Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Robbie Russell’s troubles over the past 18 months were wrapped up into one plea agreement which is sending him off to prison with a six-year sentence.

Robert Shawn Russell

The 47-year-old until yesterday was facing charges in multiple cases, three involving methamphetamine and one in which a fellow defendant has since been slain.

The earliest case is from June 2009 when Russell and David West Sr. of Onalaska were accused of ambushing several teenagers camping outside Winlock. Russell allegedly brandished a handgun and fired a shot during the incident. It was allegedly about West Sr. trying to retrieve money that was stolen from him.

West Sr, his 16-year-old son and a friend were fatally shot in August inside West’s home. Two other men are awaiting trial in that case.

Robert Shawn Russell was out on bail when last May, police got a tip sending them to Russell’s Centralia home where they found enough methamphetamine and other items that he was charged with possession with intent to deliver drugs, according to a court file.

He was out on bail when a month later he was stopped by Centralia police and arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm. Police Sgt. Pat Fitzgerald said at the time he also found in the car an amount of methamphetamine large enough it could be moulded into a clump the size of a tennis ball.

He was out on bail in August when the triple homicide occurred in the Salkum-Onalaska area and the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office decided Russell was a “person of interest” in the case.

Within a week, Russell was brought into the jail on a warrant, and because his bail bondsman decided to revoke his bonds. John Wickert, owner of Jail Sucks Bail Bond Co., said he didn’t want to be involved with Russell anymore.

Two months ago, authorities said they traced a golf ball-sized chunk of methamphetamine found inside the Lewis County Jail back to Russell. He was charged with delivery of a controlled substance.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said today the plea agreement was a good way to resolve the cases.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt yesterday sentenced Russell to six years in prison.

While Russell pleaded guilty to several crimes for which he got lengthy sentences, under the law they are to be served concurrently. Deputy Prosecutor Steve Scott handled the sentencing hearing. Scott said:

For delivery of methamphetamine in the jail, 72 months.

For possession with intent to deliver in Centralia from May: 72 months. Also, 24 months for a simple drug possession from another date.

For possession of methamphetamine from the June traffic stop: about 24 months, Scott said, as well as 90 days for driving with a suspended license.

For the June 2009 camping incident: 60 months. Scott said Russell pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree assault, one count of unlawful imprisonment and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Meagher said prosecutors agreed to reduce the charges from the June 2009 case for several reasons, including one of the witnesses is dead, some of the witnesses are on “runaway status” and authorities didn’t have the firearm in question.

“To go all the way on that, we just faced some challenges,” Meagher said.

Is Russell still a so-called person of interest in the August triple homicide?

Meagher today said yes.

Authorities have not suggested Russell was present at the shootings, and Russell has not been charged in connection with the case.

Meagher said they’ve looked into “links”, but “at this time, I don’t have any evidence that he was.”

Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield said this afternoon whether Russell is still a person of interest in that case is a better question for Meagher.

Sheriff Mansfield offered some farewell thoughts however:

“He’s going away for six years and all I can say is if I’m still sheriff in six years, when he gets out, we’ll be there watching him.”
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Read about the June 2009 camping incident and what authorities said about Russell shortly after the triple homicide from Thursday Aug. 26, 2010

Read about Russell’s capture by a bail bondsman from Monday Sept. 6, 2010

Read what Russell said about how the methamphetamine got inside the jail from Saturday Oct. 9, 2010

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Authorities may never know how the wanted Colorado man, whose body was found this summer at Riffe Lake, died.

James A. Sprague, 49, was found dead in July near the Mossyrock Dam fishing area. He was being sought by Denver police for the March slaying of his girlfriend.

The Lewis County Coroner’s Office got word yesterday that DNA tests confirmed the badly decomposed remains were Sprague’s, but they don’t expect to learn more about what killed him.

“There is actually no possibility we will be able to determine a cause and manner because of the condition of the body,” Chief Deputy Coroner Dawn Harris said this morning.

Denver police had obtained an arrest warrant for Sprague after his 30-year-old girlfriend was found March 25, dead with a head injury in the bathroom of her home, according to the Denver Police Department. Rose Westendorf died from blunt force trauma, and it was determined to be a homicide, according to the department

In April, a vehicle belonging to Sprague was impounded after it was found abandoned near the Blue Lake Campground outside of Randle, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. (The Denver Police Department reported it belonged to Westendorf)

On July 28, some 30 miles away, a recreational boater found an adult’s body on the shore’s edge at the west end of Riffe Lake.

Items in the area suggested he might have set up camp there and a backpack next to the body contained Sprague’s identification.

It’s a reservoir where water level goes up and down. Harris said the water and the length of time he had been there make it impossible to conclude how he died.

The cause and manner of his death, as well as the date will all be listed as unknown, Harris said.

Sheriff’s detectives continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding Sprague’s death.
•••

Read “News brief: ID found with body near Mossyrock belongs to murder suspect, sheriff’s office says” from Friday July 30, 2010 here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Winlock man was arrested last night after a fight outside Franks Hideaway bar in which another man was stabbed.

Police and aid were called just before 8 p.m. to the establishment on East Walnut Street. The victim, a 41-year-old Winlock resident, was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with a wound on his mid torso and another on his shoulder area, according to authorities.

Police Chief Terry Williams said the two men had been out back fighting. One said he got punched three or four times so he pulled out his pocket knife.

The victim went inside and the bartender called 911, Williams said.

Lance J. Churchill was arrested for second-degree assault and booked into the Lewis County Jail. The victim may be charged with assault as well, according to the chief.

Williams said he couldn’t determine what prompted the altercation. The men claimed not to know each other, he said.

The victim’s injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, according to responders.

Its the second time in less than a month somebody has been stabbed in Winlock.

On the evening of Nov. 14, a Winlock man was riding his motorcycle near the skate park when two young men on the sidewalk yelled something at him, Williams said. He got off his motorcycle, a verbal altercation ensued and one of the men pulled out a knife, according to Williams.

The victim was able to ride the three or four miles to his home and his wife took him to the hospital. It happened at Dexter and King Street.

The chief said the suspects were described only as white males in their 20s.

Police are still looking for the pair. A gold colored SUV was in the area and may have witnessed the attack, according to police.

Williams is asking anyone who has information to call Lewis County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-748-6422.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

This news story was updated at 11:17 a.m.

A homeless man was found dead inside a tent on the hillside off Kresky in Chehalis yesterday afternoon.

Police say there were no obvious signs of trauma or a struggle but are investigating.

Chehalis Police Chief Glenn Schaffer in a news release described him as in his mid-60s and a client of the state Department of Corrections.

Community corrections officers found him dead when they went to check on him after he missed an appointment earlier in the day, according to Shaffer.

The fire department and police were called about 4:30 p.m. to the camp, in the trees about 150 yards east of Kresky along the 2200 block near the Lewis County Mall.

His identity has not been released.

Chehalis detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said the individual is not someone he is familiar with. He probably hadn’t been dead more than a day or so, McNamara said.

The man had been pretty routine about showing up at DOC’s Chehalis community corrections office, said Scott Albert, the supervisor there. The office is in the Lewis County Mall.

“I would see him here regularly Monday around 8 or 9 a.m.,” Albert said this morning.

The deceased, who Albert said was 67 years old, has been under their supervision for two years after getting out of prison. He was incarcerated in July 1999 and was a level one registered sex offender, Albert said.

It’s not unheard of for some of their clients to be homeless or live in tents, according Albert.

“He was homeless, he didn’t have any resources,” Albert said. “A lot of people get labeled as a sex offender and nobody wants to house them,” he said.

The man had been in prison for first-degree rape of a child, he said.

It appears he was compliant with the conditions imposed on him and had about a year more of being under their supervision, Albert said.

One lane of Kresky was shut down until about 9:30 p.m. as police conducted their investigation.

The cause of death is yet to be determined but at this point in the investigation appears to be related to natural causes, according to police.

Both the fire department and Albert indicated it initially didn’t appear as a natural death, for reasons they didn’t specify. McNamara said there was a little blood around his nose and mouth.

Police will treat it as suspicious until they determine otherwise, according to McNamara.

Shoppers stroll through the north end of the Centralia Factory Outlet Stores.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A judge signed an order today to put the Centralia Factory Outlet Stores into the hands of a receiver as the bank holding a $30.7 million note has commenced foreclosure.

Spokane-based Sterling Savings Bank filed a petition two weeks ago in Lewis County Superior Court alleging the Centralia Outlets are in default on a loan made in early 2007 for extensive renovations at the mall.

Centralia Outlets have some 30 tenants in the mall which covers areas on both sides of Interstate 5 near the Harrison Avenue interchange.

Centralia Outlets LLC argued it is not in default and has complied with requirements to extend the date of a balloon payment until next March. Attorneys wrote in a response filed Wednesday the Centralia Outlets are profitably operated.

The principals of Centralia Outlets LLC are listed s Richard K. Getty and Jerry R. Barnett in Tacoma.

The asset manager for the two men wrote in opposition to the petition, “It’s not a secret the bank was in danger of being shut down.”

“It’s clear that their decision to call this loan in default by stretching and distorting the meaning of the two sections of the loan document was based solely on their need for cash,” Sandra Smith wrote.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler today sided with the bank signing an order saying the note and deed of trust are in default, and the property and the rents it generates are in danger of being lost or materially injured or impaired.

John P. Rader was appointed a general receiver at the request of Sterling Savings. A receiver is a person appointed as the court’s agent to take possession of, manage or dispose of property.

As of Nov. 2, according to the bank’s filing, more than $24 million was owed on the note.

Part of the default occurred, according to lawyers for Sterling Savings, when the principals transferred their membership interest in violation of restrictions on the loan. Attorneys for Centralia Outlets LLC wrote in response they assigned their member units to family LLCs for estate planning purposes, something they did two years ago.

They had asked Lawler for a 30-day continuance but it was not granted.

Centralia Outlets opened in 1988, becoming the first outlet shopping center in the Pacific Northwest, according to their property manager Renate Johnson.

In the past three years, they have added tenants such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Aeropostale, Billabong, Coach and just this autumn, Toys R Us Express.

Negotiations are underway with several more for spring and summer openings, according to Centralia Outlets LLC.

Centralia Outlets was ordered to deliver all its property to the receiver when he posts a $250,000 bond, which is to be done within seven court days.

A judge signed an order to put the Centralia Factory Outlet Stores into the hands of a receiver on Friday as the bank holding a $30.7 million note has commenced foreclosure.