Lewis County Sirens.com

Erin Stiebritz waits her turn to go in front of a judge this afternoon at Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 36-year-old woman accused of having sex in her office at Green Hill School with a student-inmate was arrested yesterday and charged today with a felony.

Erin Stiebritz, who also goes by the last name of Snodgrass, worked as a counselor at the state institution in Chehalis.

Prosecutors allege the two had a sexual relationship during the latter half of 2014, before Stiebritz was placed on an alternative assignment based on allegations of inappropriate behavior with students, especially the alleged victim.

A detective with the Washington State Patrol investigated the case during 2015.

Stiebritz denies the allegations.

She was booked into the Lewis County Jail yesterday and brought before a judge late this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court. She is charged with first-degree custodial sexual misconduct.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Nelson asked she be held on $25,000 bail, citing community safety concerns.

Defense attorney Joely O’Rourke told the judge she didn’t see that as an issue, as the alleged victim was 18 and the relationship alleged was consensual.

Judge James Lawler set bail with a $25,000 unsecured bond.

It’s not clear if Stiebritz is still employed at Green Hill.

Her court documents show she resides in Centralia but court documents in another case describe her as living in Cinebar with her husband in early 2015.

Charging documents give the following account of the investigation:

In February of last year, employees at Green Hill intercepted a letter suspected to be from Stiebritz to the student-inmate, detailing a sexual relationship.

A detective contacted the postmaster in Chehalis and confirmed the return address was a post office box she had rented two days after she was reassigned to a new position.

The student-inmate’s room was searched and approximately 30 letters and cards were found, with the same return address, discussing their relationship.

“A few of the letters describes how there is a pregnancy and (the student-inmate) is the father,” Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wrote in the court documents.

In July, the detective interviewed her and she denied a relationship, writing the letters and renting a post office box.

The detective was able to listen to phone conversations made by Stiebritz to a different inmate at Walla Walla State Penitentiary during 2015 in which she allegedly spoke of the relationship and the post office box. The other inmate knows the alleged victim.

Two days before Christmas, the detective interviewed the alleged victim at Green Hill School, and he stated they had sex a few times in her office inside the Green Hill facility.

He told the detective initially she was helpful and concerned about him, but once he turned 18, she began to pursue him in a sexual manner.

Green Hill is run by the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, which  is part of the Department of Social and Health Services. It’s a medium to maximum security fenced facility that provides older, male offenders education and vocational training.

First-degree custodial sexual misconduct is a class C felony, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Stiebritz’s arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 21.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A stranger nearly drove off with a vehicle occupied by four children while their parents were unloading groceries at their Centralia home yesterday evening.

The 28-year-old father jumped into the passenger side of the vehicle and yelled at the man, who apologized and ran off, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

It happened about 4:50 p.m. at the 1600 block of Windsor Avenue, at the north end of town, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

Deputies searched the area and a dog track was conducted, but the subject was not found, Brown said.

According to Brown, the family had just got home from grocery shopping and planned to head to the laundry, so the parents were taking their purchases inside and bringing laundry outside, while the children waited.

The father saw the man and thought he was coming to the door, but saw him get into their van instead and start driving away, Brown said.

He didn’t get very far.

The father ran and caught up to the vehicle and climbed into the passenger seat, she said.

When he asked the man what he was doing, he responded by saying he was not right in the head, and he didn’t want any trouble, Brown said. Then he fled.

The children were not harmed, she said.

The suspect spoke Spanish and was described as heavy set, with a mustache and wearing a hat and blue shirt and probably between 40 to 50 years old.

Brown said it’s not clear if the man was just attempting to steal the van and didn’t realize it had kids in it, or what.

The K-9 track did turn up some evidence, she said The sheriff’s office continues to investigate, she said.

The man is now wanted for attempted vehicle theft and kidnapping, according to Brown.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Centralia man who should have been released from prison tomorrow for a nighttime burglary in which he exchanged gunfire with a business owner is among those mistakenly let out early because of a software coding error at the state Department of Corrections.

Todd R. Chissus was 30 years old when he was arrested in April 2004 several days after the break-in at Sunny Valley Sales on South Gold Street in Centralia.

Chissus was released on September 28 – more than three months too soon – but is now back in custody, according to to information released yesterday by the state Department of Corrections.

Last month, Gov. Jay Inslee revealed the discovery that as many as 3,200 offenders may have been released early over the course of 13 years.

The problem affected offenders with sentencing enhancements, who were over-credited with good time.

Early estimates from the governor’s office indicated the median number of days offenders were released from prison was 49 days before their correct release date.

As of yesterday, Chissus was among 77 individuals either apprehended or who turned themselves in and were returned to a correctional facility.

The governor last month ordered a halt to releases of potentially affected inmates, until a hand calculation was done to ensure their correct release date.

Also yesterday, DOC said at least 27 individuals committed new crimes during the time while they should have still been locked up.

Chissus was not on that list.

Eight of those 27 are alleged to have committed new felonies while out, including first-degree murder and vehicular homicide.

So far, prison officials have reviewed releases going back to Dec. 17, 2011. The computer error dates back to 2002.

Chissus was convicted in 2005 in Lewis County Superior Court of first-degree burglary with a firearm enhancement.

Nobody else convicted in Lewis County is shown on the documents currently available from the ongoing review.

DOC first learned there was a problem in 2012 and began the process of a sequencing fix, but for reasons undergoing an independent investigation, the repair was repeatedly delayed.

Victoria A. Cheney faces a judge for sentencing in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Centralia woman who threw her grown daughter under the bus during an investigation into the assaults of two toddlers admitted yesterday to her own guilt in the case.

Victoria A. Cheney was sentenced to just shy of four years in prison, and struggled throughout her court hearing to hold back tears.

Her voice broke so much during a brief statement she made to the judge, it was unintelligible.

The victims, ages 2 and 3 at the time, were staying at the Cheney’s rural Centralia home. They are the children of Cheney’s daughter’s then-boyfriend.

Their father called police in July when he picked them up and found  bruises and swelling on much of their bodies, according to authorities.

The little one’s black eye was so bad, the eye was almost completely closed, Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead told the judge.

Cheney, 44, was arrested in September, and one of the charges came because she previously had given a very detailed statement to law enforcement of how it was 22-year-old Chandra M. Munsey – her daughter – who hurt the children, according to Halstead.

Munsey was arrested, jailed and charged in the case shortly after it happened, but  prosecutors dismissed the charges after numerous interviews confirmed her alibi, and subsequently charged her mother instead.

Cheney’s husband was among those sitting in the benches behind her in Lewis County Superior Court. Her daughter was not.

Halstead told the judge they now know the boys’ injuries were caused by a spoon.

Both he and Cheney’s lawyer recommended she be sentenced to 47 months, calling it a compromise plea deal.

Defense attorney Shane O’Rourke made a fairly lengthy argument, in an attempt to persuade the judge to not to give her more time.

“As for the injuries, they’re bad, and we’re not going to dance around that,” O’Rourke said.

But there were no broken bones, he said.

“This was a case with enormous risks for her,” he said. “And I would agree there were going to be significant challenges for the state to prove its case.”

Cheney pleaded guilty to second-degree assault of a child, third-degree assault of a child and attempted malicious prosecution. Witness tampering charges were dropped.

When Judge James Lawler pronounced the sentence, he said there were reasons to go higher, but he would respect the process of the plea negotiations.

Both Halstead and O’Rourke told Lawler chemical dependency was likely an issue that contributed, so the judge also required Cheney get evaluated and follow advised treatment.

He ordered her to have no contact with the victims and he ordered her to pay the fines and fees recommended by Halstead.

“I hope when you’re done, you spend the rest of your life making up for this,” Lawler told Cheney. “So nothing like this can ever happen again.”

The two boys remain in foster care, according to Halstead.
•••

For background, read “Centralia woman arrested for the child assaults she blamed on her grown daughter” from Thursday September 17, 2015, here

The suspect Jeep looks like this one pictured.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Troopers are still hoping to hear from anyone who witnessed a shooting on Interstate 5 last week, or saw the road rage incident and chase that took place in the 13-mile stretch north of Chehalis.

It happened around 11 a.m. on Wednesday and nobody was injured, but at least one shot shattered the rear window of a car.

The suspect is a older man who was driving a black Jeep Cherokee and the victim was driving a silverish-gray four-door Mazda hatchback, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Police have interviewed the Mazda driver, but have not located the Jeep, according to the state patrol.

As of yesterday, there was nobody who reported seeing the shooting, Trooper Will Finn said. They’re hoping an appeal for tips will help them out, and maybe even prompt the shooter to turn himself in, Finn said.

A detective out of Vancouver has been assigned to investigate.

Detective Jen Ortiz said this morning only two calls were made to 911. One was from an individual who saw the Mazda with its back window already broken out, around milepost 83. The other was from the 25-year-old man from Spanaway who was shot at, she said.

Ortiz hadn’t yet heard from any members of the public offering information, she said.

According to the victim, the events began in south Thurston County around milepost 93 or the Scatter Creek Rest Area and continued southbound into Lewis County.

He told police he got “brake checked” by the Jeep and admitted he returned the favor.

The state patrol says the driver of the Jeep pointed a handgun out of the driver’s side window and fired at least one shot.

The two continued at a high rate of speed in and out of traffic until milepost 80 – north of the Chehalis Wal-Mart exit – when the driver of the Mazda lost sight of the Jeep. The 25-year-old  victim got off the freeway at exit 77, which is state Route 6 and Main Street and met up with police.

The Jeep is described as a black, mid 2000s base-model Jeep Cherokee with non-tinted windows and Washington license plates.

Its driver was described as a white male in his 60s to 70s with gray hair and a gray beard.  The Jeep had a passenger described as a white female in her 80s, wearing a red shirt with an oxygen tube in her nose.

Anyone with information regarding the incident, the Jeep, its driver or passenger, is asked to call detective Ortiz at 360-449-7948.
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For background, read “Car shot at, chased down Interstate 5 in Lewis County” from Wednesday December 30, 2015, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The 29-year-old man who led police on a pursuit from Centralia to Portland over the weekend reportedly told an officer he fled because he had a suspended driver’s license.

Henry Herrera-Montealegre was brought before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday afternoon, charged with one count of attempting to elude. The offense is a class C felony, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Judge James Lawler ordered the Centralia resident held on $20,000 bail. His arraignment is tomorrow.

Centralia police reported on New Year’s Day that an officer tried to pull over a suspected drunk driver at North Pearl and First streets about 2:20 a.m. but the vehicle sped away.

Charging documents in the case indicate Officer Angie Humphrey first spotted him at the 100 block of East Cherry Street about 1:50 a.m. and followed him up North Tower Avenue where she activated her overhead lights.

The documents state the car pulled to the curb and slowed, but then immediately pulled away, crossing both lanes of traffic and turning westbound on to Second Street.

From there, the car allegedly traveled in excess of 60 mph onto Harrison Avenue and ran a red light to enter southbound Interstate 5.

Law enforcement officers from the Chehalis Police Department, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol joined in the chase, with the driver traveling as much as 80 mph and avoiding spike strips once in Lewis County, the documents relate.

Officer Humphrey disengaged and the vehicle was pursued in to Portland where it was stopped.

The affidavit of probable cause offers no information about what occurred in Cowlitz or Clark counties.

Herrera-Montealegre, the sole occupant, was apprehended and booked into the Multnomah County Jail for attempting to elude by vehicle. They released him the same day on his own recognizance.

The following day, local officers located him near his home in Centralia and questioned him before making the arrest on the local charge.

” … (H)e admitted he drove away from Officer Humphrey because he had a suspended license,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wrote in the court documents.

Centralia police initially indicated Herrera-Montealegre could be facing also a charge of driving without a required interlock device. His license was suspended in the first degree.

Prosecutors say Herrera-Montealegre has convictions for driving under the influence in 2007 and 2004.
•••

For background, read “Centralia resident arrested after roughly 100-mile police chase” from Friday January 1, 2016, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Lewis County Fire District 5’s experiment with employing a part-time chief didn’t work out.

A year and a half after stepping into the role at the fire department that protects the greater Napavine area, Chief Gregg Peterson has stepped down.

Chief Gregg Peterson

The change took place last month and district’s board of commissioners is planning now to hire someone full-time to lead the department.

Commissioner Lyle Hojem said part time just isn’t enough time, because the district has so many calls to respond to.

“It was amiable, he knew,” Hojem said yesterday. “It wasn’t something he objected to in any way; we had the highest regard for him.”

Peterson was sworn in last spring, with a contract that  called for him to work up to 32 hours, with an annual salary of $40,000.

The previous chief and his second-in-command had resigned two months earlier. Jamie Guenther, chair of the board of commissioners when Peterson was hired, said at the time that a lot of people didn’t like the high wages paid to former Chief Eric Linn.

Linn was paid $82,000 a year and benefits that totaled more than $19,000.

Lewis County Fire District 5, re-named Newaukum Valley Fire and Rescue, serves a population of about 12,000 over a 66-square-mile area south of Chehalis.

Hojem said  Peterson was actually the one who brought the issue to the attention of the commissioners, recognizing it “some time ago”, and the commissioners agreed.

“We found a part-time chief just didn’t work for Lewis County Fire District 5,” he said.

Peterson, who served the previous six years as the volunteer chief in the Boistfort Valley where he resides, retired in 2011 from a professional firefighter career in South King County.

His retirement plan doesn’t allow him to continue receiving payments if he works more than part-time as a chief, Hojem said, and the board wasn’t going to ask him to give up his retirement money to stay on with them.

Hojem said the board is beginning to get its “ducks in order”, preparing a job description and then advertising for the position.

They hope to bring on a new chief by April, he said.