Lewis County Sirens.com

COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE

• A driver heading the wrong direction on a one-way street in Centralia last night realized his mistake when he saw a patrol car approaching which switched on its emergency lights. It happened about 9:30 p.m. on North Gold Street in Centralia at Union Avenue, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Brian T. Bircher, 44, of Winlock, was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence, with a suspended license and without his required alcohol detection ignition interlock device, according to the sheriff’s office.

DRUGS

• A 23-year-old Chehalis woman found herself in jail after she was seen cutting a flower from someone’s garden just after 6 o’clock this morning, was contacted by police and arrested for an outstanding warrant along the 600 block of F Street in Centralia, according to police. Jennie B. Young was also booked for possession of methamphetamine as when she was searched, assorted drug paraphernalia was discovered, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A 25-year-old Centralia woman arrested just after 11 p.m. yesterday at a motel on the 1200 block of Alder Street in Centralia for a warrant found herself in more trouble when jail staff discovered a plastic bag of suspected methamphetamine and a pipe in her brassiere while she was getting booked. The police contact with Kindal M. Powell came during an investigation of an unspecified animal complaint, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police were called to Chehalis Middle School yesterday morning after a 14-year-old boy was allegedly caught with a small amount of marijuana. The case will be referred to juvenile prosecutors for potential charging, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

THEFT

• Police were called about 11:20 a.m. yesterday regarding a burglary at a residence on the 500 block of State Street in Centralia. Police said the subject damaged unspecified property inside. They have a suspect, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Someone stole a silver Honda Pilot sometime between 5 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Monday from where it had been parked at the 100 block of Veteran’s Way in Chehalis, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called about 9:35 a.m. yesterday regarding a vehicle prowl at the 100 block of Northwest Chehalis Avenue, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Police arrested a 14-year-old Centralia boy yesterday after he was reportedly caught spray painting graffiti on train cars at the 500 block of North Railroad Avenue in Centralia.

• Centralia police took a report about 2 p.m. yesterday of two windows damaged with a BB gun at the 200 block of South Tower Avenue.

WRECK

• A horse was killed when it was hit by a pickup truck on the 700 block of Boistfort Road west of Chehalis early this morning. The driver was not hurt but the right front fender of his Ford F150 was damaged, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy called to the scene just before 4 a.m. warned the horse owner about the prohibition on animal’s running loose but no citation was issued because the 42-year-old driver from Napavine said he’d already exchanged information regarding the truck damage, according to the sheriff’s office.

OUTDOOR LIGHTING MAY HAVE IGNITED PORCH IN ONALASKA

• Someone driving by an Onalaska area home around 5 o’clock this morning smelled smoke and saw what looked like smoke coming from beneath a large wood front porch that turned out to be fire just getting ready to take off. Lewis County Fire District 1 called to the manufactured home on the 300 block of Tauscher Road tore away the deck and found flames starting to spread under the crawl space, Chief Mark Conner said. The resident said she woke up when her satellite TV kicked off, he said. The cause is under investigation but it looked like it could have been related to landscaping lights installed about 10 years ago, Conner said. Other than the porch, damage was minimal, he said.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault, driving with a suspended license, shoplifting; responses for minor vehicle accidents, disputes, possible overdose, alarms, suspicious circumstances, a request to please do something about a neighbor who won’t mow his lawn … and more.

ANGRY PEDESTRIAN SCARES PEOPLE IN CENTRALIA

• A 63-year-old homeless man was arrested for disorderly conduct yesterday morning after he alarmed two women with his behavior near Harrison Avenue in Centralia. Police were first called to the area about 9:45 a.m. because a man was standing on a corner hollering, “I’m gonna blow your head off, I’m gonna get a gun,” Officer Corey Butcher said. A woman on a sidewalk across the street wasn’t sure who he was talking to but was scared and called 911, Butcher said. Officers eventually located the same man at Dennys restaurant where he was shouting the manager from inside the bushes he had jumped into, according to Butcher. Arthur C. Bass, 63, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

WRONG ANSWER

• A 25-year-old Longview man was jailed early this morning after an officer saw him riding a bicycle near the 1100 block of North Tower Avenue without a headlight about 4 a.m. Officer Corey Butcher said he’d just conversed with the man who gave what turned out to be a phony name. When Butcher contacted him about the headlight, the man refused to give any information, Butcher said. Brady M. Kendig was booked into the Lewis County Jail for obstructing a public servant, according to police. He was also arrested for being in possession of medication without a prescription, but Butcher later determined the drugs were properly prescribed to Kendig, the officer said.

DRUGS

• A 33-year-old Centralia man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver after he was contacted by an officer about a warrant around 5:30 p.m. at the 1000 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia. Steven Ingle Jr. was booked into the Lewis County Jail,  according to the Centralia Police Department.

APPARENT THEFT ATTEMPTS THWARTED

• Police were called just before 9:30 p.m. yesterday when a citizen spotted someone trying to break into a shed on the 1000 block of Grand Avenue in  Centralia. The suspect took off on a bicycle and was not located, according to police. Nothing appeared to be missing from the shed,  according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police were called about 9:30 p.m. yesterday when the victim of a vehicle prowl caught a teenager breaking into his vehicle at the 1000 block of West Main Street but the boy got away before officers arrived. He was described as about 16 years old with curly, dark, long hair and a suntan, according to the Centralia Police Department.

STREET FIGHT LEADS TO ARREST OF CHEHALIS PAIR

• The Olympian reports a Chehalis couple were jailed for allegedly beating a man on a downtown Olympia street, breaking several bones in his face. News reporter Jeremy Pawloski writes Reginal Brown, 25, and Jonell Brager, 21, were each arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault early Saturday morning after a patrol officer spotted one of them knock the victim to the ground and the other pummel him.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for driving with a suspended license, warrant, misdemeanor assault; responses for minor vehicle accidents, disputes, alarm, possible DUI; complaints of loud music  … and more.

Updated at 7:42 p.m.

MOSSYROCK FIRE SLOWED BY PASSERBY

• A man on his way to church in the Mossyrock area yesterday morning is credited with stopping a structure fire from ruining people’s belongings at a storage business on the 100 block of Kjesbu Road. Lewis County Fire District 3 Chief Doug Fosburg said crews were called about 7:45 a.m. to a former chicken barn converted to 22 plus storage units. The passerby grabbed a fire extinguisher and kept the fire contained to a mechanical room containing a compressor, a welder and the electrical panel box that is suspect, according to Fosburg. The items in the other units didn’t even suffer smoke damage, he said.

OUTDOOR BURNING GETS OUT OF HAND

• Tenino area firefighters were called about 1:45 p.m. yesterday when embers from a pile of stumps being burned spread and caused a brush fire at property on High Valley Lane off 143rd Avenue Southwest. Crews were dispatched about 1:45 p.m. and were on the scene roughly seven hours, protecting structures including homes from the fire that spread to about five acres, Thurston County Fire District 12 Battalion Chief Jim Fowler said. “The wind was just way too windy for anybody to be burning anything yesterday,” Fowler said. Firefighters from the state Department of Natural Resources were summoned and used a small excavator to dig a trail around the area, he said. It was stopped at nine acres, according to DNR.

GLENOMA WILDFIRE BIGGER BUT HALFWAY CONTAINED

• At noontime today, DNR reported the fire in east Lewis County on Dog Mountain had burned about 100 acres within a 170 acre area of forest land, but called it 50 percent contained. Bulldozers, fire engines and water-dropping helicopters are employed in the task of extinguishing the fire that was initially fanned and spread by dry east winds, according to public information officer Chuck Turley. Steep terrain increases the challenge of reaching pockets of burning material, Turley noted. Members of all five fire districts in the east end, along with some from Napavine and Toledo, responded on Saturday and worked into the late evening with crews from DNR and personnel from Port Blakely, the timber land’s owner. DNR said today approximately 80 individuals continue to be assigned to the fire fight south of Glenoma. The cause remains under investigation, according to Turley.

CAPITOL FOREST FIRE GROWS

• A noontime update on the wildfire in the Capitol Forest northwest of Littlerock pegged it as only 6 percent contained, with about 80 people working to put it out. The fire has burned 60 acres of land that contains logging slash and 20-year-old trees, according to DNR. Some recreation trails and roads in the area of the C-Line and C-400 roads remain closed, according to a news release. Crews from West Thurston Regional Fire Authority initially responded about 12:15 a.m. on Sunday after a report of a fire at Capitol Peak. Bucoda’s Fire Chief Jim Fowler was among those who responded as he and a fellow firefighter teaching nine students at the McLane-Black Lake Fire Department on Sunday loaded their class up and headed to Capitol Forest. It was unexpected field training for a wild land Firefighter II class, Fowler said.

POLICE: VERY SURLY DRUNK

• A 31-year-old Centralia man allegedly threatened three males with a knife after they intervened while he was allegedly beating his girlfriend inside a vehicle in an alley in Centralia yesterday evening. Officers called about 5:35 p.m. say the trio pulled Pioquinto Rodriguez-Garcia off the 41-year-old woman and he slashed all four tires n the vehicle before fleeing the area on the 600 block of Marion Street. Police found Rodriguez-Garcia a short distance away and also took into evidence a knife police dog Lobo found in a nearby yard, according to the Centralia Police Department. The initial dispute was because the girlfriend didn’t want Rodriguez-Garcia driving while intoxicated, according to police. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail for two counts of second-degree assault, misdemeanor assault and malicious mischief, police reported.

UNDERAGE PARTY BUSTED IN CENTRALIA, ONE HOSPITALIZED

• About a dozen young people found themselves in trouble over the weekend when a Centralia mother returned home and found her son and daughter were hosting a drinking party, and which subsequently included a 20-year-old male getting transported to the hospital. Deputies and Centralia police arriving at the 1100 block of Long Road about 12:15 a.m. on Saturday found the unconscious subject laying outside in massive amounts of vomit and summoned aid, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The cases involving one 19-year-old and 10 other individuals under 18 were referred to prosecutors for filing of charges, according to the sheriff’s office. A 16-year-old who was reportedly seen trying to open the doors of all the patrol vehicles on the scene was taken to the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

MISSING TRAILER

• A deputy was called Saturday to the 200 block of U.S. Highway 12 south of Chehalis about a cargo trailer stolen overnight from Garrison Auctioneers. The 1991 trailer with a black top and white sides has a license plate of 804 6UY, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It was taken sometime between 6 p.m. on Friday and 7 o’clock the following morning, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

SNOW, DARKNESS, END MOUNTAIN BIKER’S OUTING

• Deputies retrieved a mountain biker on Saturday night who headed up a forest service road in East Lewis County wearing only shorts and a light shirt, not realizing that there was four feet of snow at his destination and found himself in the dark with no flashlight. The 37-year-old Cinebar resident called 911 about 9 p.m. on  his cell phone and asked for help getting back down, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He had planned a ride to Newaukum Lake and around Rooster Rock, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. He was located about five miles up the Forest Road 71, and taken home, Brown said.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• It took lawyers until about 4 p.m. today to pick a jury for the first-degree murder trial of Centralian Weston G. Miller. Miller, 30, is accused of shooting 43-year-old David Wayne Carson in Miller’s house on B Street on March 13 of last year. He claims self defense, prosecutors say it was an unprovoked attack. Opening statements are set to begin in the morning in Lewis County Superior Court.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for driving with a suspended license, warrants; responses for minor vehicle accidents, shoplifting, intoxicated people, kids and dogs running around without supervision, parental custody issues, possible suicide, wallets missing and found  … and more.

ARSON WATCH

• No overnight fires in Centralia since the arsons early Friday morning at the church building on West First Street, the Centerville western store at the north end of the Centralia Outlets and the attempted arson at Cooks Hill Community Church, according to Riverside Fire Authority. Chief Jim Walkowski recommended the public be extra watchful after the night that kept crews hopping from call to call. Two other blazes were extinguished the same night – at a coffee stand in north Chehalis and a church in north Centralia – but those were not deemed suspicious.

BURGLARY

• Someone broke a window to get inside a residence on the 800 block of K Street in Centralia and ransacked two bedrooms. The break in was reported about 11:40 a.m. on Friday. It wasn’t immediately clear if anything was missing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFT

• Tires and rims were stolen from a backyard on the 1100 block of Crosby Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police on Friday evening.

VANDALISM

• Police reported yesterday someone threw paint on a grave marker at the cemetery on the 1800 block of Van Wormer Street in Centralia.

• Centralia police took reports yesterday of damage to vehicles at the 400 block of South Oak Street and the 300 block of West Pine Street.

CHILLY WATERS AND SUNSHINE PROMPT SAFETY MESSAGE

• Public safety personnel are cautioning residents that with the first hot days of spring – with temperatures in the 80s – rivers and lakes are still very cold and pose dangers. Lewis County Fire District 5 Lt. Laura Hanson says life jackets and other personal flotation devices are recommended and children should be closely supervised at all times while swimming and near water. Last May, authorities theorized it was a very warm day and very cold Chehalis River that caused an otherwise healthy 16-year-old Rochester boy’s death. The combination can cause a person’s diaphragm to constrict and make it suddenly hard to breathe. Rochester High School student Christopher Puentes-Garay was with friends and relatives on May 16 when he tried to swim across and went under. New underwater hazards such as limbs and logs can be expected to have been created over the winter as well, according to Hanson. Hanson shared a lifejacket discount coupon offered from Seattle Children’s Hospital and Big 5 Sporting Goods, which can be downloaded here

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, DUIs; responses for minor vehicle accidents, misdemeanor theft … and more.

BURGLARY AND THEFT

• Centralia police were called about 6:50 p.m. yesterday to take a report that someone stole a safe and a computer from a residence on the 600 block of South King Street.

• Chehalis police were called about 4:30 p.m. yesterday regarding a burglary at an apartment on the 500 block of Northeast Jefferson Avenue. The resident arrived home to discover the door partway open and its lock broken, according to police. Missing were cigarettes, a piece of jewelry and pain medication, detective Sgt. Gary WIlson said.

• Police took a report from the 900 block of Goff Street in Centralia about 4:10 p.m. yesterday that someone stole jewelry, coin “banks” and other items from a home.

• A deputy was called yesterday to a break-in to a large shop building at the back of property on the 900 block of Ceres Hill Road west of Chehalis. The victim said among the missing items were a propane tank and torch, a ladder and numerous car parts to include one bumper and 15 automobile hoods, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• A woman who left her purse in a shopping cart when she went to load her groceries in her car at Safeway in Centralia returned to the cart to find the purse gone, according to a report made to police about 5:15 p.m. yesterday.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took reports yesterday of gang-type graffiti spray painted on a shop and traffic sign a the 2200 block of North Tower Avenue. More graffiti was reported later in the day to a fence on the 1700 block of Hillview Road, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for trespassing, driving with a suspended license, violation of no contact order; responses for shoplifting, minor collision, suspicious people, suicide attempt … and more.

Updated at 7:57 p.m.

CENTRALIA WOMAN STRUCK WITH BAT

• A 54-year-old Centralia woman making her regular check upon a neighbor yesterday was met at his doorway and hit in the head with a baseball bat, according to the Centralia Police Department. Officers called just after 1 p.m. to the 300 block of West Magnolia arrested Craig A. Olson, 51, according to police. The assault came out of nowhere, according to Sgt. Kurt Reichert, who said there was no prior conflict between the two. It appears Olson has “issues,” Reichert said. The victim was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with a cut to her head, he said. Olson was booked into the Lewis County Jail for for second-degree assault.

MISBEHAVING TEENS

• A 14-year-old boy at the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center allegedly kicked a staff member causing her to fall down and spit on others yesterday morning because he didn’t want to go back to his room, according to police. A Chehalis police officer is referring the case to juvenile prosecutors for possible charges of assault, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• A Chehalis police officer was summoned to the principal’s office at W.F. West High School in Chehalis yesterday morning regarding a complaint from a 15-year-old girl that she was inappropriately touched by a 14-year-old boy. The case is being referred to juvenile prosecutors for a possible charge of simple assault, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

GONE CAMPING

• Centralia police were called to the 1000 block of Airport Road yesterday afternoon after a 28-foot travel trailer was discovered missing. A witness had seen a red Dodge pickup towing the white Kit trailer away around 2 p.m., according to the Centralia Police Department. The camping trailer has a license of 1581RV, according to police.

BREAK-IN AT CEMETERY

• Gas cans, fuel, tools and other items were discovered missing from a storage shed at the Mineral Creek Cemetery sometime between April 7 and Tuesday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

JOY RIDE THWARTED

• A 43-year-old woman pulled over on her moped on Interstate 5 in Chehalis because she was swerving as she used one hand to eat from a bag of Doritoes ended up in the Lewis County Jail yesterday evening. A deputy noticed the scooter had no license plate and its ignition wires were taped together, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Kristina M. Andrews, of Vancouver, Wash., said she had just purchased the moped from a friend and was heading to Seattle, the sheriff’s office reported. It turned out the vehicle had been reported stolen in Portland, so Andrews was arrested for first-degree possession of stolen property, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• A pair of teenage cousins from the Tacoma area who allegedly stole at gunpoint some marijuana they showed up to buy from a Centralia man in December – and then found their car being shot up as they fled East Van Buren Street – won’t be going to trial. Eighteen-year-old Yahdriel E. Jones was in court today, where attorneys told a judge he intends to change his plea to guilty. Howard E. Ross 19, had already “pleaded out” and agreed to testify, Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Kjell Warner said. A 28-year-old Centralia man who had placed an ad online on Craigslist that he had “extra quality meds” up for donation, of $125 per ounce, found himself struck in the face by a pistol on Dec. 15 when he got inside their car in front of his house to conduct business, according to charging documents. Jones will return to a courtroom on Tuesday to change his plea.

• A pair of brothers arrested in January after a marijuana growing operation was discovered in their Seminary Hill Road home have accepted a plea offer and will return to court May 15 for further proceedings. Zeshawn H. Hasnani, 27, and Sohail Hasnani, 24, allegedly sold their product to medical marijuana dispensaries and have been jailed since their Jan. 10 arrest by Centralia police. Attorneys told a judge today the men will change their pleas.

BONUS QUOTE OF THE DAY

• “I’m not going to hold her on $35,000, this is totally ridiculous.” –  Judge Richard Brosey remarking upon a bail request after being informed Rachelle L. Braaten, 24, was charged with burglary because she went inside her Centralia home, in violation of a no contact order regarding her child. The Centralia mother was initially charged, and ordered to stay away from her toddler, after allegedly giving the little one a hit off a bong.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with a suspended license, misdemeanor assault, responses for non-injury collision, possible fraud, disturbances, suspicious circumstances, suicide attempt, dog fight … and more.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• Prosecutors yesterday filed charges against the Chehalis father accused of taking money from W.F. West High School’s senior class fund. Robert N. Downs Jr., 43, has been summonsed to appear in Lewis County Superior Court to face one count of first-degree theft and 14 counts of forgery, according to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office. Police began investigating in January following a complaint the account had less money in it than students’ parents thought there would be. Police last month said they discovered the husband of a woman in charge of the money signed his wife’s name to 14 checks from the account he wrote out to himself, totaling $8,200. The wife replaced the money back into the account after she learned of the losses, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The fund comes from a tradition of parents collectively starting fundraising during their children’s freshman year to pay for graduation-related activities. Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said he believes more than $8,000 was stolen.

THEFT

• A chainsaw was stolen from a shop building on the 2400 block of Seward Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday morning.

• Police were called about 10:15 a.m. yesterday to the 1000 block of West Main Street in Centralia about the theft of a business check which was subsequently used to purchase more than $600 of merchandise in  Longview. Police have a suspect in mind and are investigating, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called yesterday morning about a counterfeit $20 bill received by an employee at a business on the 1400 block of Louisiana Avenue. Officer Linda Bailey said an officer would have taken the currency for evidence and run its information through a U.S. Secret Service database to see if it a “known” counterfeit. When police have no local leads, they send fake bills off to the Secret Service, she said.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took a report of graffiti on no parking signs at the 2200 block of North Tower Avenue at about 8:45 p.m. yesterday. Earlier in the afternoon, an officer was contacted a person’s fence on the 100 block of East Roanoke Street being tagged with spray paint.

• An officer was called about 9 a.m. yesterday to the 1300 block of Windsor Avenue in Centralia where a female said someone spray painted her car during the night.

VEHICLE VERSUS ELK

• Toledo area firefighters were called about 3:15 a.m. today when a driver on his way to work encountered a herd of elk crossing state Route 505 near Layton Road. Fire Chief Grant Wiltbank said the vehicle’s airbag deployed and the motorist was uninjured. One female elk was severely injured, according to Wiltbank.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for driving with a suspended license; reports of misdemeanor assaults, shoplifting; complaints of panhandlers near businesses, a person sleeping outside an apartment building who wouldn’t leave … and more.

Vehicle after encountering elk on state Route 505 / Courtesy photo by Grant Wiltbank