Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Law enforcement officers are looking for a 55-year-old Ashford man who allegedly held a cordless drill to the neck of his female roommate last night as she tried to shield her 4-year-old child.

Robert C. Sliger

Robert C. Sliger is wanted for first-degree assault as well as an outstanding warrant, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies were called to the home on the 100 block of Nisqually Way about 11:15 p.m. yesterday where they say the two had a disagreement about Sliger eating all the donuts.

The 27-year-old woman said her roommate threw pieces of firewood at her head and then followed her onto the porch as she attempted to call 911 and beat her with a metal bar, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sliger had left the residence before deputies arrived.

“She said that he then set the bar down and picked up a yellow cordless drill,” Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. “She said as she was trying to shield her 4-year-old daughter, he pulled the trigger on the drill and pushed it towards her throat until it was less than half an inch away from her throat.”

The victim had a large knot on her forehead and an injury to her elbow but declined medical aid, Brown said.

Sliger is known to live in both Lewis and Pierce counties, according to Brown.

The sheriff’s office said they learned of another attack over food occurred about a month ago.

The woman said Sliger struck her in the side of her head several times after she confronted him about eating her daughter’s Fruit Loops, Brown said.

John Allen Booth Jr. smiles at acquaintances in the Chehalis courtroom this afternoon while waiting for the judge to take the bench.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Convicted triple murderer John Allen Booth Jr. was escorted by three jail guards when he returned to a Lewis County courtroom today, casting grins to a small sprinkling of acquaintances who were seated in the otherwise mostly empty gallery.

The former Onalaskan was sentenced a little more than a year ago to life without the possibility of release for the August 2010 slayings of two men and a teenage boy, as well as shooting a woman in the face. Prosecutors said it came about because Booth and his former cell mate were “taxing” 52-year-old David West Sr. on behalf of Lewis County drug dealer Robbie Russell.

Booth, 33, filed a post-trial motion from prison asking a judge to vacate his judgement and sentence.

He appeared in Lewis County Superior Court today to set a date for a hearing. His lawyer said it could last for two days.

“Definitely I’m comfortable setting this even in September,” defense attorney Erik Kupka told the judge. “First of all, I don’t know exactly yet what I’m getting into.”

Kupka and an office partner of his, both based in Aberdeen, were appointed by the court just last week to represent Booth in his challenge.

The attorney said he met with his new client for the previous hour inside the jail, and indicated there was a lot of material to digest.

Judge Richard Brosey scheduled the hearings for the week of Sept. 2.

“That works for me, I guess, I’m kind locked up,” Booth offered to the judge.

Booth continued on addressing the judge directly, asking what was going to be done about undisclosed DNA evidence and other issues.

Brosey told Booth to speak to his attorney, not to him.

Booth is incarcerated at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. The judge offered to hold him in the local jail for a week, so his lawyers could have easier access to meet with him.

According to testimony and evidence in the eight-day trial, Booth was visiting West Sr. at West’s Salkum-Onalaska area home when West brought out a shotgun to get him to leave and Booth shot him with a 9 mm handgun. Prosecutors said the shootings that followed were executions to eliminate witnesses.

Losing their lives that day, along with West Sr., were 16-year-old David “D.J.” West Jr. and 50-year-old Tony Williams of Randle. West Sr.’s girlfriend, Denise Salts, survived.

Booth denied even being present, but a jury took only two hours to convict him of murder, attempted murder, attempted extortion and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

He was sentenced under the state’s so-called three strikes law.
•••

For background, read “Salkum triple murder: Victims cry, defendant lashes out at sentence hearing” from Friday December 16, 2011, here

David Low, right, sits with his attorney Don Blair as he is sentenced in connection with Hub City Natural Medicine

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The first of four people arrested after police raided what they said was a marijuana dispensary in downtown Centralia was sentenced yesterday to two days in jail.

With two days credit for time served, essentially no time, Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher told a judge yesterday afternoon.

Hub City Natural Medicine opened with a city-granted business license on South Tower Avenue in early 2011. It was shut down in late April of that year after police realized what “education and sales of natural medicine” meant and said they twice caught a worker selling marijuana there.

At the time, some cities in Washington, such as Tacoma, allowed dispensaries of medical marijuana to operate, where, in theory, patients with authorizations make donations to obtain cannabis.

“In five years, maybe what Mr. Low was doing would be legal,” Meagher told the court. “It wasn’t then, and it isn’t now.”

Meagher and defense attorney Don Blair reached a plea agreement in the case of 38-year-old David Low, of Centralia.

Low and two other individuals alleged to be the owners were charged with maintaining a premises for using controlled substances.

He pleaded guilty yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court, with a so-called Alford plea, to attempting to maintain a premises for using controlled substances.

“I think everybody agrees the laws are kind of in flux,” Blair told the judge. “I’m confident at least within five years, all of this will be legal.”

Judge Nelson Hunt was told Low was attempting to start an educational business to teach people to grow marijuana and both sides agreed he never gave any to anyone.

Low, who is also known as the “Dirty Cop Enforcer”, maintains a web site where he berates what he sees as injustices committed by public officials, and in particular police officers.

He said he started the crusade after a traffic stop in late 2011 and what he says was the wrongful turning off of his video camera by a Centralia officer.

Low told the judge he thought his case grew out of a misunderstanding of his role and a “lot of stereotyping.”

“I never intended to commit a crime there,” Low told Judge Hunt. “I have to take responsibility.”

Hunt accepted the plea and sentencing recommendation and told Low he was free to leave, after providing a DNA sample to jail staff.

The crime is an unranked felony, meaning it has a sentence of up to 365 days, according to Meagher.

Still awaiting trials are Lauri Spangler, 47, and Colby Cave, 35, of Curtis. They remain charged with maintaining a premises for using controlled substances. A charge of possession of a stolen ATV that grew out of a search of their property has been dropped, Meagher said.

Daniel J. Mack, 41, who was arrested during the April 20, 2011 raid of Hub City Natural Medicine for delivery and possession of marijuana, pleaded guilty in June. He has yet to be sentenced, according to Meagher.

Mack was persuaded to testify against the others, Meagher said.
•••

For background, read “Centralia police seize computers, products at medical marijuana business” from Thursday April 21, 2011, here

Wade C. Buchanan awaits his turn to see a judge in Chehalis on Thursday.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The man accused of biting, hitting and kicking three paramedics in an apparently unprovoked attack at a Centralia gas station will be examined by doctors at a state mental hospital before a criminal case will proceed in Lewis County Superior Court.

Wade C. Buchanan, 47, of Olympia, remains held in the Lewis County Jail following his arrest on Saturday.

Buchanan appeared before a judge in Chehalis yesterday morning, where his lawyer requested a competency evaluation.

“I think there’s competency issues,” Chehalis attorney Chris Baum said. “It’s important to deal with that early on in a case.”

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said he was still gathering reports, but believes previous cases against Buchanan have been dismissed, possibly related to issues of competency.

Buchanan was charged on Monday with two counts of second-degree assault and one count of third-degree assault in connection with the afternoon incident at the Chevron station on the 1200 block of Mellen Street, near Interstate 5.

AMR’s headquarters is just around the corner

Police say no one could explain why Buchanan lashed out at the men.

The AMR medics were fueling up their ambulance and Buchanan’s vehicle was parked at the gas pumps in front of them, according to police.

Centralia Police Department Sgt. Carl Buster said Buchanan made a comment about them driving a new ambulance and then charged one the medics. Court documents allege Buchanan approached the driver, Steven Spurgeon-Busz, and tried to pull him out of his rig; he resisted and Buchanan bit him on the arm, breaking the skin.

Buster said, after the arrest, that surveillance footage of the scene showed the driver kicking Buchanan away from the ambulance.

The video captured what appear to be the first portions of what turned into a brawl, but much of it becomes blocked by a gas pump and then an arriving truck.

Charging documents say when Ronald Dire-Day moved in to help, Buchanan struck him in the face leaving a large cut; the two AMR employees tackled Buchanan and then a third medic arrived to assist.

Scott Riley was trying to control Buchanan’s legs when he was kicked in the chest, according to charging documents.

Another customer, 49-year-old Victoria Disney, of Vancouver, Wash., told police she jumped on Buchanan’s back in an effort to help the medics, according to authorities.

Buchanan allegedly continued to fight when four police officers responded, as one applied a Taser to the back of his neck and another sprayed pepper spray in his eyes and mouth, according to charging documents.

“(He) attacked them and he’s crazy,” Disney reportedly told police. She was unhurt.

Buster said Buchanan sustained some scrapes.

In court yesterday, Buchanan was shackled at both his waist and ankles.

Judge James Lawler signed an order allowing DNA to be taken via a mouth swab so it could be tested for communicable diseases, given one of the medics was bit.

A review hearing was scheduled for Feb. 21, so the lawyers could inform the judge if the report from Western State Hospital is back after the competency evaluation.
•••

For background and link to video footage, read “Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup – THREE MEDICS INJURED IN GAS STATION BRAWL” from Sunday January 27, 2013, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Lewis County paramedic’s credential has been suspended indefinitely for forging forms related to controlled substances and for administering unauthorized doses of morphine to patients.

Marla Fleming-Nixon worked for Lewis County Medic One and also as a volunteer medical coordinator for the Napavine area fire district.

Her credential expired in April of last year. Nixon was fired from Medic One a few months before that and resigned from Lewis County Fire District 5 at the same time.

Grant Wiltbank, executive director of Medic One, a shared ambulance service formerly known as South Lewis County EMS, said his internal investigation was limited to discrepancies in documentation.

“Probably the strictest policies we have are dealing with controlled substances,” Wiltbank said, adding that it wouldn’t cost a person their job if it only happened once.

The investigation that followed, conducted on behalf of the state’s manager of emergency medical services, resulted in a statement of alleged charges issued last September.

Nixon chose to forego a hearing on the matter and signed an agreed order two weeks ago acknowledging she committed unprofessional conduct, according to documents filed with the state Department of Health.

The resolution of the case was reported publicly by the Department of Health yesterday.

The facts Nixon agreed were true are as follows:

Between October and November 2011, on about eight occasions, she administered 20 mg or more of morphine sulfate to patients without medical control authorization. Protocols allow a paramedic to give as much as 10 mg without additional permission.

Between February and August of the same year, Nixon falsified the the required witnesses’ signature when she completed a patient controlled medications documentation form which includes a section noting amounts disposed of. That happened about four times, according to the documents.

Wiltbank described the disposal or waste of controlled medications issue explaining, for example, a standard vial holds 10 mg and if a patient is given less than that, a medic must get rid of the excess in front of a witness.

The conduct was found to cause no or minimal patient harm, according to the state documents.

Fire District 5 Chief Eric Linn said Nixon worked with his district for about two years and he had no reason to think she did anything unsatisfactory.

“I was very surprised, she’s a good medic, she worked very hard,” Linn said.

As the medical services officer, Nixon supervised and taught EMTs, and was responsible for quality assurance and ordering supplies, he said.

Paramedics employed by Lewis County Medic One respond jointly with fire districts in south and central Lewis County.

Wiltbank, who didn’t have personnel records in front of him this afternoon, said he thought Nixon worked for Medic One for three, perhaps four or even five years.

He called it an unfortunate situation, and said there was no animosity on his part.

“This is a very big deal,” Wiltbank said. “This was the first time we had to deal with a situation like this.”

Attempts to reach Nixon for comment were unsuccessful. A phone number listed for her in Winlock has been disconnected.

The documents state that if she seeks to reinstate her paramedic credential, she would be placed on probation for at least two years with monitoring to ensure public safety. She also would be required to complete a number of classes beforehand, as well as pay a fine of $500.

Nixon first became licensed to practice as a paramedic in Washington in 1995.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Police converged on a Chehalis home yesterday afternoon after a caller to Sen. Patty Murray’s office in Washington D.C. reportedly threatened suicide and said it was “going to make the national news.”

The man, in his early 30s, had said he was not getting the help he needed from the veterans administration for his disability, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

A half dozen Chehalis officers as well as at least one sheriff’s deputy responded to the area of Northwest Ohio Avenue following the approximately 4 p.m. call from Washington D.C. according to police.

“We got information there were guns in the house,” police Sgt. Gwen Carrell said.

Carrell said an acquaintance of the man’s spoke with him on the phone, asked him to come outside and he did so peacefully within about 20 minutes.

Police didn’t find explosives or anything that indicated the man had the means to cause any kind of large-scale or nationally newsworthy incident, according to Carrell.

Detective Sgt. Gary Wilson met him at the door and the man was taken voluntarily to the hospital for a mental health evaluation, according to Carrell.

A spokesperson for the senator’s office said the details of the veteran’s complaint were confidential, but it did trigger a call to the U.S. Capitol Police in D.C.

Sen. Murray’s office will be following up on his concerns, spokesperson Matt McAlvanah said.

Murray is the former chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and remains a senior member, so they do help veterans who have issues with the Department of Veterans Affairs, McAlvanah said.

Talia R. Date, left, faces a judge in Lewis County District Court today.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – One of the young women accused of buying booze for a teenage party in Adna that ended when a 16-year-old boy was run over and killed pleaded guilty today to multiple counts of furnishing liquor to minors and reckless endangerment.

Tyler S. Gonzalez, a sophomore at W.F. West High School in Chehalis, was drunk and laying on the roadway when he was hit by a full-sized SUV near the gathering on Brockway Road last May.

Talia R. Date was in Lewis County District Court in Chehalis this afternoon.

She and Megan M. Day, both 22 years old and from Chehalis, were charged in September.

The hearing was brief, with Judge Michael Roewe confirming Date was making her pleas based on an agreement in which the prosecutor dropped two of the 13 charges and would recommend 30 days in jail.

Roewe reminded her he didn’t have to follow the attorneys’ proposal and that each offense was punishable by up to 364 days in jail.

Date’s sentencing will occur in a few weeks.

“She accepted responsibility and took a direct plea on it,” her attorney Wayne Fricke said outside the courtroom.

Fricke said he will be asking the judge to allow his client to serve her time at home, with electronic monitoring. Deputy Prosecutor Brian Gerhart said he wouldn’t oppose it.

Neither of the women has a criminal record, according to Gerhart. They were charged identically and the same plea offer was made to each of them, Gerhart said.

Neither was charged with furnishing liquor to Gonzalez; they didn’t know he was going to be at the party, he said. They were however charged with reckless endangerment involving him.

Reckless endangerment is a gross misdemeanor in which one “recklessly engaged in conduct that created a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person.”

Charging documents state that Day is the older sister of one of the 16-year-old boys present, and he had called her and asked her to buy alcohol.

When Gonzalez and another young person arrived around midnight, the rest had already been drinking beer, whiskey and vodka, according to the charging documents.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office concluded Gonzalez wandered away and either laid down, passed out or went to sleep on the roadway before he was killed.

Day was sentenced last week to 20 days. Roewe ordered her to report to the Lewis County Jail by Feb. 23, and said that her time would have to be served in the jail, not with any kind of alternative sanction.

Day had pleaded guilty to four counts of furnishing liquor to a minor, but on the seven reckless endangerment charges stated in writing she was only pleading guilty to take advantage of the state’s offer.

Roewe also ordered Day to complete drug and alcohol information school within two months, and suspended the rest of her sentence provided she not have any other convictions for two years.
•••

For background, read “Chehalis women charged with 13 counts in connection with deadly underage drinking party” from Wednesday September 19, 2012, here