Lewis County Sirens.com

Tami McGinty appears before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Chehalis area woman was jailed this week for allegedly demanding property she believed she should have been awarded in divorce proceedings from her ex-husband, a law enforcement officer, and telling him she’d “hate” to turn him in to internal affairs at his workplace.

Tami McGinty, 42, was charged yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court with second-degree extortion as well as a violation of a civil anti-harassment order.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer told a judge the order had been served in November out of Lewis County District and McGinty violated it the same day.

“After that, she escalates her conduct,” Meyer said.

Charging papers in the case state the court order allowed contact via text message regarding the children.

Chehalis police were called just after 9 a.m. on Tuesday to the 300 block of West Main Street where the ex-husband reported she had been repeatedly violating the order.

Among the text messages shown to police were ones in which she suggested she wanted a table, her dog and then a riding lawn mower, according to the documents.

“Because I know a LOT. So do the right thing and bring them to us,” McGinty allegedly texted.

When Chehalis officers contacted McGinty on Thursday, she reportedly said their child was mentioned in a text exchange so it wasn’t a violation.

She denied threatening to contact internal affairs, but then indicated she was “giving notice” about being honest on paperwork, Prosecutor Meyer wrote in charging documents. She was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Andrew Toynbee yesterday afternoon imposed a no contact order. Defense attorney Kevin Nelson was appointed to represent McGinty.

Her arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 18.

Electrical outlet and the plug in Pest Repeller which burned, along with another Pest Repeller. / Courtesy photo by Duran McDaniel

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – When he and his wife saw smoke coming out from under the kitchen sink, fortunately he knew what to do, but more importantly they had a fire extinguisher handy.

Lewis County Fire District 8 Chief Duran McDaniel said luckily, they happened to be home when it happened, or it may have ended differently.

“I grabbed an extinguisher, got in there, got it out and shut off the power,” McDaniel said.

They called 911 shortly after 11 o’clock yesterday morning and the fire crew arrived to their home on Gore Road north of Salkum.

What happened was about five years ago, the McDaniels got an electronic device called Pest Repeller that emits a tone of some sort to keep mice away, McDaniel said. His wife plugged it into an outlet beneath the sink, he said.

And then they forgot about it, he said.

They disassembled the electrical outlet to examine the area. McDaniel said it didn’t spread beyond the device and outlet and into the wall, only because the two were home to catch onto it immediately.

The chief said it is a good reminder of just how valuable keeping a fire extinguisher in a home can be. He’s definitely not going to plug the rodent repeller back under the sink, where it’s out of sight, he said.

He recalled responding to a wall fire in the recent past that appeared to have been ignited from a cell phone charger plugged into an outlet. He said his neighbor, who works for an insurance company, told him she had been seeing claims for similar problems stemming from plug in air fresheners.

It’s probably a good idea to pay some attention to the various devices we plug in at home, the chief said.

“I guess we ought to check them every once in awhile to see how warm they are,” McDaniel said. “And replace them every once in while.”

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 25-year-old Mineral resident has been charged with  alleged misuse of a fire department department gas card while he was a volunteer firefighter.

Brady J. Mounce was summonsed into Lewis County Superior Court and appeared before a judge yesterday afternoon.

Temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller said her client works as a farm hand and his earnings indicated he was eligible for a court appointed lawyer.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer requested Mounce’s bail be set with a $10,000 unsecured bond and Judge Joely O’Rourke agreed.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said this summer a detective investigated after a Washington State Auditor’s Office report came back showing misappropriation of fuel from Lewis County Fire District 9 in Mineral. Mounce was a volunteer and his father was fire chief.

In June, Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said the information showed some of the activity occurred in the Morton area and some in Eatonville. Theft charges were filed in Pierce County, Breen said.

Lewis County prosecutors filed a charge of second-degree theft against Mounce on Dec. 5.

The affidavit regarding probable cause states the issue arose at the Jan. 24, 2016 fire commissioner’s meeting after the acting fire chief scrutinized a fuel bill from Stanley’s Oil Company and found Mounce’s use of the card did not match the run sheets. The matter was forwarded to the state auditor.

Sheriff’s detective Gene Seiber spoke with a fire commissioner who said she had recently resigned because of the issue.

Seiber wrote in his police report that the auditor’s findings showed Mounce made 20 purchases of fuel at Stanley’s Petroleum in Morton, totaling $1,503.12.

The time period of the activity is shown as three years during 2013, 2014, 2015 and through Jan. 1, 2016.

Detective Seiber spoke with the acting chief who told him Mounce had admitted to the “whole thing” in both counties, but when Seiber attempted to talk with Mounce, Mounce denied doing anything in Morton, according to charging documents.

After his court hearing yesterday, outside the courtroom, Mounce said he didn’t have any comment about his case. He will be represented by Centralia attorney David Brown.

His arraignment is scheduled for next Thursday.
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For background, read “News brief: Mineral Fire Department audit shows fuel misappropriation” from Wednesday June 14, 2017, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Winlock woman who admitted to second-degree theft from the estate of an individual she was a caretaker for was sentenced today to a year and a day in prison.

The attorney for Aurora S. Fulmer, who also uses the last name of Contreras, hoped to persuade a judge to impose a parenting sentencing alternative, but Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler said no.

Aurora S. Fulmer

Fulmer was arrested in June following an investigation by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, after the estranged daughter of a Centralia woman who died found Fulmer at her mother’s home and discovered she had taken over bank accounts.

The sheriff’s office initially suggested Fulmer wrongfully withdrew more than $43,000 from two of the woman’s accounts.

But Fulmer, 34, pleaded guilty in November to one count of second-degree theft (more than $750 but less than $5,000) and three counts of second-degree identity theft in a plea deal with prosecutors.

Defense attorney Shane O’Rourke pitched what he called a pretty elaborate program of supervision and said it included being sent to prison if she failed to comply. He called it a complicated case, for the mother of six who had gotten clean and is working full time.

“There was some indication my client made arrangements to have some of the money in exchange for taking care of her,” O’Rourke said. “She did take care of her for a significant time

“But that’s irrelevant, it would still be a crime for her to rifle through the money like this without probate.”

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Joel DeFazio said the state opposed the sentencing alternative.

The deceased woman’s daughter told the judge the past year has been a nightmare and she didn’t want anyone else to have to deal with what she had to.

Fulmer told the judge she understood better the stress she put the woman’s daughter through, after hearing her speak in court.

Judge Lawler ordered Fulmer directly into custody from the hearing.
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For background, read “Caretaker who spent deceased client’s money pleads guilty” from Friday November 10, 2017, here

Chanh Nguyen is seated next to temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller, while his co-defendants look on; far right is Nga Dong and adjacent is Hai Son Le

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – After a 33-year-old San Jose man was arrested for growing more than 600 marijuana plants at property he said he rents from his sister-in-law across the street from Vader City Hall early this month, drug detectives found power records inside his vehicle for an address on Nelson Road north of Winlock.

When the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant this week on Nelson Road, they found more than 1,500 plants in a two-story outbuilding growing in five separate rooms and two other growing rooms in the residence, along with packaging equipment and materials.

Power consumption records from Lewis County PUD showed over 120,000 kilowatt hours for the last billing cycles.

The electric bill was in the name of Chanh Nguyen, 39, from San Jose, according to authorities.

Nguyen and two other men were found in the outbuilding on Thursday by deputies when the search was conducted and were arrested.

Nguyen said he rents the property for about $1,700 a month, had been there for about four months and did not have authorization for the grow, according to prosecutors.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher was clearly frustrated when the three men were brought before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday afternoon.

“This is not a couple of hippies growing a couple of plants in the backyard,” Meagher said.

The unlawful indoor growing operation was huge, perhaps the largest he has seen in Lewis County, according to Meagher.

“This is at least the fourth one we’ve had this year, like this,” he said.

Manufacture of marijuana is a class C felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison, the same punishment as simple possession of narcotics.

“I just don’t know how you can look at the size of this and not think it’s organized crime,” Meagher said.

He asked for $100,000 bail for each of the three defendants, but Judge Joely O’Rourke imposed $50,000 and restricted their travel to Western Washington.

Also appearing before the judge were Hai Son Le, 39, Fort Lauderdale and Nga Dong, 65, also from Fort Lauderdale. All three used the services of a Vietnamese translator.

The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office charged them with manufacture of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver or manufacture, and possession of marijuana.

Charging documents in the case describe a set up with numerous grow lights, air-moving fans and carbon filters which Meagher said are used to keep the odor from drifting outdoors.

Outside the courtroom, Meagher said he doesn’t yet know who owns the house on Nelson Road.

This case grew out of the Vader case, which in turn, was discovered because the Vader arrestee’s driver’s license was found at a growing operation in Grayland in Pacific County.

That was part of a series of at least 50 search warrants served in Grays Harbor and two other counties late last month. The Grays Harbor County Drug Task Force oversaw the arrests and seizure of more than 32,000 marijuana plants valued in excess of $80 million.

It followed an investigation into illegal marijuana growing operations by Chinese nationals, primarily in homes purchased with cash for that purpose.

Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott told The (Aberdeen) Daily World the reason 31 of the suspects were released without charges was it appeared they were brought to the United States from China under the impression they would pay off their debt of transportation and other costs after the crop was sold, a crop they were led to believe was legal; he called it a form of human trafficking.

Asked if any similar claim of being victims of human trafficking had come up in this case, Meagher said two of the defendants didn’t or couldn’t talk with law enforcement when they were arrested.

“I don’t have anything solid, but I have a suspicion,” Meagher said.

Temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller said after the court hearing, it seemed to her the three men did not know each other.

Their arraignments are scheduled for Jan. 4 in Lewis County Superior Court.

All three men appear to have bailed out of the Lewis County Jail shortly after midnight last night, according to the jail’s online roster.
•••

For background, read:

• “Vader indoor marijuana nursery shut down” from Tuesday December 12, 2017, here

• “Illegal marijuana growing by Chinese nationals targeted in Grays Harbor County” from Tuesday November 28, 2017, here

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Defendants left to right: Chanh Nguyen, Hai Son Le and Nga Dong talk with a Vietnamese interpreter before their bail hearing

Jeremy L. Rumley Jr., in red, prepares to take a seat at the defense table in Lewis County Superior Court

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Bail was set at $50,000 for a 26-year-old man who allegedly broke in through the locked back door of a downtown Centralia tavern after closing, while the bartender was inside alone and cleaning up.

When police frisked the suspect, they located a 16-inch knife on him, according to court papers. The blade measured 10 inches long.

Jeremy L. Rumley Jr. was brought before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday afternoon, charged with two counts of first-degree burglary.

He was allegedly found inside the Hub Tavern shortly after 3:40 a.m. on Wednesday. Later that morning, the owner of the adjacent Tower Tavern reported he discovered someone had broken through his rear door and he was missing numerous bottles of alcohol and cigarettes, according to the documents.

Centralia police described Rumley as transient. Court documents list him as transient in Centralia. Temporary defense attorney Kevin Nelson told a judge yesterday afternoon Rumley resides in a Portland apartment with his wife.

Charging documents state officers were dispatched to the 100 block of South Tower Avenue; the bartender said someone had been banging on the door and then made entry.

When officers tried to push open the back door, someone inside kicked it shut. They surrounded the building and after a short period of time, a man opened the back door and officers detained him. That’s when they found the knife.

The bartender told police she had been cleaning the men’s restroom when she heard a loud bang and then a second bang. As she ran to hit the silent alarm, she heard a thud and hid and called 911, according to charging documents.

When she thought officers were on the scene, she headed to the front door, and saw two individuals crouched on the ground behind the bar, the documents relate. She exited and hid in some bushes.

Surveillance video shows two two people break through the rear door and crawl on the floor until they reach the bar, according to charging documents. The two appear to be spooked when the bartender walked out and one runs to the front of the bar and out of view.

“You can see officers contacting Rumley at the rear door after he opened it and was detained,” Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wrote in the affidavit regarding probable cause.

Rumley’s co-defendant, John Doe, is charged with the same two offenses.

Surveillance video from the Tower Tavern shows two individuals pull up to the back of the bar, park and wait until the crowds dissipated, according to Halstead. It also shows them enter the building, remove items and then place them into the vehicle.

Rumley’s arraignment is scheduled for next Thursday.