Lewis County Sirens.com

Sheriff's deputies look around the patio of an apartment on Ash Street in Centralia.

This news story was updated at 3:13 a.m. Wednesday December 28, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CENTRALIA – A 28-year-old woman was shot in Centralia this afternoon and police are investigating.

Officers were called at 1:16 p.m. about shots fired at the 400 block of North Ash Street.

A Centralia woman was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with a gunshot wound to her shoulder, described as non-life threatening, according to police.

However she was being airlifted this afternoon to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Officer Patricia Finch said.

Nobody has been arrested, Finch said about 3:30 p.m. today.

Yellow police tape was stretched around a grassy area behind a lower unit at the Edison Terrace Apartments.

Officers from Centralia and the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office congregated there this afternoon.

Two young men were brought out of a nearby apartment and handcuffed by police and taken away.

Finch said she did not know if the injured woman lived at the apartments.

Finch said she did not know if the shooter was at large.

The couple who manage the complex didn’t know much either this afternoon.

“All I know is I heard gunshots, it was two gunshots,” said Gregg Zetz who manages the apartments with his wife.

Zetz said he saw two guys outside on the corner of Ash Street and Park Way screaming and cussing toward one of the apartments.

“My husband tells me to get the kids on the floor and call the cops,” Melissa Zetz said.

Melissa Zetz said the complex is usually fairly quiet, except about two weeks ago someone came to the same apartment with baseball bats and broke out windows and smashed up a car belonging to the resident.

On Dec. 4, four men were arrested in connection with baseball bats there, and police were told it was “gangsters.”

Gregg Zetz said he informed the tenant of the involved apartment today she must move out.

Update 10:06 p.m.: Centralia police report they have arrested four men – all Centralia residents – in connection with the shooting they are calling gang-related.

Twenty-year-old Ulises Carrillo-Cruz was booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree assault and felon in possession of a firearm, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Carrillo-Cruz confessed to shooting the woman, police say, who was not the intended target.

Rolondo Carrillo-Cruz, 25, was booked for  first-degree assault and felon in possession of a firearm, according to police.

Two others were booked for rendering criminal assistance. They are Francisco J. Robles, 18, and Javier E. Martinez, 18, according to police. Robles was also booked for possession of a firearm.

A firearm was found hidden in some bushes near the scene by police dog Kayo, according to police.

Police officers look through the grass at the corner of Ash Street and Park Way in Centralia.

Brandon Piatt, of Glenoma, sits with defense attorney Bob Schroeter in Lewis County Superior Court. Behind him are James and Sherri Hamrick, both of Packwood.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Four of the individuals scooped up in a crack down on drug dealing in the east end of Lewis County were charged yesterday with delivery of methamphetamine; one young woman was released with no charges after spending a night in jail.

Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team traveling in an armored personnel carrier, arrested eight people on Thursday in a sweep through Packwood and Morton.

The action followed a three-month investigation by the Lewis County Regional Drug Task Force, which had been conducting undercover drug buys, according Sheriff Steve Mansfield.

Officers served a search warrant that morning  at the 100 block of Edmonds Road in Packwood where they detained three people, James D. Hamrick, 29; Sherri J. Hamrick, 46; and Amaris R. Smith, 21, according to the sheriff’s office.

While Smith was arrested for alleged possession of methamphetamine, she was not charged because there were no drugs found on her, Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Shane O’Rourke said.

The rest of those arrested appeared before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis yesterday afternoon.

James Hamrick was charged with two counts of delivery of methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to deliver. He has several felony convictions from the past, according to O’Rourke; Judge James Lawler set his bail at $50,000.

Sherri Hamrick was charged with four counts of delivery of methamphetamine and one count  possession with intent to deliver. Her bail was set at $15,000. Prosecutors said she has no criminal history.

Venus D. Hamilton, 48, of Morton, was charged yesterday with delivery of methamphetamine.

In June, the sheriff’s office called Hamilton one of two main narcotics distributors in the east end when she was arrested and charged with selling methamphetamine, but those charges were dismissed after prosecutors has problems with the informant, according to O’Rourke.

“She lost her car and she was warned if she continued and persisted, she would be caught again,” O’Rourke told the judge.

Lawler set her bail on the new charge at $10,000.

Two of the eight were arrested only for unrelated warrants for failing to appear in court. The judge set bail at $10,000 for Effren E. Barron, 40, and at $3,000 for Bradley J. Miller, 35, of Packwood.

Two individuals were arrested around noon on Thursday on the 6300 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Morton.

Brandon Piatt, 31, of Glenoma was charged yesterday with four counts of delivery of methamphetamine and ordered held on $30,000 bail. Sheila Schmitt, 44, of Morton, was not charged in connection with his alleged drug dealing, according to O’Rourke.

However, charges were filed yesterday against both for drug possession related to a June arrest. Schmitt’s bail was set at $10,000, unsecured, for possession of methamphetamine. Piatt’s additional charges were for possession of methamphetamine, hyrocodone and another prescription drug, according to O’Rourke.

Piatt and James Hamrick remain in the Lewis County Jail.
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See Thursday’s news story, “Drug task force arrests eight in East End” here

The Lewis County Sheriff's Office's armored personnel carrier with its SWAT team rolled through the east end today. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff's Office

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Alleged drug dealers and users were swept up in Packwood and Morton today as the sheriff’s office and friends served search warrants.

Eight people were arrested altogether in what Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield is calling “Operation Merry Christmas”. Three of them were wanted on unrelated outstanding warrants, according to the sheriff’s office.

Mansfield said some 15 or more officers from four agencies participated starting at 9 a.m. at the 100 block of Edmonds Road in Packwood.

The action followed a three-month investigation by the Lewis County Regional Drug Task Force, which had been conducting undercover “buys”, according to the sheriff.

According to a news release from the sheriff’s office:

Arrested were Sherri J. Hamrick, 46, for four counts of delivery of methamphetamine; James D. Hamrick, 29, for two counts of delivery of methamphetamine and felon in possession of a firearm; and Amaris R. Smith, 21, for possession of methamphetamine. All are Packwood residents.

Two individuals were picked up in elsewhere for warrants. They are Bradley J. Miller, 35, of Packwood, found at the 100 block of Mount Rainier Drive; and Effren E. Barron, 40, found at the 12900 block of U.S. Highway 12.

Mansfield said officers came across a small marijuana grow today, and seized one-eighth of an ounce of suspected methamphetamine.

The news release went on to name:

Venus D. Hamilton, 48, was arrested in Morton on the 900 block of Davis Lake Road for delivery of methamphetamine.

Then law enforcement moved to another location on the 6300 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Morton where they picked up two others.

They are Brandon Piatt, 31, of Glenoma, for four counts of delivery of methamphetamine; and Sheila Schmitt, 44, of Morton, for possession of narcotics.

Mansfield said more arrests are expected in the East End over the next two weeks.

One Packwood resident on Edmonds Road told the sheriff she couldn’t thank him enough for cleaning up the drug dealers in her neighborhood, Mansfield said.

“It’s quite touching to have some hug you and say ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’,” Mansfield said.

The sheriff credited Lewis County Sheriff’s office Sgt. Rob Snaza for putting together the operation.

Assisting the task force and other deputies were members of the Centralia Police Department, the state Department of Corrections and the Washington State Patrol.

All were booked into the Lewis County Jail.

“This Christmas they’ll be spending it in my jail, unless they find a way to bail out,” Mansfield said. “Which, I hope they don’t.”
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CORRECTION: This news story has been corrected to reflect the noontime arrests of Brandon Piatt and Sheila Schmitt on the 6300 block of U.S. Highway 12 took place in Morton, not Packwood as the sheriff’s office incorrectly reported to the news media.

Benjamin C. Macy hangs his head as he listens to his former employer speak of the ongoing thefts from his grocery store.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The former Winlock grocery store manager accused of stealing lottery tickets was sentenced to prison today, as attorneys agreed the theft from his employer was closer to $1 million over the years.

Benjamin C. Macy, 52, was employed at the Cedar Village IGA some 30 years. He was arrested in May 2010 after a video surveillance camera showed him scratching off dozens of $20 tickets at 4:30 in the morning.

Macy hung his head as Cedar Village owner Raleigh Stone addressed him this morning in Lewis County Superior Court.

“Ben, you were one of the richest men I knew,” Stone said, reading from a page he’d written. “Rich in family, friends, community and co-workers who equally respected you for the man they thought you were.”

“I trusted you like a brother,” Stone said.

Stone went on to say Macy was named in his will, had delivered the eulogy for Stone’s mother, and continued to steal from the store even after knowing Stone withdrew $50,000 from his retirement in order to pay the bills.

“It’s a shame you and your family made more money off my business than my family did in 31 years,” Stone said.

Some 50 people packed the seats in the Chehalis courtroom this morning as Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead and defense attorney Don McConnell told the judge what they felt the sentence should be.

Macy pleaded guilty in October to five counts of first-degree theft.

In a separate civil case, Macy agreed to pay Stone almost $305,000, and sign over his house, a $30,000 truck and coin collection.

“I gave all those last week to Mr. Stone,” attorney Don McConnell told the judge.

McConnell said he’d never met someone more sorry than his client.

Macy stood and turned toward his former employer when it was his turn to speak.

“It’s been going on a long time,” Macy said. “Way too long. Raleigh, I’m sorry,” he said.

The former Winlock resident apologized to Stone’s family, to his former co-workers and his own family for embarrassing them.

According to Stone, while people generally thought the theft was only lottery tickets, it was much more.

Since January 2005, the forensic accountant determined more than $900,000 was missing, and that was above and beyond thousands of dollars from the previous years in which the statute of limitations had passed, Stone said.

And then there was more than $538,000 in lottery winnings from stolen tickets, he said.

Halstead said the thefts added up to in excess of $1 million. McConnell said his accountant determined it was something less than that.

Th standard sentencing range, established by the legislature, is 12 to 14 months in prison. Halstead recommended 12 months and one day.

Judge Richard Brosey told Macy his actions could possibly had put the only grocery in Winlock out of business.

There’s no excuse, no justification, Brosey said.

He sentenced Macy to 14 months in prison.

Macy, who has been free on bail since his arrest, was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom.

Benjamin C. Macy is taken away by a corrections officer from the Lewis County Jail.

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Read background here

Denise Salts, left, has a victim's advocate read her statement to the court during John A. Booth's sentencing on Friday in Lewis County Superior Court. / Courtesy photo by Bradd Reynolds

This was updated at 3:23 p.m. and 7:22 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Convicted triple murderer John Booth Jr. turned toward the packed courtroom benches this morning after he was sentenced to life in prison and loudly, clearly stated: “Fuck you.”

It wasn’t clear who he was specifically addressing, but he had just listened to victims and their families for some 20 minutes tell the court he was a loser who should never again see the light of day.

David "D.J." West Jr.

Because Booth’s conviction yesterday gave him a “third strike”, the mandatory sentence he got today was life in prison with no chance for release.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey told the courtroom the slayings were among the most gruesome in modern Lewis County history.

“Your conduct was vicious,” Brosey said.

“If there’s a case that justifies the death penalty in Lewis County, this would have been it,” the judge said.

Three jail guards sat directly behind Booth, with at least two more in the room along with a large number of sheriff’s deputies.

David West Sr.

The 32-year-old former Onalaskan was found guilty by a jury yesterday on all counts: first-degree murder for the deaths of 16-year-old David “D.J.” West Jr. and 50-year-old Tony Williams of Randle. He was also convicted of second-degree murder for David West Sr., 52, and the attempted murder of Denise R. Salts, 52, as well as attempted extortion and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Booth denied even being present when the four were shot in their heads, but the jury took less than two hours to make its decision.

Tony Williams

Two people who survived the events of Aug. 21, 2010 inside the Salkum-Onalaska area home addressed the court before Booth was sentenced.

John Lindberg held a blue bandana-handkerchief in his hand as he came forward to speak.

He thanked the offices of the sheriff and prosecutor and apologized to the court for the profanity he repeated when he testified.

“I’d just like to say to Mr. Booth, thank you for not killing me,” Lindberg said.

The 59-year-old plumber hid in a back room in the house during the shootings.

Lindberg shared the prayer he says every morning and night: “I pray he should never see the light of day again,” he said. “For as long as you are on God’s green earth.”

Denise Salts sat with a victim’s advocate who read her statement.

Salts had written it’s her turn to smile, “you’re the loser now.”

“There’s an angry part of me that wants to curse, swear and yell at you,” the advocate read. But then she thinks of Dave, D.J. and Tony, she said.

Tony William’s brother’s girlfriend, who did not give her name, said she believed Williams laid down his life for a friend that night. She spoke of the man, whose 13-year-old son and brother sat in the audience listening.

“Tony was our brother and best friend and some killer took him away from his family,” she said.

Jessica Porter conveyed her anger directly to the defendant, in an exchange not everyone in the courtroom could hear but continued until the judge asked her to address him.

“You took my brother, my dad, and you still sit here smirking and smiling,” Porter said to Booth. “And what did you get out of that? Nothing.”

Jessica Porter, left, addresses the court with her mother Jodi Porter by her side. / Courtesy photo by Bradd Reynolds

David “D.J.” West Jr.’s mother, Jodi Porter, spoke just a few words.

“Life in prison is too good for you,” she said. “Not that it matters to you, but you will meet your maker.”

Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher and Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead had argued to jurors Booth and his former cell mate Ryan McCarthy visited the Wings Way house because they were “taxing” West Sr. on behalf of Lewis County drug dealer Robbie Russell.

The prosecutors contended when West Sr. brought out a shotgun to get them to leave, Booth shot him with a 9 mm handgun. The shootings that followed were executions to eliminate witnesses, prosecutors argued.

Meagher gave his sentencing recommendation to the judge.

“I guess as we say, strike one, strike two and, my gosh, strike three, four, five and six,” Meagher said. “This man needs to be sent to prison without the possibility of release.”

Port Orchard-based defense attorney Roger Hunko agreed the life without parole was the sentence the judge would impose.

John Booth Jr. listens to proceedings, seated next to his lawyer Roger Hunko. / Courtesy photo by Bradd Reynolds

When Judge Brosey gave Booth his opportunity to speak, Booth just said: “How about some probation?”

“For what,” the judge asked.

“Probably for when you kick me loose,” Booth replied.

The judge moved on.

When the judge imposed the sentence, he told Booth he didn’t think anyone in the courtroom, with the exception of Booth, believed a word of his testimony.

Brosey called Booth’s actions senseless.

He told Booth he could expect his first year in Walla Walla at the state penitentiary to be locked up alone in a cell the size of the judge’s bench and then remain in prison for the rest of his life.

That’s what you deserve, Brosey said.

Booth refused to sign his judgement and sentence document.

The judge held Booth in contempt and threatened to take away his credit for 478 days he’s already served. Brosey also suggested guards should help him affix his fingerprints to the document down in the jail instead of in the courtroom.

When the judge was finished, Booth asked: “Do I get to say anything?”

“You’ve said all you’re gonna say,” Brosey said.

By then, a line of seven law enforcement officers had filled the aisle in between the rows of courtroom benches.

That’s when Booth turned to the audience and made his final statement: “F*** you.”

The outburst elicited at least one “Rot in hell” and several other remarks to the defendant.

Hunko filed a notice of appeal.

•••

Jail guards and sheriff's deputies keep close to John Booth Jr. and block a path towards audience members and the door. / Courtesy photo by Bradd Reynolds

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The courtroom on the top floor of the Lewis County Law and Justice Center in Chehalis is filled during the sentencing. / Photo by Sharyn L. Decker

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Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher consults with Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead and sheriff's detective Bruce Kimsey. / Courtesy photo by Bradd Reynolds

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Tony Williams' brother Danny Williams and son Cody Williams listen to court proceedings. / Photo by Sharyn L. Decker

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John Lindberg addresses the court. / Courtesy photo by Bradd Reynolds

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Judge Richard Brosey presides over the murder case of John Allen Booth Jr. / Courtesy photo by Bradd Reynolds

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John Allen Booth Jr. is led out of the courtroom and back down to the jail. / Courtesy photo by Bradd Reynolds

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The 20-year-old employee at Hampton Mill in Morton died Tuesday after his clothing got caught on his neck cutting oxygen off to his brain, according to the Lewis County Coroner’s Office.

Dillan Davis, 20, of Randle, was last seen during a break between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday and was found on a conveyor fatally injured, according to authorities.

The state Department of Labor and Industries is investigating the death.

It happened at the saw mill on state Route 7 just north of town.

What time Davis was discovered or if he was working alone have not been released by authorities. Lewis County sheriff’s detectives were called to the scene about 11:15 a.m.

It was an accident, Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said yesterday. An autopsy concluded Davis died from cerebral anoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) secondary to external compression of his neck by clothing, McLeod said.

McLeod said the time of death on Davis’s death certificate is noted as 2:28 p.m., the time his deputy coroner “pronounced” Davis dead.

“It’s a shame, just a young kid,” McLeod said. “I don’t want to see this happen to anybody, but …”

The mill is owned by Portland, Ore.-based Hampton Affiliates.

Updated at 6:56 p.m. and 7:24 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Jurors took only two hours – over lunch – to decide John Allen Booth Jr. was guilty on all counts in his triple-murder trial in Lewis County Superior Court today.

Booth, 32, faces a sentence of life without the possibility of release under the state’s so-called three strikes law.

John Allen Booth Jr.

The former Onalaskan was convicted of first-degree murders for the deaths of 16-year-old David “D.J.” West Jr. and 50-year-old Tony Williams of Randle. He was convicted of second-degree murder for David West Sr., 52, and the attempted murder of Denise R. Salts, 52.

All were shot in the head.

The shootings took place Aug. 21, 2010 inside the Salkum-area home where the Wests and Salts had lived less than a year.

Lewis County prosecutors described the shootings as attempts to eliminate witnesses after West Sr. brought out a shotgun which prompted Booth to shoot him with a 9 mm pistol. The visit by Booth and his former prison cell mate Ryan McCarthy was related to “taxing” West Sr. on behalf of drug dealer Robbie Russell, according to prosecutors.

The eight-man, four-woman jury also found Booth guilty of attempted extortion and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Booth stood quietly beside his lawyer facing the judge, hands in trouser pockets, as the court clerk read the verdict, his eye lids dropping for a slightly long blink when he heard the word guilty.

The jury found he committed the offenses with a firearm, which adds time to a sentence, as well as determining Booth displayed or demonstrated an egregious lack of remorse in the slayings of David Jr. and Williams.

Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher and Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead described those killings as executions.

The 6-foot-3 Booth leaned back, elbow on the defense table and turned his chair toward jurors as they were polled one by one on the verdict.

When it was over, he made the comment, “Vote for Barack Obama.” Nobody replied.

Afterward, outside the courtroom, Meagher said: “This victory goes to law enforcement.”

“They caught this guy after on a manhunt after a week,” Meagher said praising the detective work.

While jurors asked to confer with the attorneys when it was over, defense lawyer Roger Hunko left without speaking to them.

“I really don’t have anything to say,” Hunko said as he packed his files into his car’s trunk outside the courthouse. “It is what it is.”

His client already has two “strikes” so another serious felony means his sentence will be life without parole, Hunko said.

When Booth took the witness stand yesterday, he denied being at the house except for earlier in the evening when he visited to collect money for a pound of methamphetamine he said he had “fronted” West Sr.

He will be sentenced at 10 o’clock tomorrow morning.