cousin on neighborhood street” from Thursday May 14, 2015, here

Sean M. Ferrel listens to lawyers and the judge as he learns he is about to be released from jail.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Both the prosecution and the defense agreed to a sentence even lower than the standard due to ongoing mental health issues for a man who walked into a rural Centralia home with a serrated steak knife in his hand.

Sean M. Ferrel, 43, from Bremerton interrupted a couple at the residence near the far end of Little Hanaford Road, and was held at gunpoint until law enforcement arrived early last summer.

Ferrel made a so-called Alford plea to first-degree burglary, and appeared before a judge yesterday to be sentenced.

The man who was just passing through Lewis County, and now plans to head south to California has been waiting in the Lewis County Jail for more than a year now, and should be released with time served, Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead told the judge.

“I’ve spoken with the victim and the victim is on board,” Halstead said yesterday morning. “He doesn’t want to testify, he has other things going on.”

Halstead asked the judge to order Ferrel to get evaluated for and comply with substance abuse and mental health treatment.

Defense attorney Sam Groberg said his client had been to Western State Hospital three times since his arrest.

“He still has ongoing mental health issues he continues to deal with,” Groberg said.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler said what he heard made sense. He agreed to the recommendation, and imposed 384 days.

But Lawler told the defendant he would be on community custody with the state Department of Corrections for 18 months.

“That means you need to check in with DOC at the Lewis County Mall when you get out,” Lawler said.

He put in place a no contact order regarding the victim and explained to Ferrel he now had two strikes against him.

“That mean, if you have a third strike, you’ll go to prison for the rest of your life,” Lawler said.
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For background, read “Stranger with knife walks into rural Centralia home” from Friday June 27, 2014, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Lewis County paid a former inmate $300,000 not to sue the county, its jail or any of its employees for mistreatment he suffered while incarcerated.

The then-24-year-old Centralia man was housed at the facility in January of last year, described as a person with mental health issues who was being held in the medical observation area.

Wellington M. Waggener

An entire three-ounce can of pepper spray was discharged into his cell to get him to give back keys he’d grabbed off a guard through the cuff port, and then he was left to suffer for more than five hours without being given any kind of relief – such as water or decontamination.

There was no running water in the cell at the time, having been shut off the day before due to his attempt to flood the cell.

Then-Sheriff Steve Mansfield called the incident disgusting and embarrassing for the sheriff’s office, after he fired the corrections sergeant he held responsible for what happened.

Undersheriff Wes Rethwill today said the settlement was handled not by the sheriff’s office, but by the Lewis County risk manager.

“Obviously this is an incident that took place involving an employee, that employee is no longer here,” Rethwill said. “The sheriff at the time took appropriate action.”

The sheriff’s office operates the jail. Mansfield was replaced by newly elected Sheriff Rob Snaza in January. Rethwill is new to office as well.

Lewis County RIsk Manager Paulette Young said a lawyer representing the county and a lawyer representing the inmate reached an agreement with the help of a mediator.

“We thought that would be the best way to settle the claim without going to a lawsuit,” Young said. “If Mr. Waggener  had sued us, it would be a civil rights violation in federal court.”

The check was written on June 2, and delivered to the former inmate’s attorney, she said.

Wellington M. Waggener was in the jail because he’d been arrested by Centralia police after he returned to a downtown business he’d been barred from, and then allegedly fought with officers who attempted to detain him.

Now 26 years old, Waggener is being held once again at the Lewis County Jail.  The Centralia man was booked on Friday night in connection with an incident a local motel for which he has been charged with a felony.

Then yesterday morning, he allegedly threatened to kill two jail guards.

He was charged today in Lewis County Superior Court with two counts of felony harassment.

The 6-foot 9-inch tall former Centralia College basketball player was handcuffed and shackled at his waist and ankles as many defendants often are.

As his bail hearing came to a close he threw himself over the half wall that separates the public seating area from the front portion of the courtroom.

The four corrections officers already present were on him fairly quickly.

“Oops, I slipped,” Waggener said, as he lay partially on the first bench, with his lower half of his body still on the proper side of the wall.

Trena Krause, who was seated in the courtroom waiting for another matter, heard someone holler, get back, and jumped and walked over the benches to get to the rear of the room.

“The way he was acing, I completely figured he was on drugs, or mental,” Krause said. “I think he was just making an as* out of himself.”

Waggener stayed limp as the guards dragged him off the bench and out of the courtroom, back down to the jail.

Temporary defense attorney Joely O’Rourke had been about to tell the judge Waggener would qualify for a court appointed attorney, when Judge Richard Brosey suggested she inquire about his assets, in particular if he’d received a settlement to the tune of $300,000 from the county.

Centralia attorney Don Blair was appointed already for his other case.

Judge Brosey said the matter could be discussed further tomorrow, at Waggener’s arraignment.

The $300,000 check was paid by Washington County’s Risk Pool, Lewis County’s insurer.

It was made out to the law firm representing him, in trust for Waggener.

Young said today Waggener never filed a lawsuit or a tort claim, regarding his treatment at the jail last year.

The family’s attorney made a public disclosure request for the documents about the incident, she said.

“We knew where that was going,” she said. “We had an attorney, we went to mediation.”

Lawyers on both sides mutually reached out to each other, she said.

The agreement, signed May 22, means Waggener would release all claims against the county and it’s employees, among those named, Jail Chief Kevin Hanson and former Corrections Sgt. Trevor S. Smith.
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For background, read:

• “Sheriff’s Office: Fired corrections officer allowed inmates to suffer” from Friday July 18, 2014, here

• “Centralia man jailed after woman tells of waking up to stranger in her motel room bed” from Tuesday July 14, 2015, here

Corrections officers grab Wellington M. Waggener as he lay on the first bench behind the defendant’s table in Lewis County Superior Court today.

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Waggener remains limp as corrections officers move him out of the public seating area of the courtroom.

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Waggener is dragged out of Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey’s courtroom this afternoon.