Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A rural Chehalis man who planted a home-made bomb in his own mailbox as part of a scheme to make money acting as a private investigator was sentenced today to eight years in federal prison.

Kevin W. Williams, 45, was convicted by a jury last September of nine felony charges, including extortion, wire fraud, possession of unregistered firearms (pipe bomb and zip gun), making a false official statement and destruction of a letter box, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The out of work logger was trying to gain credibility for his claims he had key information about a $90 million Ponzi scheme under investigation in Atlanta, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson Emily Langlie.

“Williams apparently thought it would make people believe that someone was trying to stop him from revealing his information on the Ponzi scheme,” Langlie wrote in a news release this afternoon.

He was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma by Judge Robert S. Bryan.

“Mr. Williams, you were a con man of the worst order during the course of these events,” Judge Bryan said at sentencing, according to the news release. “I believe you are quite likely to do something again in the future.”

Williams was also sentenced to three years of supervision after his release.

His step-mother and brother-in-law were victims of the Ponzi fraud, according to case documents.

Case documents describe how Williams threatened the Atlanta fraud victims who he hoped would hire him and drove to the Atlanta Ponzi trial in a van loaded with a variety of guns, components for explosive and a copy of the “Anarchists Cookbook”. That’s where he was arrested in the spring of 2008.

The Doty resident blew up his mailbox on Chandler Road with a pipe bomb on Oct. 21, 2007, according to federal prosecutors. The blast, which would have badly injured Williams if it had occurred as he described, was investigated by Lewis County sheriff’s detectives and ultimately by ATF agents and U.S. Postal inspectors, according to case documents.

Federal prosecutors called him a dangerous man with no respect for the law and asked for a ten year sentence, according to Langlie.

“Williams’ scheme was real, and it was undeniably violent,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo. “Williams built a bomb, blew up his mailbox, lied to law enforcement, accused innocent people of committing a crime he himself committed, and then tricked law enforcement into conducting an extensive investigation.”

Williams’ attorney described his client as delusional and a paranoid drug user, according to a news story today in the Seattlepi.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – As the trial for John Allen Booth Jr. nears from last summer’s triple homicide, lawyers and a judge met to plan out some of the details that could keep jurors occupied for as long as two weeks.

John A. Booth Jr.

They postponed the trial until the end of August when they met on Friday in Lewis County Superior Court, and the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office downgraded some of the charges.

The 31-year-old defendant’s attorneys said they can’t be ready for May 16, since they still haven’t received all the materials from the prosecutor.

“We need more time,” Olympia attorney James Dixon said outside the courtroom.

“They haven’t got all the evidence to us,” his co-counsel Roger Hunko said.

Booth is charged in the August 21 shootings of four people inside a Salkum-Onalaska area home. Detectives believe the visit was related to a drug debt collection.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher told the judge he expects the trial will last a week to 10 days.

Meagher also told the court he reduced Booth’s extortion charge to attempted extortion, since the victim died and it wasn’t carried out.

Meagher also removed the aggravating factors in the deaths of David J. West Jr., 16, and Tony E. Williams, 50, of Randle, he said. He didn’t go into detail about the reason for the change.

Booth is now charged with straight first degree murder of David Jr. and Williams. He remains charged with second-degree murder of David West Sr., 52, attempted murder of Denise Salts, 51, and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The charges are virtually the same ones filed in late August, but prosecutors had upgraded them about a month later, putting the prospect of the death penalty on the table.

On that topic, Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey said Friday he will allow Booth to continue to be represented by two court-appointed attorneys, even though it is no longer a potential death penalty case. Brosey indicated he would leave it that way for now, out of caution to avoid an appeal.

Meagher asked Brosey to inquire if defense counsel would bring up marital privilege with a witness, since Booth “managed to get himself married after the last hearing.”

Booth, a former Onalaska resident who was released from prison in December 2009, was married in a religious ceremony in June to Shawna Trent. They had not yet undergone a civil ceremony before he was arrested. She is listed as a witness.

No details about exactly where and when the two were wed were offered on Friday.

Booth and 29-year-old Ryan J. McCarthy, were in front of Judge Brosey two weeks ago when the judge  denied the prosecution’s request to consolidate two cases into one trial.

McCarthy is charged with first-degree murder in the same three deaths. His trial is scheduled for the week of Oct. 10.

Booth’s trial is now set for the week of August 29.

The court set aside a separate day for pre-trial hearings in early August.

In the order set forth on Friday, Booth’s attorneys note his defense will be general denial, self defense, defense of others.

•••

Read background on the case:

• “West Sr. pointed shotgun telling pair of ex-cons to leave his house, triggering triple homicide, unsealed court documents allege” from Saturday Sept. 4, 2010 here

• “Unsealed document: More details on Salkum slayings” from Monday Sept. 6, 2010 here

This news story was updated at 1:01 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Police raided a Chehalis home this morning seizing more than 50 marijuana plants and arresting four individuals.

A 2-year-old child and a 3-month-old baby living in the house were turned over to Child Protective Services following the visit to the 1600 block of South Market Boulevard, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

Amber Phelps, 26, and Brandon Phelps, 27, were arrested for manufacture of a controlled substance. Tyrell Park, 24, and Crystal Carlile, 18, were arrested for multiple counts of delivery of a controlled substance, according to police.

Police Chief Glenn Schaffer said the children were sleeping next to an upstairs growing room, where the windows were covered in dark plastic.

About 10 officers from Chehalis and the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office served the search warrant about 7 a.m. at the house and adjacent garage apartment, Schaffer said.

Police also found a smaller room  downstairs with starter plants, he said.

Officers seized 57 plants, growing equipment, three bags of packaged marijuana totaling more than 95 grams, another 110 grams of processed marijuana and 28 grams of seeds, Schaffer said.

The operation followed undercover purchases, according to Schaffer.

It’s the same house near W.F. West High School where late last summer previous tenants were arrested for allegedly selling Oxycontin, Methadone and Percocet.

One of Kayla Croft-Payne's younger sisters, Jaida Payne, is comforted as family and friends held a vigil last night in Chehalis.

Kayla's 4-year-old sister Shelbie chooses a balloon as their mother Michelle Croft looks on.

"I love you Peanut, I miss you every day ... Butter," Kayla's friend Ashley Smith marks on a balloon.

Kayla's father, Thomas Payne, readies a balloon for his grandson.

Penny Playground, Chehalis, Wash. April 28, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The rain paused yesterday just long enough for friends and family of the missing Kayla Croft-Payne to gather in a Chehalis park to honor the teenager and vow to keep searching until she’s found.

More than 50 individuals, including her relatives from as far away as Seattle and Vancouver, Wash., met at Penny Playground on the one-year anniversary of her disappearance.

Croft-Payne was 18 years old and living outside Chehalis on April 28, 2010 when she last logged onto her MySpace internet account. She was reported missing on May 5 by a friend who hadn’t seen or heard from her for several days.

Candles were lit and balloons with handwritten messages were sent skyward yesterday evening.

Her father, Thomas Payne of Longview, asked the group to please share any information they might have about his daughter’s whereabouts.

“I hope everyone gets the word out so I can find my little girl,” Payne said.

Morton resident Jennifer Mau urged all who would like to help look for Croft-Payne to keep updated on plans for search parties by joining the “Missing Kayla” Facebook group.

Mau is part of a group which organized three weeks of ground searches last summer and found the body of missing Morton teenager Austin King.

“We’ll keep Kayla’s picture out there and do searches, if any of you want to help,” Mau said.
•••

Read more about Kayla Croft-Payne, here
•••

Join the Missing Kayla Facebook group, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The city of Chehalis’s former building official pleaded not guilty yesterday to stealing money from a city safe.

Jeffrey C. Shine, 41, was fired earlier this month following an investigation into the November 19 discovery.

According to charging documents, an employee arrived to work at the community development building on the 1300 block of South Market Boulevard  and discovered somebody had opened a safe and removed some of its contents.

Five money bags there had been sealed and locked but someone cut their bottoms and also got into an envelope, according to the documents. The total is described as about $962.

The charging documents don’t note if any money remained in the safe or if it was cleaned out.

About $360 were funds raised for the medical needs of the daughter of Jeff and Angie Elder, a pair of police department employees, according to the documents.

Charging documents say Shine took a polygraph test and then admitted he went into the building wearing gloves, opened the safe and took the money. They don’t indicate if it was after hours or not or offer any explanation.

Shine, who lives in Longview, was 16-year city employee with the city. He was responsible for looking over construction sites and making sure code was followed. He was terminated April 1.

He pleaded not guilty yesterday afternoon to second-degree burglary and second-degree theft.

A trial date was set for the week of June 27 in  Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Intruders carried off thousands of dollars of equipment from the Pe Ell fire station including the Jaws of Life, bolt cutters, a fire axe, various saws and even breathing apparatus’.

The break-in happened sometime during the week, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

A deputy was called about 7:30 p.m. yesterday to take a report from the chief of Lewis County Fire District 11 – an all-volunteer fire department. The building sits on state Route 6 just outside the city limits.

Among the items missing were chain saws, generators, a work light and extension cords.

They even took the keys from the rescue truck, and a “jump bag” containing medical supplies, Fire Chief Michael Krafczyk said today.

Krafczyk said it happened sometime since Saturday. It was discovered yesterday evening when firefighters arrived for their routine drill. They spent the night taking inventory instead, he said.

“We were pretty decimated,” he said.

The burglars went through and picked items off the fire engines and other vehicles, unloading virtually all the tools from the truck they use to respond to car wrecks including the Jaws and spreaders, according to Krafczyk.

“The rescue rig is tagged out of service,” he said. “We can’t use it.”

An automatic mutual response has been put into place with the Boistfort fire district if they should have any calls for vehicle collisions, he said.

He estimates the extrication equipment – which they share with the Dryad area fire district – will cost $7000 to $10,000 to replace.

Krafczyk said it appears the burglars got in by either breaking a window or sliding one open and then left with enough to easily fill the back of a truck.

The loss is estimated at more than $18,000.

Sheriff’s Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown is asking anyone with information about the burglary to immediately call the sheriff’s office, 911 or Lewis County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-748-6422.

“Obviously we’re anxious to get (this) equipment back as public safety depends on it to assist citizens in the community,” Brown said.

The thefts follow a similar incident a little more than two weeks ago at a fire station in Cowlitz County, reported on yesterday by the The (Longview) Daily News.

Several weeks ago, an un-staffed station south of Rochester was burglarized leaving the West Regional Thurston Fire Authority having to replace a “jump bag” and an automatic defibrillator. Fire Chief Robert Scott said he’d heard of a similar theft from a Yelm-area station recently as well.

And earlier this month, the Lewis County Search and Rescue group discovered a break-in out in Packwood in which they lost nearly all their portable radios as well as a generator and outdoor lights. Their generator was recovered and one arrest made.