Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

This news story was updated at 9:23 a.m.

A 20-year-old man from Renton was arrested yesterday in connection with the death of the Morton teenager whose body was found off a logging road outside Morton a month after he disappeared from his home this summer.

Austin King

Jack Arnold Silverthorne was was booked for first-degree murder, according to Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield.

Sixteen-year-old Austin King vanished from his family’s home in the Tilton River Mobile Home Park on June 23 and was the subject of a month-long search headed up by volunteers.

His body was found some 10 miles from his home with the help of a psychic who suggested a road to check.

The teenager was initially classified as a runaway and two or three weeks later relabeled as endangered-missing.

Mansfield said sheriff’s detectives traveled to Silverthorne’s home in Renton yesterday and arrested him just before 3 p.m. without incident. He was booked into the jail at 7:50 p.m.

This morning’s announcement is the first public statement from the sheriff’s office indicating they believed foul play was involved in Austin’s death.

When the body was discovered, the sheriff’s office said there was no obvious indication of accident, suicide or foul play.

Early last month, the Lewis County Coroner’s Office acknowledged they had determined it was a homicide, but would not divulge the cause of death. Neither the sheriff’s office nor elected Lewis County Coroner Terry Wilson this morning would disclose the cause of death.

Mansfield this morning indicated detectives have had their eye on Silverthorne for quite a while.

“We identified Silverthorne early in this investigation as a person of interest and later a suspect in the murder of Austin King,” Mansfield said.

The sheriff’s office didn’t offer any details about a motive.

A sheriff’s office spokesperson said Austin and Silverthorne were acquaintances who knew each other through an East Lewis County girl with whom Austin had a relationship.

Sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Aust said they did not know if Austin was killed in the place his body was found.

The teenager was last seen by his mother Christy Harper at about 12:15 a.m. on June 23 when he said goodnight to her and went off to his detached bedroom outside of their mobile home with two buddies to watch television. He didn’t have a car, but his body was found some 10 miles from Morton.

Mansfield said the sheriff’s office has had to be patient waiting for DNA tests and they wanted to make sure they had the evidence secured and a solid case before making an arrest.

It took a forensic anthropologist in Seattle examining the remains until early last month to help determine the cause and manner of death.

Silverthorne is scheduled to go before a Lewis County Superior Court  judge this afternoon, and if he is charged or held for pending charges, the details of what makes him a suspect would be laid out in a document for a judge to review.

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To read previous coverage of Austin King’s case, see below:

• “Breaking news: Morton teenager died by homicide, coroner’s office says” from Friday Oct. 8, 2010

• “Breaking news: Morton area body confirmed as missing teenager Austin King, sheriff’s office says” from Friday Aug. 20, 2010

• “Park filled with mourners for missing Morton teenager Austin King” from Saturday July 24, 2010

• “News brief: Specialist to help examine body found near Morton” from Thursday July 22, 2010

• “Vigil for Morton teen still on; body found yesterday not identified” from Wednesday July 21, 2010

• “News brief: Body of male found near logging road outside of Morton” from Tuesday July 20, 2010

• “News brief: Sheriff’ office seeks tips to find missing teen” from Thursday July 1, 2010

• “Morton teenager remains missing” from Thursday July 1, 2010

• Also, Roy Stemman, a writer in the United Kingdom, published a story, “Psychic guides searchers to teens body” in his Paranormal Review on July 27, 2010 after interviewing psychic Sonya Grace and Morton resident and search organizer Jennifer Mau, founder of the local chapter of Guardians of the Children.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office has booked an individual into jail for first-degree murder.

Jack Arnold Silverthorne was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 7:50 p.m. last night, according to the jail log.

No further information is available right now as to what death it is related to, or even if the booking is related to a current case.

However, the sheriff’s office has two outstanding homicides:

Guy LaFontaine, 58, of Federal Way, died from injuries following an assault the evening of March 13 at the 11,000 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Randle, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested a relative, Erik R. Massa, 42, of Randle, and booked him into jail for second-degree murder. He was then released before being charged with any crime.

Austin King, 16, of Morton, was found dead on July 20 off a logging road a month after he disappeared from his home.

His body was found some 10 miles from the family’s home in the Tilton River Mobile Home Park. Austin did not have a car, according to the sheriff’s office. It took until mid-August for authorities to confirm, though DNA, it was indeed the teenager.

Early last month, the Lewis County Coroner’s Office said the manner of death was homicide but would not release Austin’s cause of death.
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More later

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

This news story was updated at 4:39 p.m. with news of TV reporter assaulted outside party house

News flash: If you’re going to throw a drinking party and invite teenagers, don’t advertise it on Facebook, unless you want a bunch of deputies joining you.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday they got wind of a Saturday night affair near Toledo and put together a team that included four extra deputies, reserve deputies, police from Winlock and Toledo and the Washington State Patrol.

When they arrived at 11 p.m. they found well in excess of 300 people, both over and under 21 years old, according to sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Aust.

Aust said they were able to arrest eight underage party-goers for being minors either in possession or having consumed alcohol. The individuals arrested were between the ages of 17 and 20 and came from places such as Chehalis, Toledo, Castle Rock, Vancouver and Battleground, according to the sheriff’s office.

“They just did what they could to contain it,” Aust said of the law enforcement officers.

The homeowner and his friends are being investigated for contributing alcohol to minors, the sheriff’s office reported. Aust said the man they think is the homeowner denied he was behind the gathering and said he was trying to break it up.

Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield said in a news release underage drinking is a serious issue in the county and his office will deal with it aggressively.

“We have had several injuries and even a death over the past year due to adults giving or allowing juveniles to consume alcohol,” Mansfield said. “The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office has a no-tolerance stance on this issue.”

The event was at a residence on the 100 block of Fluckinger Road west of Toledo.

Aust said from what he could gather on the social networking site, Facebook, it was a going away party for someone, and advertised there would be a couple of kegs of beer but otherwise, it was billed as “Bring your own bottle”.

A trooper arrested one person for driving under the influence.

A clue there might be underage drinking; a message on Facebook from one of the hosts: “If you’re under the age of 18, don’t tell your parents.”

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Update: The sheriff’s office said later this morning a television news reporter was assaulted yesterday as the homeowner tried to stop her from filming his house and field.

Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said a deputy was called at about 1:35 p.m. after the man reportedly pushed her camera twice and grabbed her arm telling her to get off private property. The reporter had a camera set up on a tri-pod on the side of the road, according to Brown.

She kept the camera rolling during the attack.

William E. Thomas, 51, of Toledo, was arrested for fourth-degree assault and booked into the Lewis County Jail, Brown said. He was released just after noon today.

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See the story from KOIN TV and their video from KOINlocal6.com here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The former pastor of a Randle church won his appeal for being wrongly sentenced after he was convicted of sending sexual emails to a teenage member of his congregation.

Frederick C. Haack, the minister of the Family Worship Center in Randle, was sentenced to the maximum of five years in prison for communication with a minor for immoral purposes but an appeals court found the offense was actually a gross misdemeanor, something which should have gotten him locked up for no more than a year.

The Washington State Court of Appeals in an opinion filed late last month remanded the case for resentencing in Lewis County Superior Court.

It’s not clear from the opinion if Haack was actually incarcerated or remained free during the pending appeal. A phone call yesterday to his attorney was not returned.

The 49-year-old was charged in early 2008 for exchanges that occurred in December 2005 with a then-16-year-old Randle girl. A Lewis County jury found him guilty in 2009 of all six counts of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.

In his appeal, filed May 1, 2009, Haack’s attorney pointed out the judge erred in sentencing him for class C felonies because the offenses at the time committed were gross misdemeanors, according to the opinion.

The state legislature had increased the penalty for the crime effective in June 2006.

The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office conceded the error.

Haack’s attorney also argued the conviction based on insufficient evidence but the appeals court rejected those claims.

A three-member panel of the state Court of Appeals Division Two agreed with the Oct. 26 finding of the sentencing error.

The allegations arose after the girl disclosed to her mother the events which had occurred two years earlier when she was 16. She had returned to Randle to live with her mother and contacted the pastor for soccer lessons.

By the end of the year, Haack, a married father of three, had moved away from Randle and was no longer a minister of any congregation.
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Read the Appeals Court decision here.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Police are checking addresses of family and friends of a Greenhill School escapee after the 16-year-old was discovered missing this morning and a hole found cut in the fence surrounding the juvenile institution in south Chehalis.

Chehalis police were called about 6:30 a.m. and a large containment set up around the area with the help of police, deputies and troopers from Centralia, Lewis County and the Washington State Patrol. A police dog tracked a scent a short way up Chehalis Avenue, according to police.

A 1992 Isuzu Trooper stolen from the 300 block of Chehalis Avenue was later found abandoned on the side of a road in Rainier, according to Chehalis police detective Sgt. Rick McNamara.

The department is getting the assistance of law officers in Pierce and Thurston county to check addresses up there, McNamara said this afternoon.

“My gut feeling is he took that rig and dumped it up there, he’s got family and friends in the Tenino area,” McNamara said.

The 16-year-old boy, whose name was not released, is locked up in the state juvenile institution for crimes such as motor vehicle theft, theft and burglary, according to McNamara.

He has previous addresses from places such as Tenino, Rainier, Olympia and Roy, McNamara said.

Greenhill School is a medium/maximum secure facility for older juvenile boys incarcerated for felonies and operated by the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, under the state Department of Social and Health Services. It sits between Interstate 5 and Southwest Pacific Avenue north of Southwest Parkland Street.

According to Chehalis police, they were notified after the inmate was discovered missing from his room about 6:30 a.m. and a hole was found cut in the chain link fence near Southwest Ninth Street and Chehalis Avenue.

A pair of sheers were found inside the fence, according to police. McNamara said he doesn’t know yet where the teenager got the sheers.

The Isuzu Trooper was found about 9:30 a.m.

The Chehalis Police Department will be conducting the investigation into the escape.

Richard J. F. Roth speaks to defense attorney Bob Schroeter as he is charged with murder in connection with the shooting of a 66-year-old female neighbor in Winlock

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The man arrested for allegedly fatally shooting a fellow trailer park resident in Winlock after an argument was charged with first-degree murder today.

Richard Joseph Frank Roth, 65, was brought into Lewis County Superior Court in a wheelchair this afternoon. He is accused of shooting Jackie Marie Lawyer, 66, in the neck from a distance of about three feet yesterday morning in the Frost Road Trailer Park.

First-degree murder carries a possible penalty of life in prison.

Defense attorney Bob Schroeter addressed the judge as they discussed bail.

“Clearly there will be facts before the court that will put this matter in a whole different light,” Schroeter said.

Schroeter said his client recently suffered from a significant heart problem and within the past month underwent a heart procedure in a hospital.

“My client would not be a flight risk from the jail to the next street,” Schroeter said.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Steve Scott requested Roth be held on $2 million bail, because of the nature of the charge, circumstances of the incident, danger to the community and a 1968 conviction for escape.

Judge James Lawler set bail at $500,000.

Roth’s income amounts to about $850 a month from Social Security, Schroeter told the judge. His assets include a 1960 motor home valued at about $200 and a 1985 Ford van worth about $1,000, Schroeter said.

The judge found he qualified for a court-appointed attorney.

Charging documents in the case describe the most immediate dispute between the two as a confrontation yesterday in the trailer park laundry room where Lawyer called Roth a snitch, saying he told the park manager she was dumping ashes from her wood stove in the woods.

Roth reportedly told detective Bruce Kimsey yesterday he took his laundry soap back to his van and put his .22 revolver in his back pocket. When he was confronted by Lawyer again, he pulled it out, pointed it at her neck and squeezed the trigger, according to charging documents.

The charging documents also offer the following from the suspect’s interview with the detective:

When Kimsey asked Roth why he felt he needed to shoot her, Roth said he didn’t know. When Kimsey asked about Roth’s emotions when he pulled out the firearm, he said he just snapped, he’d just had enough of it, according to charging documents.

First-degree murder means the crime was intentional and premeditated.

Roth is expected back in court on Nov. 10.
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More later

For more details and photos from yesterday’s events in Winlock, scroll down to read “Woman, 66, fatally shot in Winlock trailer park, neighbor arrested” or click here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Five people were taken to Providence Centralia Hospital and one person airlifted after a multiple-vehicle collision on U. S. Highway 12 east of Ethel yesterday evening.

The state patrol describes it as a westbound car being knocked onto the shoulder upside down after it was struck by one of three cars involved in a rear end collision in the opposite lane.

It happened just before 6:30 p.m. about a mile east of Leonard Road.

Lewis County Fire District 8 was joined by ambulances from Onalaska and Lewis County Medic One in treating patients in the accident that shut down the highway for more than an hour, according to District 8 Chief Dave DeBuhr.

The driver of a Nissan Altima, a 21-year-old Vancouver man, was hurt the worst. Sergey P. Kaminskiy was in the car hit by a 1993 Honda Accord and coming to rest on it’s top, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life, DeBuhr said.

“We cut off a door, he was caught in a seatbelt upside down,” the chief said.

An air ambulance landed on a small airfield off Leonard and Gore roads and flew Kaminskiy to Southwest Washington Medical Center, according to responders.

DeBuhr said he got a call from Lifeflight last night and the patient was doing good, not critical and possibly had a broken wrist.

His passenger in the totaled Altima, Dennis V. Belinski, 19, of Portland, got a cut on his nose and has been transferred out of Providence, according to authorities.

The state patrol reported all of the victims were wearing seat belts. The cause is still under investigation.

Trooper Brian Dorsey offered the following about the collision:

A pair of teenagers were in the 1993 Honda Accord that veered into the oncoming lane after it rear-ended a Buick Century. Ryan J. Succo, 19, Centralia, was taken to Providence with injuries to his clavicle and nose. Grace M. Succo, 15, Onalaska, was also taken there with back pain. The Accord was totaled.

Two people in the Buick were taken to Providence with back pain. They are driver Jose M. Barron, 37, Centralia, and passenger Orbelin Sanchez-Pimentel, 24, of Orando.

Not injured was a Mossyrock woman driving a 2005 Honda Accord.

Its driver, Pamela Sheldon-Goodrum, 56, of Mossyrock, was eastbound and slowed for a motorist ahead that was turning into a private driveway, according to Dorsey.

The Buick behind her slowed and stopped but was struck in the rear by Succo’s Honda, which shoved the Buick into Sheldon-Goodrum’s Honda.

Chief DeBuhr said he was the last of the emergency responders to leave the scene at 8 p.m. Training pays off, he said.

“The total outcome was excellent, everything went like a text book recovery,” he said. “We got ’em out, and when nobody dies, that’s good.”