Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A woman’s hair was singed when a man poured gasoline down his chimney in Centralia last night, causing an explosion that blew the insert right out of the fireplace.

It normally takes two grown men to move a fireplace insert, they’re heavy, Riverside Fire Authority Capt. Scott Weinert said. But when the fuel hit the fireplace, the blast shot the insert out about four feet into the room, he said.

“It was heard by a lot of people, it rocked the area a little,”  Weinert said.

The resident on the 200 block of West Walnut Street had a bees nest in the chimney and had started a fire to smoke the bees out, according to Weinert.

“That didn’t work, so he went up on the roof and poured old gasoline down the chimney,” he said.

No serious injuries were reported.

Firefighters who responded to the 7:43 p.m. call recommended he get his chimney inspected before using it again.

The resident said he thought since the fuel was old, it would be okay, Weinert said.

The man may need to call a professional exterminator as well; the bees survived, according to Weinert.

Updated at 6:45 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Mossyrock man was found not guilty this afternoon of felony harassment, a case in which prosecutors tried to prove he threatened with his manner and actions to kill Mossyrock Police Chief Jeremy Stamper during a traffic stop in June.

Wayne Burdette

Wayne Burdette, 44, was arrested on June 16 and has been held in the Lewis County Jail on $500,000 bail.

The jury deliberated about four and half hours today in Lewis County Superior Court.

They did find Burdette guilty of obstruction, a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of one year in jail.

Burdette was charged with felony harassment; threat to kill and also with obstructing for his June 10 encounter with Officer Stamper.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher described to jurors yesterday how when he was pulled over for speeding, Burdette got out of his truck with his right hand behind his back and advanced on Stamper – after being told to stay put – forcing the officer to draw his pistol and retreat behind his patrol car.

Defense attorney Ken Johnson said his client was using profanity when he he got out of his truck and went back to the police car, saying he wanted to see the radar. Then he got back in his truck.

After a trooper arrived for backup, a loaded .40 caliber pistol was found in the small of Burdette’s back; it had a bullet in the chamber and the safety was off, Meagher explained.

As Burdette lay face down on the ground, Burdette commented, “No wonder why we walk into a coffee shop and shoot four of you”, according to Stamper and Trooper Jason Hicks.

Johnson told the jury it wasn’t illegal for Burdette to carry the gun. Burdette holds a concealed weapons permit.

After the verdict, Johnson said he thought the jury understood the issue.

“There’s a big problem sorting out Mr. Burdette’s intent,” he said. “Also a problem, if you can threaten to kill somebody, without doing something verbally.”

A person may perceive they are being threatened in some fashion, but it’s conceivable it never entered the defendants head at all, he said.

Johnson said he believed it would have been reversed on appeal if his client was found guilty.

The jury was also given the choice of misdemeanor harassment and found Burdette not guilty of that.

Burdette will be sentenced on Tuesday morning.

Burdette has no felony criminal history, but has a conviction for a gross misdemeanor sex offense. He is a level one registered sex offender who recently moved to Lewis County.

His bail was increased twice after his arrest, in part because Lewis County sheriff’s detectives subsequently found a journal in Burdette’s trailer home containing statements such as “How to kill cops” and “Teach body armor weak spot”, according to court documents.

The judge lowered his bail today to $5,000, but Burdette’s attorney said he doesn’t have that, so he remains locked up.

Johnson said Burdette wants to appeal the guilty finding on obstruction.

•••

Read “Burdette: Defendant’s lawyer says he was the threatened one, not the officer” from Thursday August 18, 2011, here

A Chevrolet Malibu rests in front of a home on Yew and Alder streets.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CENTRALIA – Two cars collided at the intersection of Yew and Mellen streets in Centralia today, a wreck that sent each one crashing into a different house.

One of the vehicles continued an entire block south before striking a home at Yew and Alder streets.

It happened when an 88-year-old man southbound on Yew Street thought he had another block to go before coming to the stop sign at Mellen Street, a main arterial, according to Centralia Police Officer Tracy Murphy. He went through the stop sign without slowing at all, Murphy said.

“But for the grace of God, nobody got really hurt,” Murphy said. “No one’s dead.”

The driver of the other car, a woman, was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with a broken lower leg.

Her white Chevrolet Malibu took out part of a wooden porch at an unoccupied home that is part of the Alder House – a group home.

Murphy thought she may have kept going because her broken leg kept her from putting on the brakes. Another officer suggested a brake line could have been severed.

Lisa Hazlett was on her back porch talking on the telephone at about noon when she heard the crash and then saw the woman pass by, seemingly in distress.

“I could see the white car trying to stop, but she was panicking,” Hazlett said.

After checking on her and calling 911, Hazlett walked back to her residence, to find a gold Buick with its nose stuck against her house.

The man, and his passenger were unhurt, according to responders.

But the north wall of Hazlett’s house was broken, throwing pieces of sheetrock into her living room and dislodging the inside brickwork of her fireplace. Several knicknacks lay on the floor.

The large window above surprisingly didn’t even crack, she said.

Murphy said he expected the Centralia man would be getting a ticket.

A gold Buick sits snug against the north wall of Lisa Hazlett's house on Yew and Mellen streets.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Mossyrock man on trial for allegedly threatening to kill Mossyrock Police Chief Jeremy Stamper never did that and only made a derogatory statement about police because he was threatened with being shot when he was pulled over for speeding, a jury was told today by the man’s defense attorney.

Wayne Burdette, 44, is charged with harassment; threat to kill and also with obstructing in connection with his June 10 encounter with Stamper.

Wayne Burdette in court today

“Mr. Burdette naturally believes his rights were violated here and that he’s a victim of police misconduct,” attorney Ken Johnson told the jury this morning.

A panel of eight women and four men are hearing the case in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis.

Johnson spoke only briefly in his opening statements before lunch, describing Burdette as using profanity when he he got out of his truck and went back to the police car, saying he wanted to see the radar. Stamper pulled out his weapon, Johnson said.

“There’s no threat (from Burdette), they are exchanging some words, Mr. Burdette was angry,” Johnson said. “Eventually Mr. Burdette goes back to his truck and sits down.”

Johnson went on to say that what followed, was his client was forcibly removed from his truck, again at gun point, after an arriving trooper observed a weapon in the small of Burdette’s back.

The prosecutor didn’t mention Burdette holds a concealed weapons permit, Johnson said. The attorney told the jurors his client will testify he carries his gun everywhere it’s lawful to have it.

“It’s not a crime, it’s not illegal,” Johnson said.

Johnson said it’s an unusual case, without a lot of disputed facts, but facts that can be subjected to more than one perspective.

“Let’s be perfectly clear here, he never at any time threatened to kill the officer,” Johnson said.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher in his opening statements told jurors Burdette’s actions constituted the threat.

It happened about 11 o’clock at night, Officer Stamper was alone and he had told Burdette to please stay in his vehicle while he went back to his patrol car to write a ticket, Meagher said.

With his patrol lights shining on Burdette’s truck, he could see the man lay down in his vehicle and then get back up again, Meagher told the jurors.

That made the officer apprehensive, according to Meagher.

Then, Meagher said, the defendant “launched” out of his vehicle, both feet at the same time and advanced on Stamper with one hand behind his back.

Stamper got out with his gun, telling Burdette to show his hands, but Burdette continued to walk toward him, even though he was being told to get back in the vehicle, Meagher said.

“Stamper retreats behind his car, and says, ‘If you take one more step, I’m going to shoot you’,” Meagher said.

“That’s a threat on that officer’s life by a man walking towards him with his hand behind his back,” Meagher said.

Stamper called for backup, and Trooper Jason Hicks saw the gun on Burdette – who by that time was back in his truck.

After Burdette was handcuffed, they took his weapon; “It was loaded, there was a bullet in the chamber, and the safety was off,” Meagher said.

Burdette’s actions constituted a threat, Meagher told the jurors.

What jurors didn’t hear in opening statements was that as Burdette lay face down on the ground, Burdette said, “No wonder why we walk into a coffee shop and shoot four of you.”

Burdette was arrested a week after the traffic stop for felony harassment, when Lewis County Sheriff’s Office SWAT officers visited his trailer.

A search of his trailer turned up a journal containing statements such as “How to kill cops” and “Teach body armor weak spot”, as well as a loaded shotgun just inside his doorway, according to court documents.

A second notebook found by sheriff’s detective Dan Riordan reportedly included a detailed account of the Lakewood police shootings and contained the statement, “Maurice Clemmons gave them too much warning”, according to prosecutors.

The supplemental information from the search was submitted previously to persuade a judge higher bail was necessary, and to show the true nature of the threat Burdette made on June 10, according to prosecutors.

Burdette’s bail is set at $500,000.

The trial was expected to resume after lunch and last two days.

Burdette has no felony criminal history, but has a conviction for a gross misdemeanor sex offense. He is a level one registered sex offender.
•••

For background, read:

• “Prosecutors: Armed Mossyrock man who threatened police officer kept journal with details on Lakewood cop killings” from Wednesday June 29, 2011, here

• “News brief: Trial for armed Mossyrock man who allegedly threatened police officer set to last two days” from Thursday July 14, 2011, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

An Army Ranger from Olympia was charged today with assault and kidnapping following his arrest after a 45-year-old man was found beaten and wandering along Skookumchuck Road near Tenino.

Aid and the sheriff’s office were called about 10 p.m. on Friday night when the 45-year-old Tenino man was discovered on the roadside calling for help, according to detective Sgt. Cheryl Stines.

His hands were bound behind his back, his shirt was pulled over his head and his face was bloody and swollen, Stines said.

Shannon Bussey, 25, was arrested later at Fort Lewis, Stines said.

The sheriff’s office is still looking for a second man they believe was involved, she said today.

Stines said it began earlier in the evening when the man’s wife called her son to ask him to take his step-dad away. The two had what Stines called a domestic incident, although no violence was involved, she said.

The son couldn’t come, so he sent his friend, Stines said.

Two men arrived to the home on the 19,000 block of Steelhead Court, the wife was somewhere else by then, Stines said.

They ended up putting his shirt over his head, duct taping his hands, putting him in the vehicle and beating him up, Stines said.

He was dropped off on the 6,000 block of Skookumchuck Road where he was later discovered, she said.

Stines said he has since been released from the hospital.

Bussey was charged today in Thurston County Superior Court with first-degree kidnapping, second-degree assault and first-degree burglary.

His arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 30.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Two men and a woman pushing a baby stroller on a Centralia sidewalk were confronted by a man with a gun last night, according to Centralia police.

Officers called just before 8 p.m. were told the man started arguing with the trio at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Main Street, pulled out a Glock 40, pointed it at them and then ran into a nearby house.

There was no indication of a robbery or anyone injured.

The three told police they did not know the individual or why he confronted them, Officer John Panco said this morning.

Officers knocked on the door to the home where there was a woman and a half dozen males who were asked to come outside,  Panco said.

The victims, all in their 20s except for the 1-year-old child, identified one of them as the man who had stopped them on the street, according to Panco.

A search of the home turned up the suspect gun in a bedroom, Panco said. It was found to be stolen, he said.

Nicholas L. Gonzalez, 21, of Chehalis, was subsequently arrested for four counts of first-degree assault, possession of a stolen firearm and felon in possession of a firearm, Panco said. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

D.J. West, 16, right, poses for a photo with his older sister Jessica Porter in Lewis County two weeks before he was shot to death. / Courtesy photo

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – In a week, 23-year-old Jessica Porter will be burying her father’s ashes in the grave where her only brother was laid to rest almost a year ago.

A memorial service will be held in a cemetery in The Dalles, Ore. for David West Sr. 52, and his son David West Jr., 16, on Aug. 21, the one-year anniversary of their deaths in their Salkum-Onalaska area home.

David West Sr.

The two were shot to death, along with a 50-year-old from Randle; while West. Sr.’s live-in girlfriend was seriously wounded by a gunshot. It’s a case that has more questions than answers, as far as Porter is concerned.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office have called the homicides related to a drug debt collection, but Porter doesn’t buy that.

“We think there’s a lot more to it than anybody knows,” Porter said.

Porter, a young mother of two who calls the Randle area home even though she lives in a county on the other side of the mountains now, has been anxious for the case to move along.

Two men were charged last year in the deaths and have trials scheduled for this autumn. She got word the end of July that prosecutors made a plea deal with one of them. It wasn’t something she was happy with, but it gave her hope that meant one would testify against the other.

But the week before last in Lewis County Superior Court, murder defendant Ryan McCarthy and his lawyer were moving forward toward an Oct. 10 trial.

Exactly what happened isn’t clear. Elected Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer only said “You’d have to ask his attorney.”

Olympia defense attorney Rick Cordes said he had a deal with Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher, but something changed after Meagher left for vacation.

“We had an agreement,” Cordes said. “But somebody added a condition onto it.”

Ryan McCarthy, right, confers with his lawyer Rick Cordes in Lewis County Superior Court on Aug. 4, 2011

Early last month, Cordes and Meagher said they had negotiated a plea deal for McCarthy. The 29-year-old was going to plead down from three counts of first-degree murder to two counts of second-degree assault, Cordes said.

When they showed up in court in mid-July, the deal was off.

Porter says she doesn’t know what to think after it happened a second time.

If McCarthy was not the shooter, as she’s inclined to believe, she’s not opposed to plea bargaining, she said.

“All I can hope is they do get a deal to where he testifies, so they don’t have to drag it out for years and years and years, or Booth gets off,” Porter said. “It’s something that will never go away, but the sooner they get (convicted) the sooner I’ll get feeling better.”

John A. Booth Jr.

John A. Booth Jr., 32, is the other man charged with murder in the case. The former Onalaska resident and McCarthy were previously prison cell mates.

Both are charged with murder of West Sr., David Jr. and 50-year-old Tony E. Williams of Randle who was at the house that night. Booth is charged with attempted murder of Denise Salts, then 51.

The two men are also charged with attempted extortion of West. Sr.

Porter has heard a lot of different stories and gained more insight about what might have been behind Booth and McCarthy’s alleged visit to her dad’s home that night.

It’s left her scared for herself, and wishing she knew more earlier, so she could have taken her younger brother with her when she left after a visit to Lewis County just two weeks before they were killed.

“He had a lot of family that really loved him and cared,” Porter said of her brother. “He wasn’t a bad kid, he was a good kid. He was the one that was gonna go to college.”

David Jr., who was called D.J., has tons of aunts, uncles and cousins in Oklahoma, his sister said.

Their mother lives near Porter’s home, and D.J. has a half sister whom Porter has not been able to find.

D.J. lived in Morton when he attended elementary school. She went to White Pass High School, she said.

Then, he lived with his mother in Oklahoma until he was about 13,  and he wanted to go live with his dad again in Lewis County, his older sister said.

He was a 16-year-old who got what one of his class mates at Onalaska High School described as “amazing grades”.

Though the two of them don’t share the same father, Porter said she doesn’t consider D.J. a half brother, or West Sr. a step-father.

“He was my brother straight out, no half in there for me,” Porter wrote in an email exchange.

West Sr. is her father, as far as she’s concerned, although not biologically and despite the fact he and her mother didn’t marry.

He worked for a forest products company in North Bend and transferred to Morton long ago, she said. The past few years, he bought, rebuilt and sold cars.

Porter, her two children and her boyfriend were visiting from out of town on August 8 of last year when Robbie Russell, Booth and McCarthy showed up at her dad’s home off Gore Road. Her father only knew Russell, not the other two, she said. After the men left, her father told her to leave.

Robert Shawn Russell

“My dad told me go home, you need to go home, and I asked why,” Porter said. “He said, you just need to go.”

Porter told authorities her father told her he had to pay Russell $1,000 to get him to leave, and that he was being blackmailed, according to charging documents in the case.

Russell back last August was named a person of interest in the homicides but was never charged. He’s in prison now on unrelated crimes.

One of the reasons prosecutors gave a judge for a warrant to bring Russell in, was his visit to the West’s house was a violation of a no-contact order from a case in which West Sr. was a witness against Russell.

In hindsight, Porter thinks her dad was afraid after that visit and that he, and maybe others, knew something bad was going to happen, she said.

Now, almost a year later, she still can’t stop imagining over and over what took place the night her brother and father were shot. She worries about her anxiety and depression getting in the way of her being a parent to her two little girls.

Salkum: Three found fatally shot, Aug. 21, 2010.

There are so many unanswered questions that nag at her.

“If I would have known anything was gonna go down I would have went and got my brother out of that place but I didn’t know,” she wrote.

Porter doesn’t know why Booth and McCarthy would have returned on August 21.

“There’s a lot of weird things in the case,” she said. “I want to know what they were getting out of going there.”

McCarthy’s trial is scheduled for Oct. 10. Booth’s trial is set for November.