Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Danny Wing was ready to be sentenced today.

For his role in the abuse, neglect and death of a 3-year-old boy he and his wife took into their family last summer.

His lawyer argued for far less time than prosecutors requested, and even made a winning argument that prosecutors should give his client another polygraph test before concluding Wing violated their plea agreement.

“My client knew the parents of Jasper would be in the courtroom today,” Vancouver defense attorney Todd Pascoe said. “He knew I would make this argument. He wants to proceed as if I’d never raised this issue.”

Wing, 27, has been held in the Lewis County Jail since last autumn, as has his wife, charged following the death of Jasper Henderling-Warner.

Firefighters and deputies responding the evening of Oct. 5 to a 911 call from the Wing’s new home in Vader, found CPR was underway. The toddler was revived, but died at Providence Centralia Hospital, according to prosecutors.

The autopsy found abrasions, bruises, facial trauma and healing fractures and labeled the cause of death as chronic battered child syndrome. Jasper was suffering from skin infections that were found to be secondary to his cause of death.

Prosecutors initially charged the couple with homicide by abuse or, in the alternative, first-degree manslaughter; each of the two were charged as either the principal or accomplice.

Conflicting stories and an inability to figure out just what occurred led to deals with the Wings this past spring which required them to truthfully describe what occurred, in exchange for guilty pleas and convictions on first-degree manslaughter and recommendations they be locked up for about 16 years.

But Danny Wing didn’t pass the lie detector test, and today in Lewis County Superior Court, prosecutors asked for an exceptional sentence beyond the standard range, citing the so-called enhancements that allowed it; that the victim was a member of his household, and that Wing abused a position of trust on a particularly vulnerable victim.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead described what investigators learned. Wing’s lawyer spoke of cooperation from his client and other reasons for a standard sentence.

After hearing from Jasper’s mother, his father and a Vader firefighter who was part of the huge aid response that tried to save the child’s life, and vowed to speak forever for the little boy who was silenced, Judge Nelson Hunt imposed a sentence of a little longer than 34 and a half years.

The judge called it an incredible story of horror and suffering inflicted.

“The top of the range for the crime that was actually committed here, is what I’m going to go with,” Hunt said.

Between the statements from Halstead, and those of Pascoe, a clearer picture emerged of Jasper’s last 64 days on this earth.

Jasper’s 21-year-old mother Nikki Warner had given the couple temporary custody last summer – at the end of July – while she was homeless and looked for work out of state.

Warner, who lived in the Vancouver area, and Danny Wing were loosely related in a foster family scenario although they’d only recently met each other.

The married couple had three children of their own.

Both lawyers told the judge they did not believe the Wings set out to kill Jasper or intended for him to die.

It started on the return home from a beach trip to Oregon, Halstead said.

Brenda Wing told her husband Jasper had placed his hands over Danny Jr.’s mouth, he said, noting that turned out to be a lie.

“This set off Danny, he struck Jasper quite a few times in the back of the van as they left,” Halstead said.

The beating left the little boy with injuries to his lip and nose, according to Halstead.

The senior deputy prosecutor went on to describe the Wings as heavy heroin users without a stable home, moving from hotel to hotel.

“One of the ways the Wings decided to treat the bruises was to put hot wash cloths on them,” he said. “We all know people on drugs don’t always think rationally.”

Then they spent hours blowing a hair dryer onto the bruises, causing a massive burn one-third the length of Jasper’s upper thigh, he said.

Danny pulled the scab off, Jasper at this time was crawling around in diapers; he contracted MRSA, Halstead said.

The little boy was being hit and conditioned until he would say someone else had been harming him, he said.

“We know now one of the reasons they did not seek help is they’d had prior contact with CPS,” Halstead said. “They didn’t want CPS coming to see the kids.”

Defense attorney Pascoe spoke of a glowing report from CPS about the family, “I think it was July 1,” he said.

He spoke of the Wings love for their children and the “Cinderella affect”.

They should have given Jasper back to his mother, or taken him to the hospital, or accepted help that was offered, Pascoe said. But they didn’t.

“At the root was fear of separation from their own children,” he said.

Halstead told the judge that Jasper’s mother and the Wings had actually written out an agreement, that included that she could visit her son whenever she wanted.

“Nikki had her own personal issues she was taking care of,” he said.

She tried to see Jasper during this time, he said.

“Every time, she was denied,” he said. “She didn’t understand why.”

“Come to find out, of course, her son was slowly dying at the hands of the Wings,” he said. “She never saw her son again.”

Eventually the couple moved to the house in Vader, about two weeks before Jasper’s death, according to Halstead.

He continued to recite what the investigation and interviews revealed.

“They put makeup on him so they could go out in public,” he said.

In the end, the toddler was not eating, not drinking, was basically non-responsive and having seizures, he said.

The last week of his life he lay on the floor in a blanket, and they would periodically check on him to make sure he was still alive, Halstead said.

Halstead, with Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer beside him, told the judge the state thought long and hard about the penalty. They considered the senselessness, the couple’s attempts to blame others and the length of time Jasper suffered.

They asked that Danny Wing be sent to prison for 55 years.

Judge Hunt asked the lawyers to tell him the standard sentencing ranges that would apply for first-degree murder, for second-degree murder and for homicide by abuse.

Among the many gathered in the Chehalis courtroom was Vader’s Assistant Fire Chief Ruth Crear.

“He won’t go to school, get married, he won’t get to do anything,” Crear said. “And that man gets to still breathe.”

Casey Henderling told the judge he agreed with the prosecutors’ recommendation.

“I don’t think 15 years is even close,” he said. “They chose to kill and torture my son.”

Jasper’s mother read from a lengthy letter about the loss of the child she gave birth to at age 17.

She told of a handsome, bright boy who loved all animals and insects and whose favorite foods were Gummy hot dogs and real hot dogs.

“I did the best I could for him, then came to a point where my surroundings were no longer good for Jasper,” Warner said. “The Wings, I thought, were a regular married family with three kids.

“Brenda told me she would decorate his room with Ninja Turtles.”

She said she couldn’t understand how fully grown adults could torture a 3-year-old and how she hoped their children, for their sake, would never find out what their parents did.

“I wish you a painful, violent and slow death in prison,” Warner said.

Pascoe offered reasons he felt the judge could consider a 15-year sentence noting his client was the first of the two to take responsibility; that he turned over records and even a cell phone to investigators, without deleting its messages.

He read to the judge letters from Danny Wing’s mother, a jail chaplain and a fellow inmate who described Wing discovering a sincere desire to serve God. And he made mention of seeing an eerie parallel between Wing as a baby and Jasper as he read passages about CPS concerns from late 1998.

Danny Wing was the last to address the court.

He told the judge that whether he got 50 years or 15, he plans to teach others what drugs can cause.

“I’m not asking for leniency,” he said. “I’m really sorry; I know that doesn’t make up for what they lost.”

Wing was also given 48 months for third-degree child assault, which he also pleaded guilty to in March. The time will be served concurrent with the other.

Brenda Wing’s sentencing was also scheduled for today, but postponed because of a technical issue with materials handed over to her attorney on a CD. The lawyer couldn’t open up the CD to read it, according to Prosecutor Meyer.
•••

For background, read “Coroner: Ongoing physical abuse led to Vader toddler’s death” from Friday November 7, 2014, here

•

 

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County prosecutor is claiming a Vader couple didn’t hold up their end of the deal in a plea agreement that allowed them to admit to manslaughter instead of facing a more serious charge, but wants them to be sentenced for manslaughter anyhow, and face much more prison time.

Danny and Brenda Wing, both 27, have both been held in the Lewis County Jail since their arrest late last year in the death of  3-year-old Jasper Henderling-Warner who was living with their family.

Each of the two have pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and third-degree child assault. In exchange for prosecutors dropping a charge of homicide by abuse, the couple promised to share information with authorities and undergo polygraph examinations.

Jasper died last Oct. 5. from what the coroner labeled chronic battered child syndrome. His 21-year-old mother had given the couple temporary custody last summer while she was homeless and looked for work out of state.

Prosecutors filed motions last Friday, and Monday, asking the court to find the Wings violated the plea agreement and the state wants to make sure the agreement is enforced. Prosecutors want to add back into the case so-called enhancements and seek exceptional sentences.

Had the Wings done what they said they would, prosecutors agreed they would face standard sentencing ranges of between 146 months and 194 months in prison.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said Brenda Wing admitted some information she gave was a lie. And her husband withheld information in three of four areas, he said.

The idea was for prosecutors to find out the details of Jasper’s death, so they could hold everyone accountable who needed to be held accountable, Meyer said today.

The Wings were initially charged on Nov. 7 with homicide by abuse or, in the alternative, first-degree manslaughter, two crimes with widely different penalties. Each of the two were charged as either the principal or accomplice.

Their sentencing hearings are currently on the court schedule for tomorrow, in Lewis County Superior Court, at 9 a.m. for him and 1:30 p.m. for her.

Brenda Wing’s lawyer John Crowley has asked for the hearing to be postponed. Yesterday, prosecutors filed a response to the defense motion.
•••

For background, read, “Despite convictions, investigation still underway in death of 3-year-old Vader boy last year” from Friday August 21, 2015, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The lawyer for the driver who survived a head-on crash that killed three teenagers in Onalaska this summer still hasn’t seen the final accident report, even though his client is involved in a case for allegedly driving under the influence that night.

But the report should finally be available soon, according to Centralia defense attorney J.O. Enbody.

Joseph W. Rogerson, 36, of Chehalis, appeared before a judge today for a hearing in Lewis County District Court in Chehalis.

Enbody told the judge he’d like to set over the hearing for two weeks. He said Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher asked him to make the request, while prosecutors work on their decision whether to charge Rogerson with a felony.

The parties have been waiting for the report from an investigative team from the Washington State Patrol.

Three teenagers died from the July 13 wreck on state Route 508. The initial report indicated both vehicles crossed the centerline.

Rogerson and his wife were traveling westbound in a Ford Freestar minivan. Eight teenagers were traveling the other direction in a Land Rover Discovery when the vehicles met up near Hyak Road, only two of them were wearing seat belts, according to initial reports.

Dead at the scene were the Land Rover’s driver, Arnold W. Mullinax, 17, and Taylor N. Thompson, 13, both from Onalaska. Dakota L. Dunivin, 18, from Chehalis, died the following day at the hospital.

Most of the young people either attended Onalaska schools, or had in the past.

Depending on the information in the accident report, Enbody knows his client could be facing charges such as vehicular assault and vehicular homicide.

Rogerson’s DUI case has not progressed very far, because of the possibility prosecutors could file those charges in Lewis County Superior Court, on the fourth floor of the Lewis County Law and Justice Center.

Enbody and Rogerson are just waiting. And a decision is expected soon.

“If it’s good news, we’ll deal with a DUI down here,” Enbody said. “If it’s bad news, we’ll deal with it upstairs.”

Rogerson has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence.

He told a deputy he’d had a beer about five hours before the wreck, and declined a portable breath test, but was taken to the hospital to have his blood drawn for testing.

The initial accident report does not include his blood alcohol level.

Among his conditions of release are that he may not drive without an ignition interlock device installed in his vehicle. He may not consume any alcohol and is wearing a court-ordered alcohol monitor bracelet which will detect if he does.

Enbody told Judge R.W. Buzzard this afternoon his client has gotten a drug and alcohol evaluation. He also said Rogerson has 100 percent compliance with the bracelet and requested its removal, in part because of financial considerations.

Deputy Prosecutor Jessica Blye said the state opposed the removal. Judge Buzzard didn’t grant the request.

Today’s hearing was then postponed for two weeks.
•••

For background, read “Surviving driver from fatal Onalaska wreck ordered to wear alcohol monitor while case pending” from Friday July 17, 2015, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Wildlife officers captured a cougar yesterday that was discovered in a tree in the front yard of a Grand Mound area residence.

The big cat was about 12 feet up in a Douglas fir, just south of 183rd Avenue Southwest, a few miles east of Interstate 5.

Monique Hibberd, who works nights at a casino, said her husband woke her at about 11:30 a.m.

“My husband was so excited, he said, ‘there’s a lion in our tree’,” she said. “I go, ‘you mean, a cougar’? He’s like, ‘I don’t know. It’s huge.’ ”

So Hibberd went outside near her car, to take a look.

“I could see her face, she was pretty,” she said. “So we just backed out, and called 911.”

The couple stayed inside their house and watched while a team that included a Thurston County sheriff’s deputy and officers with the Department of Fish and Wildlife took care of it.

“They were so good, so gentle with her,” Hibberd said.

The cougar was shot with a tranquilizer dart and after waiting for it to take effect, an officer put a ladder against the trunk, to coax the cougar down, Hibberd said.

The Hibberds were told it was somewhat out of the ordinary for the animal to be found where it was, inside a fenced yard with no livestock.

“The deputy did say there’d been sightings on Danby,” he said.

They think their dogs treed the cougar, as they had been barking, she said.

The young adult female was put into a trailer and taken away to the forest, according to the Thurston County Sherif’s Office.

“The best part is knowing she had a good outcome,” Hibberd said. “The best part is knowing she is able to be released out onto the land.”

 

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – After weeks of investigating how two little boys ended up bruised and swollen, and arresting and then releasing the girlfriend of their father, authorities arrested the girlfriend’s mother.

Victoria A. Cheney, 44, of Centralia, was charged yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court with  two counts of second-degree child assault.

Authorities came to believe the injuries occurred on July 22, while the children, ages 2 and 3, were staying with Cheney and her husband at their home on Little Hanaford Road, according to court papers.

Cheney’s daughter, 22-year-old Chandra M. Munsey, was arrested on July 23 and charged in the case, but prosecutors have since dismissed the charges against her after numerous interviews confirmed her alibi, according to the documents.

The boys stayed a few nights at the Cheney’s, and when their dad Casiano Baldovinos got a phone call telling him to come pick them up, he found both with bruises on their faces, the little one’s left eye almost swollen shut, according to court documents. He reported it to the sheriff’s office.

The boys were taken into protective custody and remain in foster care, the sheriff’s office said yesterday.

Charging documents allege Cheney gave varying accounts of what happened or may have happened, blaming her daughter and describing abusive behavior she said she’d witnessed.

Her husband Don Cheney said he saw the injuries when he returned home from work on July 22.

Cheney is charged also with three counts of witness tampering, as she told detectives she wasn’t even home the day the boys were assaulted, she’d gone to visit friends in Bucoda early that morning and came home to discover the injuries. The friends told detectives Cheney arrived around 1 p.m. and she allegedly asked them to tell detectives she’d shown up much earlier, according to the documents.

She also allegedly asked one of them to write a letter saying he’d witnessed Munsey assault the children.

Detectives spoke to the 3-year-old twice, and when he was asked who hurt him and his brother, both times he said “Grandma Vicky,” according to the documents.

Cheney is also charged with malicious prosecution, for attempting to incriminate her daughter.

“Based upon the investigation, it appears the only person who was with the victims during the time they were assaulted was Mrs. Cheney,” Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wrote in charging papers.

When she went before a judge yesterday afternoon for a bail hearing, defense attorney Joely O’Rourke argued for lower bail, noting Cheney had a felony case in 2014, but her other history with the law was much older.

While she is currently unemployed, O’Rourke said, it was just two years ago Cheney worked for the county, driving a dump truck and snow plows. She’s a life long Lewis County resident, O’Rourke said.

Judge Richard Brosey set her bail at $100,000, and gave her a court appointed lawyer.

Her arraignment is scheduled for next Thursday.
•••

For background, read “Lewis County Sheriff’s Office investigating child assault, one arrested” from Tuesday July 28, 2015, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The prison sentence he was given is almost as long as he is old.

Before the judge made the decision, Joseph M. Lowery, the 20-year-old who grew up in Winlock, turned toward his ex-girlfriend sitting in the very back of the courtroom and apologized for shooting her in the back.

“I hope you recover to the best of your abilities,” Lowery said. “I’m sorry for what I did, you didn’t deserve it. I truly am.”

Shyann Gallimore, also 20, and also a resident of the small South Lewis County town, chose not to make a statement to the court.

Lowery was arrested in July after the shooting on the outskirts of Winolequa Park in Winlock.

Prosecutors said Lowery and a 16-year-old boy found Gallimore on a Saturday evening; she was alone, sitting next to a stream and talking on her phone with a friend she’d asked to pick her up.

Authorities said Lowery leaned into some bushes from some 50 feet away and took aim with a 22 caliber pistol, pulled the trigger and then ran off.

“She underwent a procedure to have the bullet removed,” Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said. “She won’t know what the long term consequences are until time passes.”

Halstead told the judge, yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court, the defendant made a full confession.

He was cooperative with the sheriff’s office, going through a videotaped reenactment of what transpired, defense attorney David Arcuri said.

“What I thought was most striking, was the matter of fact, honest way Mr. Lowery just admitted it,” Arcuri said.

His client was contrite from the beginning, Arcuri said.

Lowery pleaded guilty last week to attempted first-degree murder. As part of the plea deal, Halstead dropped a firearm enhancement, which would have added five years to the sentence.

Halstead and Arcuri both recommended to the judge he be given 220 months – 18 years and four months.

Judge Richard Brosey agreed.

Before Lowery was taken back down to the jail, Brosey ordered him to have no contact for life with the victim. He also gave him three years of supervision following his release from prison.

Lowery’s mother and other family members were in the audience during yesterday’s hearing, but declined to comment.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office in its investigation conveyed to prosecutors Lowery had grown tired of his former girlfriend disrespecting the “Juggalo family.” They said he identified himself as a Juggalo, a name for fans of performance artists called the Insane Clown Posse.

Arcuri after the hearing said he wouldn’t discuss what he understood to be the reason his client did what he did.
•••

For background, read “Prosecutors: Winlock park shooter grew tired of ex-girlfriend disrespecting gang” from Tuesday July 21, 2015, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The city of Chehalis discovered it’s been assessing a delinquent penalty after only 72 hours on parking tickets even though a state court rule say cities must allow recipients a 15 day grace period.

The fee for not responding timely to a parking infraction is $25.

Chehalis Municipal Court Administrator Becky Fox said a review in July of legislative changes and the city’s ordinance is what brought it to her attention.

Fox said since learning the city was out of compliance, they have not charged people the delinquent fee until the appropriate amount of time has passed.

The issue was brought before the city council last night, which voted to revise its ordinance to bring it into line with what is required. Fox said they have an approved and updated form now, ready to use.

A standard parking ticket is $5, according to Fox. Certain types are more, she said.

The Washington State Court Rules Infraction Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction provide that a person served with a notice of infraction must respond within 15 days of the date the notice is personally served or, if the notice is served by mail, then within 18 days of the date the notice is mailed.

Fox said she doesn’t know how much the city has collected from those who were penalized even though they responded within 15 days. She said she’s not certain how long the city has been out of compliance.

There are no plans to reimburse anyone.

The city contends its local ordinance trumped state court rules and there was nothing incorrect or illegal about the way it imposed charges or penalties.

The memo to the city council about the issue, from Fox and Police Chief Glenn Schaffer, reported the parking infraction form being used was also out of compliance because it had not been reviewed by the state’s Administrative Office of the Courts.

The new ordinance passed unanimously last night by the city council. The council suspended the usual requirement for two readings – two subsequent votes – on the measure.

The Washington State Court Rules’ IRLJ govern the procedure in courts of limited jurisdiction – municipal courts and district courts – for all cases involving infractions. Infractions are noncriminal violations of law defined by statute.

The newly adopted city ordinance also added a prohibition against one vehicle taking up two parking spaces.