Lewis County Sirens.com

One teenager hurt when car hits bear on highway / Courtesy photo by Grays Harbor County Fire District 1

Updated

TEEN SUFFERS HEAD INJURY WHEN CAR HITS BEAR

• A 16-year-old boy was airlifted after a car in which he was a passenger hit a bear on U.S. Highway 12 about two miles east of Oakville last night. Troopers and aid were called about 9 p.m. to the area near Elma-Gate Road East and Stewart Street found the driver was unhurt but Connor B. Lovell of Aberdeen suffered a head injury. The black bear was standing in the middle of the highway and was struck by a 2000 Ford Focus driven by Brook L. Swarts, 16, of Oakville, according to the Washington State Patrol. She was able to safely pull off to the side of the road, even though the car’s airbags deployed, according to Grays Harbor County Fire District 1. The car was described as totaled. The bear wandered away from the scene, according to the state patrol. The investigating trooper reports the passenger’s seatbelt was in use, but failed to restrain him. Lovell was flown to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver. Shawn Burdett of the fire department reported Lovell’s condition as stable.

SUSPICIOUS FIRE BURNS UP SHED NEAR CENTRALIA HOME

• An overnight fire that destroyed a large shed behind a house on the 1100 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia is being investigated as an arson. Firefighters called at 2:30 a.m. found the flames were beginning to spread to the home, which was only about 20 feet away, according to Riverside Fire Authority. The home’s occupant had been awakened by a passerby and was outside already when crews arrived, according to Capt. Erik Olson. He described the wooden storage building as about 16 feet by 16 feet; the backyard is adjacent to the railroad tracks, he said. The exterior of the house sustained minor damage, according to Olson. Nobody was hurt. The cause is under investigation, in coordination with the Centralia Police Department.

MAN BOOKED FOR AUTO THEFT

• A Centralia man was arrested yesterday for allegedly stealing a car from the 400 block of West Plum Street. Officers learned the Honda had been stolen and put out an attempt to locate message to other officers, according to the Centralia Police Department. Shortly thereafter when a deputy spotted the missing car in the area of Harrison Avenue and Johnson Road, the driver sped off, leading the deputy on a short pursuit, according to police. He pulled into a driveway on the 2500 block of Sharon Street and was beginning to hop out, but was detained, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. James J. Ayres-Brewer, 23 years old according to police and 22 years old according to the sheriff’s office, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for theft of a motor vehicle and attempting to elude. The sheriff’s office described the stolen car as a 1992 Toyota Paseo.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Centralia police took a report from the 900 block of West Third Street yesterday morning of an overnight vehicle prowl.

HIT AND RUN

• Police were called about 12:50 a.m. yesterday to the 800 block of South Street in Centralia where a pickup truck drove across a lawn and slammed into a car parked in the driveway. Officers did not locate the truck, described as an older red pickup with a white canopy, according to the Centralia Police Department. It should have extensive front end damage, according to police.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license … and more.

The aftermath on South Street in Centralia. / Courtesy photo by Kevin Bookter

ANONYMOUS DELIVERY

• Usually it’s a police officer that leaves something tucked under your car’s windshield wiper, like a ticket. But yesterday afternoon, Chehalis Police Department Officer Warren Ayers found a small surprise on his patrol car parked outside the department on North Market Boulevard. On the wiper was a small baggie containing a white crystal substance, according to department spokesperson Linda Bailey. Was it meth? Maybe, Bailey said. The item was taken into evidence and slated for destruction, according to Bailey.

AUTO THEFT

• Centralia police took a report yesterday afternoon of a maroon 1996 Dodge Caravan stolen from the 1400 block of Oxford Avenue.

ARRESTS FOR BURGLARY

• Chehalis police arrested two individuals yesterday in Rochester in connection with an interrupted burglary last month on the 1400 block of Southwest Kelly Avenue. Booked into the Lewis County Jail were Sarah J. Taylor, 33, and Victor L. Hicke, 25, both from Centralia, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, suspected fraud, trespassing, misdemeanor theft, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street, noisy neighbor party … and more.

Personnel with Riverside Fire Authority, both current and retired, went through 25 pounds of pancake mix when they grilled up breakfast for the public on Saturday. Firefighters with the Centralia area department hosted a thank you breakfast, in appreciation for the passage of their levy. / Courtesy photo by Assistant Fire Chief Rick Mack

MASS CASH, PURSE STOLEN IN ETHEL BURGLARY

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning they are investigating a burglary in which someone went into an Ethel-area residence and stole a pink camouflage purse and matching wallet containing $1,500. Also taken sometime between Sunday and Monday from the home on the 300 block of Brim Road are driver’s license, social security card, check book, bank card, first aid kit and such, according to the sheriff’s office.

ID, OTHER IMPORTANT RECORDS TAKEN IN CENTRALIA BREAK-IN

• Police were called about 4:40 p.m. yesterday to a home on the 1400 block of Oxford Avenue in Centralia where someone had pried open the back door, come inside and stole personal documents such as passport, social security card and identification, according to the Centralia Police Department.

BRIEF IMPERSONATION

• Jonathan W. Crofton, 38, from Chehalis, was arrested by Centralia police yesterday for allegedly signing a citation with his brother’s name, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail for forgery and identity theft, according to Officer John Panco.

DRUGS

• Christin W. Isenhower, 44, a homeless person, and April R. Thielen, 36, of Chehalis, were arrested by Centralia police yesterday for unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance after an ongoing investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department. They were booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Officer John Panco.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, obstructing, trespassing, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for misdemeanor assault, disorderly person, collision on city street … and more.

VEHICLE THEFT

• A Chehalis woman called police at about 11:15 p.m. last night to report she had parked her newly purchased Honda Accord next to the residence on the 700 block of Southwest Moonlight Lane and two hours later discovered it was gone. Since the car was not yet transferred into her name, she was advised to have the registered owner contact police to report it stolen, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• A motorcycle stolen from Olympia was recovered yesterday at the 400 block of Iron Street in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES AT SCHOOL BUS STOP

• The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office took a report yesterday of an incident involving an exchange between a 13-year-old boy and a woman in a black sport utility vehicle at his bus stop in Rochester. It was about 6:30 a.m. when he was waiting for his school bus on the 9700 block of 180th Way Southwest and the Ford Explorer-type vehicle pulled up, the female driver spoke to the boy and said, you’ve missed your bus, why don’t I give you a ride, sheriff’s office Lt. Cliff Ziesemer said. “The kid said, no I didn’t, and they actually started arguing,” Ziesemer said. An arriving high school student asked what was going on, then the  bus arrived and the woman drove away, he said. “The 13-year-old had no idea who this was and had never seen her before,” Ziesemer said. “So that’s kinda suspicious.” Extra patrol were expected in the area, he said.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, protection order violation, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street, collision on county road … and more.

Updated

SCORES OF PAIN PILLS LIFTED FROM VEHICLE

• A deputy responded yesterday to a report of a vehicle prowl at the 100 block of Carlisle Avenue in Onalaska in which about miscellaneous medications including 150 hydrocodone pills were taken. It happened on Saturday between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s office. The value is $100, according to the sheriff’s office.

BARGING IN, BAD

• Centralia police were called about 12:30 a.m. today to the 1200 block of Alder Street after a 41-year-old man reportedly kicked in the door at his estranged wife’s residence and went inside without permission. When he realized someone was on the phone with 911, he left and police were not able to contact him,  according to the Centralia Police Department. The case is being sent to prosecutors to decide on charges to file, according to police.

BIG BANG ALARMS COURTHOUSE WORKERS

• Chehalis police were called to the Historic Lewis County Courthouse about 2:45 p.m. yesterday after employees believed they heard a gunshot. It turned out the noise was from a table that fell over or was dropped on the third floor, according to police.

OFFICERS HELPING PEOPLE

• Centralia police spent an hour or two last night at the 1000 block of North Tower Avenue in connection with a man who was distraught and wanted to harm himself. Officers spoke to him for some time before he eventually gave himself up and was taken to the hospital for treatment, according to the Centralia Police Department. Nobody was injured during the incident, according to police.

STOLEN RIFLE PART

• Chehalis police took a theft report yesterday from a seller at the gun show at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds who conducted an inventory after the weekend and discovered a lower portion from an AR15 rifle was missing. The gun part is valued at about $100, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

TOO MUCH BOOZE

• A 56-year-old Chehalis resident was arrested overnight after he was allegedly found passed out inside her vehicle at the 1000 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia. Brian G. Nichols was arrested after contact with an officer around 4 a.m. and booked into the Lewis County Jail for being in physical control of a vehicle while intoxicated, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police were summoned to a home on Northeast Washington Avenue in the middle of the night over the weekend after a call to 911 in which they were told a drunken male walked in after they opened the door when they heard something outside. Police were told he was passed out on their floor, at about 1:15 a.m. on Sunday. Nobody was arrested, but aid was called to check on him, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

FIRE COMMISSIONER RESIGNS MID-TERM

• One of the three members of the board of commissioners that oversees the Napavine area fire department has resigned. Jamie Guenther was elected to a six-year term in November 2011. Guenther came into the station yesterday and dropped his letter of resignation from the board, Lewis County Fire District 5 Fire Chief Gregg Peterson said. He cited personal reasons, according to Peterson. Peterson said he was going to be contacting the Lewis County Auditor’s Office to find out the process for replacing a board member. The board’s next regular business meeting is at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants,  misdemeanor theft, hit and run, driving with suspended license, driving with no license; responses for vandalism, misdemeanor theft, collisions on city streets … and more.

Updated at 6:47 p.m.

CHEHALIS MAN SERIOUSLY INJURED IN MOSSYROCK CRASH

• An unbelted Chehalis resident who was launched from the back seat of a car into its windshield when it skidded into a tree over the weekend in Mossyrock was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for possible reconstructive surgery on his face, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It was about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday when a deputy found the car parked in the middle of the road at Mossyrock Road West and Birley Road with some individuals inside and two males standing outside, one with a bloody face, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy at first was told it happened at a fight at a party, but subsequently discovered the Volkswagen Golf had wrecked nearby at the end of the county road, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Brown indicated the driver was suspected of being intoxicated and was arrested for vehicular assault. Cody A.M. Trepanier, 22, Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Brown. She said his injuries were minor and didn’t know the extent of the injuries to the other two occupants. Everyone but the 26-year-old Chehalis man had been wearing seat belts, she said. The car was described as totaled.

GLASS DOOR SMASHED, SPIRITS STOLEN

• Two people were arrested yesterday after a night time burglary at a distillery on the 700 block of North Tower Avenue, one of them discovered hours later passed out with empty bottles nearby, a couple of blocks from the business, according to the Centralia Police Department. An officer called about 6:50 a.m. to Blind Pig Spirits recognized Gordon C. Powell Jr.’s image on surveillance video, according to Officer Patty Finch. The 44-year-old allegedly threw a large chunk of concrete through the glass front door, went inside and left with about $90 worth of liquor, according to police. Police say Powell told a friend about it and the friend went to Blind Pig and helped himself to about $180 worth of alcohol and flasks. Tyson D. Ball, 24, was discovered around noon sleeping near the railroad station, Finch said. Powell, from Chehalis, and Ball, from Centralia, were both booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree burglary, according to the Centralia Police Department.

TEEN FLEES STORE WITH HARD LIQUOR

• A 16-year-old boy was arrested after he allegedly stole a bottle of vodka and a bottle of whiskey from a drug store in Chehalis on Saturday, and fled into a nearby backyard where the resident detained him. An officer called just before 1 p.m. to the 500 block of South Market Street learned the teen was missing out of Spokane with a juvenile probation warrant, and he was intoxicated, according to the Chehalis Police Department. His companion was not arrested, according to police.

POLICE: MOSSY BURGLARY ARREST

• Morton police said they arrested a 34-year-old Joe P. Padrick of Mossyrock yesterday afternoon for second-degree burglary after he allegedly admitted breaking into a home on  Mossyrock Road West and stealing money and a credit card.

AUTO THEFT

• A Wal-Mart employee finishing his shift this morning discovered the car he’d parked in the lot last night was gone. Chehalis police called about 7:15 a.m. to the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue found security footage that showed the 1990 Acura Integra leaving the premises about 12:30 a.m., according to the Chehalis Police Department. The stolen car was subsequently found, minus all four tires and wheels, on the 100 block of Boistfort Road in Curtis, according to police. The stereo was missing as well, department spokesperson Linda Bailey said.

• A deputy took a report on Friday of a 1990 Ford Econoline van missing from the 12000 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Packwood. Its owner, a 44-year-old Lacey man, said he went to pick it up after leaving it there a year and a half ago, and it was gone,  according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The resident told a deputy he thought the owner picked it up, as it was gone back in June, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called about 11 p.m. on Saturday to a parking lot at the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue where they were told by a woman that she stepped away from her vehicle for just a couple of minutes and when she returned, her purse was gone, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• An iPod and a Canon Rebel camera were reported stolen from a vehicle parked on the 800 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

• Centralia police took a report about 9:30 a.m. on Saturday of a vehicle prowl at the 900 block of Vienna Lane. Cash was taken, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning they are looking for a 53-year-old Packwood resident for an alleged second-degree assault involving his girlfriend on Friday afternoon. A deputy responding to the 100 block of Saddle Horse Lane was told they had been arguing when he threw her onto a bed and used his forearm to pin her neck down, according to the sheriff’s office. The woman said she could not breathe until she bit him in the arm to get free, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Brown said as Kevin L. Battrick was leaving, he shoved a 70-year-old woman at the doorway, causing her to lose her balance.

FIRE AT GAS STATION QUICKLY DOUSED

• Firefighters were called about 9:50 p.m. yesterday about a vehicle on fire at a gas station on the 1300 block of Rush Road in Napavine. Someone had already put it out with a portable fire extinguisher before they arrived, according to Lewis County Fire District 5.

SPEED RACER WANTED

• Centralia police said yesterday they are looking for information about a reckless motorcycle rider who eluded officers on Saturday evening, speeding and running several stop signs. The dirt bike-style motorcycle was last seen in the area of North Tower Avenue and Sixth Street, according to the Centralia Police Department.

YARD DRIVER WANTED

• A deputy was called about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday to the 3500 block of Jackson Highway outside Chehalis after a neighbor heard what sounded like an accident and the resident found tire tracks that left the road and went through his yard. On the way through, the vehicle struck a garbage can, a fence post and fir tree, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

BUILDING HIT AND RUN

• Morton police reported this morning that about 11 a.m. last Tuesday an officer was called because a vehicle ran into a building during the night at the 100 block of Main Avenue. An exterior wall was damaged in an amount to be determined, according to the Morton Police Department.

DUI WRECK

• A 48-year-old Chehalis resident was arrested for driving under the influence after his 1993 Dodge truck went over a steep embankment and rolled onto its side on the 200 block of Pleasant Valley Road outside Winlock on Sunday night. A deputy responding to the approximately 8:45 p.m. incident booked Nicholas J. Rademaker into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, forgery, shoplifting, trespassing, resisting arrest, misdemeanor assault, negligent driving, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, disorderly person, misdemeanor theft, restraining order violation, possible suicidal person, dog in distress in a parked vehicle, collisions on city streets, wrecks on county roads including one with a deer … and more.

MAD DAD TAKES PURSUIT OFF ROAD

• A Centralia father was arrested after he reportedly chased his teenage step-daughter and her boyfriend with his car down a city sidewalk yesterday evening. The 19-year-old had called police about 7:50 p.m. from the 200 block of South Pearl Street near Visiting Nurses Thrift Shop about a dispute and when officers arrived, they learned David D. Nelson had pursued the couple on the east sidewalk with his Chevrolet Cavalier, nearly hitting them, according to the Centralia Police Department. Nobody was hurt and nothing was damaged beyond some crushed blades of grass, according to police. The disagreement involved concern about her child, Sgt. Kurt Reichert said. The young mother is described as transient, the 35-year-old boyfriend is a Centralia resident, according to police. Nelson was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree assault, according to police.

FIRE ESCAPES BURN PILE

• Firefighters were called yesterday afternoon to a backyard in Adna for a brush fire. It was about 2 p.m. on Glenview Lane, according to Lewis County Fire District 6. “The burn ban has been lifted and somebody was burning and it got a little out of control,” Firefighter Steven Busz said. The fire spread to an area of about 100 feet by 100 feet, burning grass and a small tree or two before it was extinguished, according to Busz.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, malicious mischief, misdemeanor assault, protection order violation, driving with suspended license; responses for vandalism, misdemeanor theft … and more.