Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The 25-year-old Onalaska resident who claimed he was legally insane when he took a knife to his sleeping father has changed his mind.

Joshua Leroy Vance is scheduled to plead guilty in the case that began in early March with the stabbing death of 58-year-old Terry Vance.

Joshua Vance / File photo

A change of plea hearing is set for Thursday morning in Lewis County Superior Court.

“I don’t know how he could do otherwise, I really don’t,” his grandmother Bonnie Vance said today.

The younger Vance is charged with murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder, as he allegedly told an arriving deputy he was going to kill his grandmother, uncle and 11-year-old nephew but couldn’t because he cut his hand.

Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said a plea agreement was reached, but the details won’t be revealed until the parties go before a judge.

“We gotta wait till Thursday,” Meagher said. “I don’t want to upset the apple cart.”

The younger Vance previously pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. An evaluation by a doctor for the defense bolstered his position, but a court date was planned for a judge to hear from experts on both sides.

The findings from the doctor hired by prosecutors are not part of the court file.

The only hearings scheduled now are a change of plea on Thursday and sentencing on Oct. 17.

His family has said he was being treated for mental health issues at Cascade Mental Health in Chehalis and had gone off his medication because he couldn’t afford it.

Newly filed court documents indicate he was asked why he would harm his other family members.

Prosecutors wrote the defendant said he wanted to get rid of any witnesses, they all treated him poorly his whole life and turned their backs on him when he was sexually abused by a family friend.

“He felt he could no longer live in filth and would be happier going back to prison,” prosecutors quoted Vance as telling a detective.

Defense attorney David Arcuri was not readily available this afternoon for comment.

Joshua Vance’s past criminal offenses include possession of a controlled substance without a prescription in 2006, third-degree assault and attempted eluding in 2005, according to a report in his court file.

He was attending Centralia College and getting good grades in the months before the homicide at Bonnie Vance home’s on the 400 block of Pennel Avenue in Onalaska, according to his file.

Neither she nor her son Larry Vance have spoke with her grandson, as a no-contact order is in place with witnesses.

Bonnie Vance isn’t sure what she would say to her grandson anyhow, she said.

“I would like to know why, but that’s about it,” she said.

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For background, read:

• “Insanity” of Onalaska murder defendant to be decided by a judge” from Tuesday August 21, 2012, here

• “Onalaskan’s insanity plea in alleged murder of father bolstered by mental exam” from Wednesday July 11, 2012, here

• “Onalaska man pleads insanity in father’s fatal stabbing” from Tuesday May 8, 2012, here

•  “Murder suspect: “When he was good, he was such a good young man”” from Friday March 9, 2012, here

Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff’s Office

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office seized nine horses near Morton following an investigation into animal neglect.

The horses on property at the 800 block of state Route 7 were severely malnourished and dehydrated; one in such poor condition it had to be put down, according to the sheriff’s office.

The seizure on Friday came after attempts by county animal enforcement to encourage the owners bring the horses back to a healthy condition, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

Five private groups and the Lewis County Animal Shelter assisted in the removal and now foster care of the horses, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning.

The sheriff’s office is asking the prosecutor to charge the owners with first-degree animal cruelty. They belong to Terry Simmons, 58, and Joanne Simmons, 65, according Brown.

Brown said authorities had asked the owners before Friday to seek the services of a veterinarian, but they failed to follow through.

The couple didn’t really have an explanation for the poor condition of the horses, according to Brown.

“I don’t know that they really understood how bad of condition they were in,” Brown said.

The owners were however cooperative and in agreement on Friday the animals needed care, according to Brown.

The horses ranged in age from as old as 15 to just a foal, according to the sheriff’s office.

Brown said donations of feed and grain are needed, and can be made to the animal shelter.

Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff’s Office

Law officers detain nine at the 1900 block of Ferrier Road in Winlock. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff’s Office

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 48-year-old Winlock man is in custody after he was confronted in his bed by a SWAT team this morning and grabbed for a loaded pistol under his pillow, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

David W. Sohrakoff is among nine people detained when law enforcement officers from the sheriff’s office and the Chehalis Police Department accompanied by personnel from the state Department of Corrections raided his residence on the 1900 block of Ferrier Road in Winlock.

The 7 a.m. serving of a search warrant followed a three-month long investigation into methamphetamine dealing and trafficking of stolen property at the home, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

Sohrakoff is the same man deputies were looking for after a Monday incident on the 700 block of Rhoades Road in which a Castle Rock resident was caught allegedly stealing timber.

Sheriff’s Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said the stolen property involved at Sohrakoff’s home is not timber, but she didn’t have further details.

Two others who live at the home were arrested and six who were initially detained have been released, according to Brown.

No shots were fired and no injuries were reported.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield applauded the law officers for quickly diffusing a dangerous situation without using lethal force or being harmed themselves.

“This incident is a sober reminder of the dangers that law enforcement faces on a day to day basis,” Mansfield stated in the news release.

Arrested along with Sohrakoff were Joy L. Music, 47, for possession of methamphetamine and Burliss Watson, 59, for conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sohrakoff is arrested for two counts of delivery of methamphetamine, conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine and attempted first-degree assault, according to Brown.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 54-year-old motorist was arrested by Tenino police yesterday when his blood alcohol content was measured at .415, a level the police chief says would be fatal to most people.

“The driver was not able to walk unassisted and when asked if he would complete any field sobriety tests he said he probably shouldn’t,” Tenino Police Department Chief John Hutchings said.

A Tenino police officer responded about 3:40 p.m. yesterday in Rainier to reports of a blue van swerving in and out of oncoming traffic, traveling 30 mph in a 50 mph zone and at one point coming to a complete stop in the middle of the road, according to police.

Officer Chris Davis found the van at state Route 507 and Manke Road and attempted a traffic stop with his lights and sirens but the driver continued at least a full minute before finally pulling over at the 13400 block of state Route 507, police reported.

The driver and his 57-year-old female passenger were both obviously intoxicated, Hutchings stated in a news release.

Gary D. Bielefeld, 54, of Lacey, was arrested for driving under the influence and taken to the Tenino Police Department for processing, according to the chief.

Two breath samples were taken and each registered .415, the chief stated. That’s more than five times above the .08 legal limit to drive.

A subsequent check determined Bielefeld was wanted on a no-bail felony warrant out of Jefferson City, Missouri, for persistent DUI offender, according to Hutchings.

Bielefeld was booked into the Thurston County Jail.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The forest fire burning south of Packwood has grown from 10 to 73 acres, according to officials from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

It’s burning on a ridge called South Point in rough terrain with limited access about 10 miles south of U.S. Highway 12, according to spokesperson Ken Sandusky.

Employees of the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District and others continue their efforts to contain the blaze, according to Sandusky. A helicopter is dropping 3,000-gallon loads of water on it, he indicated in a news release this morning.

The fire is backing to the north down South Point, moving away from a radio repeater at the top.

Sandusky said there are no worries as of now about threats to the community as there is a lot of terrain and numerous creeks between the fire and Packwood.

Authorities suspect it ignited from lightening storms earlier this month at the same time as a large fire burning in the Mount Adams area.

That blaze, dubbed the Cascade Creek Fire, is eight miles north of Trout Lake and has covered more than 10,000 acres, or about 16 square miles.

A temporary prohibition of campfires went into effect today in various places in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest because of continuing fire-prone conditions
•••

For background, read “Timber burning in Gifford Pinchot south of Packwood” from Thursday September 20, 2012 at 12:43 p.m., here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The two young women accused of buying alcohol for a teenage party in Adna that ended when a 16-year-old boy was run over and killed are being charged not only with furnishing liquor to minors but with reckless endangerment.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer indicated in a prepared statement today the tragic death of Tyler S. Gonzalez underscores the serious problem of underage drinking and the need to confront the issues surrounding the problem immediately.

Gonzalez was drunk when he wandered away from the party and either laid down, passed out or went to sleep on the roadway in the middle of the night on May 12, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He died at the scene on the 100 block of Brockway Road after a full-sized SUV ran over the top of him.

Prosecutors allege Talia R. Date and Megan M. Day bought beer from Wal-Mart and whiskey and vodka from a nearby liquor store at the request of one of the attendees at the small gathering.

Both women are 22 and from Chehalis.

Day is the older sister of one of the 16-year-old boys from the party, according to charging documents.

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

Charges were filed Monday in Lewis County District Court, according to Meyer.

Meyer noted in his statement that alcohol is the most used and abused drug among today’s youth.

“Youth from the ages of 12 to 20 years of age account for 11 percent of all alcohol consumed in the United States and 90 percent of that is consumed in the form of binge drinking,” Meyer wrote.

He provided numbers from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention that note in 2008, there were approximately 190,000 emergency room visits resulting from alcohol related issues by people under the age of 21.

Charging documents allege essentially what the sheriff’s office has already said publicly.

Detectives learned several young people – ages 16 through 18 – were gathered in a shop building at 17-year-old Tyler Ketchum’s home, according to charging documents. The shop on the property is referred to a “Tyler’s shed.”

The sheriff’s office has said Ketchum’s parents were asleep in the house and unaware of a party.

The documents allege the following:

Somewhere between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. one of them, a 16-year-old boy called his sister and asked her to buy alcohol.

Day and Date showed up to pick up the money the young people pitched in, as well as a “wish list. Three of the young people went to the store with the women.

The purchases included a 30-pack of Busch beer, a 12-pack of Bud Light, at least one bottle of Wild Turkey whiskey and two bottles of Skyy vodka.

Gonzalez and Raquem Hankins arrived around midnight, and everyone except Hankins was drinking. One 17-year-old boy passed out outside the building for a number of hours.

Gonzalez and another boy, both of whom were extremely intoxicated, walked away from the party, the sheriff has said.

Gonzalez’s  blood alcohol level was measured after his death at .17, according to the sheriff’s office. That’s more than twice the legal limit for driving.

The W.F. West High School sophomore died from multiple internal injuries about 2:30 a.m. on May 12. His death is not mentioned in the actual charges.

Day told a detective this was the first time she had bought alcohol for her brother and his friends when they were not going to be staying at her house, according to the charging documents. Date said they normally only let them drink at the house because they know they will stay there, the documents state.

Each woman is charged with six counts of furnishing liquor to a minor and seven counts of reckless endangerment. One count of reckless endangerment is in relation to Gonzalez.

They are not specifically charged with furnishing alcohol to Gonzalez, because they didn’t know he was going to be there drinking, according to Meyer.

Both offenses carry a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and / or a $5,000 fine.