Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Court documents in the case of Donato Valle Vega shed light on why the 40-something Centralia car lot owner met with federal agents in Borst Park two years ago and then took them to his Harrison Avenue business and showed them pounds of drugs he had hidden in the attic.

Valle Vega was working as an informant with the FBI, assisting with an investigation of members of a Mexican drug trafficking cartel, according to his defense attorney Robert Leen.

After talking with an FBI agent and another from the DEA in early September 2010, Valle Vega admitted he had drugs, told them how much, offered to take them to the business and told them they could search both his car lot and his stash house, Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Thomas and Darwin Roberts wrote in their trial brief.

The agents retrieved approximately four kilos of cocaine and 33 pounds of methamphetamine from Emmanuel Auto Sales that day, according to court documents. Two weeks later Centralia police assisted federal law enforcement officers with the arrest.

Valle Vega was convicted late last month of one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and a second similar count related to methamphetamine, in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.

He faces a minimum of 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced, according to Assistant United States Attorney Thomas.

Both Thomas and Leen declined to talk about the case further until after sentencing.

Leen in his pretrial memo brief however wrote that his client admitted he had drugs the agents didn’t know about, but said he believed if he didn’t appear to go along with the suppliers’ plan it would mean death for him and his family, both in Centralia and in Mexico.

Valle Vega indicated he felt trapped because the men associated with the drugs were in Centralia but that as soon as they left, he gave information about the drugs, Leen wrote.

Leen, who is based in Everett, noted his client may have made some errors in judgement regarding his contacts with the drugs, but said it was out of fear.

The story begins, according to documents in the court file, on Sept. 1, 2010, the day before Valle Vega met with the agents in the Centralia park.

According to the documents: Law enforcement agents observed what they believed were narcotic being loaded into a BMW with Utah license plates at Emmanuel Auto Sales at the 1400 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia.

At least three federal agents met with Valle Vega the following day and took the drugs. Valle Vega told them he’d received the drugs in July and had already distributed one and half kilograms of cocaine in August.

He told them they’d been provided to him by Salome Flores Apodaca, and the source was Apodaca’s brother, Augustine Flores Apodaca. They’d been sent to him concealed in a vehicle that had been brought to his auto sales business on a car hauler from Arizona.

That same day agents and Valle Vega were looking through his attic, Utah State troopers stopped the BMW in Brigham City and subsequently discovered about a pound of methamphetamine tucked into its gas tank.

The agents met with Valle Vega in Kelso a few days later. On Sept 17, they arrested him.

Federal prosecutors set out to prove the Centralia man possessed pounds of drugs that no drug trafficking organization would have provided to a person without the expectation they would be further distributed.

Neither of the trial briefs offer information about who or where Valle Vega’s customers were.

The trial lasted about four days and the jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged.

A forfeiture hearing regarding the property on Harrison Avenue is scheduled for Jan. 4. Sentencing is set for Jan. 25.

Thomas said the minimum term is 10 years in prison.

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For background, read “Centralia auto business arrest followed discovery of almost 10 pounds of cocaine” from Wednesday September 29, 2010, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Napavine man fatally shot by a Lewis County sheriff’s deputy early Thursday had superficial cuts on the side of his neck and on one wrist but he died from gunshot wounds to his head and stomach, according to the Lewis County Coroner’s Office.

Gregory S. Kaufman, 64, was pronounced dead at the scene off the side of state Route 6 after an encounter with Deputy Matt Wallace around 12:15 a.m.

Wallace said when he approached the parked car near Boistfort to see if the driver needed assistance, a heavily bleeding man lunged out of his vehicle with a large knife, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Few other details have been released; the sheriff’s office says more information will come from an investigation conducted by a team of deputies from surrounding counties.

Coroner Warren McLeod said yesterday the autopsy determined the lacerations did not contribute to Kaufman’s death.

Wallace, a nine year member of the sheriff’s office, is on paid administrative leave as is standard procedure, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sixteen months ago when another Lewis County deputy fatally shot a citizen, it was about a week and a half later when the prosecutor completed his review of the outside investigation as to whether the shooting was justified.

An internal investigation was completed about a week after that.

In that case, Deputy Matt McKnight was cleared, but the family of 33-year-old Steven V. Petersen has recently filed a lawsuit saying McKnight engaged in a ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ approach to law enforcement.
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For background, read “Deputy fatally shoots Napavine man on state Route 6” from Thursday November 1, 2012 at 8:30 a.m., here

William “Bill” Osborne celebrated his 80th birthday with family in February at his home in Morton. / Courtesy photo

Updated at 3 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The truck belonging to 80-year-old Morton resident William H. Osborne III was found yesterday evening some 600 feet down an embankment off Forest Service Road 26 south of Randle, according to his family.

He didn’t survive.

Dozens of family, friends and law enforcement officers have been combing the roadways of East Lewis County after Osborne was reported missing on Tuesday.

“This is what we were expecting all week, that when he was found he would be gone,” his niece Sharon Hopf of Orting said this morning. “But it’s still not easy.”

Osborne had breakfast with a friend on Monday morning, purchased his deer and elk tag in Morton at mid-day and apparently didn’t return home that night, according to law enforcement.

His son Bill arrived in town on Tuesday for a planned hunting outing and reported him missing. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said he told his friend he would be going hunting at Ryan Lake which is off Forest Service Road 26 south of East Lewis County in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

“They think he was headed there, that’s what they think,” one of Osborne’s five daughters said today. “I don’t think he was going hunting, he didn’t have his rifle. I think he was going scouting.”

The daughter Meloney Olds stayed at his home in Morton this morning while her brother and two of her sisters met with authorities to recover Osborne’s body.

Olds said as many as 30 to 40 people off and on all week have been at the home, a base for search parties.

The son of Cody’s restaurant owner discovered some tire tracks yesterday, she said. “One of our search groups from I-90 Motorsports climbed down,” she said.

They’re assuming it happened quick, which is some comfort, she said.

The New Jersey born man lived near Renton where he retired from the phone company, then moved to Morton in the mid-1990s, according to his family. He has six children, 14 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren, Olds said.

She said her family wanted to make sure everyone understood how grateful they are for looking for their dad.

“He had a friend named Curt, Curt probably put 1,000 miles on his truck this week,” he said.

While Lewis County Search and Rescue never did launch a search mission, Deputy Tim English and a deputy from Skamania County helped organize the family and friends who volunteered to search, she said.

“It’s amazing, the amount of people that came out looking for him,” she said.

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For background, read “Be on the lookout: Missing silver pickup, and its elderly driver” from Thursday November 1, 2012, here

The 5-month-old German shepherd is expected to make a full recovery. / Courtesy photo by The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – An intoxicated 19-year-old Lewis County resident was jailed after he allegedly punched a 5-month-old German shepherd in the face and – his family said – may have thrown it against a tree.

A sheriff’s deputy called about 12:45 a.m. today to a home on Oyler Road in Ethel was told Jesse Pegram was out of control and had beaten the family pet.

Pegram was agitated when he was found outside in the street and asked to be arrested, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He said he needed help, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

The dog needed help too.

The puppy suffered injuries to her face and was limping, according to Brown. Her eye was extremely swollen and blood shot, Brown said.

The family had no transportation to take to the animal to be seen, so the deputy contacted a veterinarian who agreed to meet the deputy at the clinic and do an examination, according to Brown.

The doctor found it had a leg injury and apparent head trauma, but no obvious broken bones, according to Brown.

Pegram was checked out at the hospital before being booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree animal cruelty, according to the sheriff’s office.

Brown didn’t say what the teenager was upset about.

But the vet, at Cascade Veterinary Hospital in Centralia, was optimistic the puppy would make a full recovery, Brown said.

Updated at 9:03 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Coroner’s Office this morning identified the man shot by a sheriff’s deputy yesterday as Gregory S. Kaufman.

Kaufman is 64 years old and a Napavine resident.

Coroner Warren McLeod said an autopsy later today should provide answers and details about the cause of death, the number of times he was shot and what were the injuries Deputy Matt Wallace saw that he thought were self-inflicted.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office says Deputy Wallace approached Kaufman’s parked car off state Route 6 early yesterday morning and a heavily bleeding man lunged out of the car with a large knife.

The deputy is on paid leave as the shooting is being investigated by a team of outside law enforcement officers.

Coroner McLeod said Kaufman has no family he could find. His office learned from Kaufman’s girlfriend that he is divorced, has no children and his parents are deceased, according to McLeod.

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For background, read “Deputy fatally shoots Napavine man on state Route 6” from Thursday November 1, 2012 at 8:30 a.m., here

Osborn drives a silver 2003 Dodge Dakota pickup similar to this one, but with a white utility canopy. A horse logo on one side says “Little Creek Paso Finos”

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

There’s still no sign of 80-year-old William Osborne who was last seen Monday buying a hunting license in Morton, according to police.

William H. Osborne

While a traditional search mission has not been put in place, law enforcement officers have been combing roadways in East Lewis County day and night, Morton Police Department Officer Perry Royle said this evening.

On Tuesday night, Royle and a sheriff’s deputy drove every road on Peterman Hill and around the Cowlitz wildlife area south of Morton, Royle said.

“We covered every single spur road that didn’t have a gate,” he said.

Deputies have been traveling Forest Service roads around Randle and even in the Toutle area, he said.

The Morton man made plans to meet his son in Morton on Tuesday, but when the son showed up, his father was nowhere to be found.

Police are thinking because Osborne is not very mobile, he’ll be with his truck.

They couldn’t get anyone in the air to search for it because of the clouds, Royle said.

Police are hoping to get the truck’s description out to the many elk hunters who will populate the hills beginning this weekend, Royle said.

Osborne drives a silver 2003 Dodge Dakota pickup with a white utility canopy. Its license plate is B67640P.

“We’re still assuming he went shooting or hunting,” Royle said.

Osborne, who lives alone, is 5-feet 8-inches tall and about 185 pounds. His neighbors think he didn’t return home on Monday night. His cell phone was last used around 11:30 a.m. on Monday.

Royle said Osborne’s household is full of family members looking for him as well.

Update: The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office says Osborne told a friend at breakfast on Monday he was going to hunt at Ryan Lake, which is off Forest Service Road 26 south of East Lewis County in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

The sheriff’s office asks anyone with any information on his whereabouts to call 911 immediately.

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For a little more, read: “Eighty-year-old Morton man not seen since Monday” from Wednesday October 31, 2012 at 10:58 a.m., here

Posters featuring Kayla Croft-Payne will travel around the country on sides of trucks.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The face of a missing Chehalis girl will soon be pasted poster-sized on the sides of truck trailers that travel throughout the country.

Kayla Croft-Payne was reported missing on May 5, 2010  by a friend who hadn’t seen or heard from her for several days. She was 18 years old and living outside Chehalis.

Gordon Trucking, in Pacific, will unveil Croft-Payne’s poster on Friday morning adding it to their fleet that highlights missing children from Washington and Oregon.

“The whole idea is just to get, in her case to get her picture out there,” Washington State Patrol Lt. Ron Mead said. “They get a lot of exposure they wouldn’t otherwise get.”

Mead said her image will be placed on multiple trailers.

Gordon Trucking already features other youngsters, such as Kyron Horman, who was 7 years old when he disappeared in Portland. A new age-progressed picture of Kyron and two other children are currently being added to the fleet, according to Mead.

It’s part of a partnership called Homeward Bound, involving private industry and the state patrol, according to Mead.

When Croft-Payne turned 18, she got several thousand dollars from a trust fund and moved into an apartment in Chehalis. Neither her father or her mother knew a lot about the friends their daughter was hanging out with in the months before she vanished.

Last year, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said it had followed tips up into Pierce County, and down into Cowlitz County, saying the last place they could verify she was seen was a trailer park in the Toutle area.

“As long as there is hope, we have a responsibility to keep that hope alive,” Mead said.
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For background, read “Kayla Croft-Payne: Missing Lewis County teen’s parents still seeking answers” from Friday March 25, 2011, here

Dan Coon of the state patrol says Kayla Croft-Payne’s picture will be on the trailers of five big rigs that travel throughout the Northwest and Canada. / Courtesy photo by Washington State Patrol