Lewis County Sirens.com

A car and a school bus collided on Sargent Road in Rochester about 3 p.m. on Monday/ Courtesy photo by West Thurston Regional Fire Authority

SCHOOL BUS AND CAR CRASH NEAR ROCHESTER INTERSECTION

• Nobody was seriously hurt but a passenger car was destroyed when it and a school bus collided yesterday afternoon in Rochester. It happened at 3 p.m. almost in front of the fire station, near the intersection of Sargent Road and 187 Avenue Southwest, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority. Four middle to high school-age students on the bus were uninjured, Fire Chief Robert Scott said. Both the driver of the car and the bus driver declined responder’s advice to be taken to the hospital, Scott said.

DOMESTIC INCIDENT SPARKS ARREST

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday that deputies arrested a 25-year-old Centralia man for unlawful imprisonment following a call on Sunday in the Winlock area about an incident in which he allegedly pushed his girlfriend around and refused to let her leave for about three hours. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail but has been released pending further investigation.

MAN FLEES DEPUTIES, POLICE DOG TRACKS HIM DOWN

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday that after a deputy contacted a wanted man in Onalaska about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, he fled and was tracked down by a police dog from Centralia. Mickey W. Graham, 21, was booked into the Lewis County Jail after being found near an apartment complex on the 100 block of Third Street, according to the sheriff’s office.

THEFTS

• A white 1993 Honda was reported missing about 8:30 a.m. on Saturday from the 400 block of Hart Road in Winlock, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The car is valued at about $2,000.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday an estimated $1,780 of valuables were reported missing from the 1600 block of Windsor Avenue in Centralia. A 360 X-box, eight games and a 22-inch gold necklace with an anchor and a Jesus figure were among the items stolen, according to the sheriff’s office. The burglary occurred sometime between 5 p.m. on Saturday and 1:30 the following morning.

• Deputies responding to an alarm about 1:30 a.m. yesterday at the Chevron station on the 1100 block of state Route 6 outside Chehalis found a wet shoe print and pry marks on a back door, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• A deputy took a report about 11:15 p.m. on Friday night of a vehicle prowl on the 100 block of Bay Road in Winlock. Somebody had rummaged through a purse and also taken a cell phone. The phone was later found in a puddle near the vehicle.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took a report just before 4 p.m. yesterday that somebody threw a rock at a vehicle which cracked a window and mirror on the 700 block of E Street.

CHIMNEY FIRE

• The Chehalis Fire Department was called to a chimney fire just before 4:30 p.m. yesterday on Southwest Salsbury Avenue. The flames were confined to the chimney pipe of the wood stove, according to Fire Capt. Ted McCarty. The captain said he didn’t think the chimney had been cleaned this year.

STOVE FIRE

• Firefighters called to the 1500 block of Southwest William Street yesterday found an older woman with a smoked up home who had turned on the wrong burner. While her eggs never boiled, her dry teapot ended up fused to a stove burner, according to the Chehalis Fire Department.

CHILD MOLESTATION ARREST

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday a 40-year-old Toledo man was arrested for second-degree child molestation on Friday for an incident that allegedly occurred between Dec. 21 and 23 in the Toledo area involving a 13-year-old. Scott E. Palmer was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

FIVE TREATED AT SCENE OF SCHOOL BUS ACCIDENT IN ROCHESTER

• KIROTV.com reports a car and a school bus collided in Rochester this afternoon.

STRANGER ATTACKS TEEN ON WAY TO SCHOOL, TEEN REPORTS

• Chehalis police reported this morning they took a report on Friday from a 14-year-old boy who said a strange male with a knife ran up and knocked him down near South Market Boulevard and 20th Street as he was on his way to school. He said he didn’t know the individual who pushed him, pointed a knife at him and never said a word, police Sgt. Rick McNamara said today. “That’s what he’s telling us,” McNamara said. “And nothing was said, which is really strange.” The boy was left with what McNamara described as small scratch.

MEN AND THEIR TOOLS

• Three men were jailed after a fight with metal pipes broke out on the 1200 block of Elzina Street in Chehalis about noon on Saturday. It started with two brothers, a neighbor and a disagreement over a tool or tools, according to Chehalis police. The brothers were arrested for assaulting Paul E. Peterson, 43, of Chehalis, but as officer arrived, Peterson was returning with a pipe of his own,  police Sgt. Rick McNamara said. Nobody ended up with life-threatening injuries but Eric B.J. Maggard, 28, of Toledo, was arrested for first-degree assault; Steven A. Maggard, 39, of Chehalis, was arrested for second-degree assault and Peterson was arrested for second-degree assault, according to McNamara. However, potential charges against the trio were put on hold today pending further investigation.

DRUGS

• Centralia police arrested a 19-year-old for possession of methamphetamine  after contact with an officer about 5:15 a.m. today at the 1100 block of West Main Street. James V. Mitchell, of Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police arrested a man for possession of methamphetamine after he was contacted by an officer about 11:45 p.m. last night about sleeping in the post office on the 200 block of Centralia College Boulevard. Anthony E. Winge, 22, of Tacoma, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A 29-year-old Centralia man was arrested very early Sunday morning for possession of methamphetamine and heroin after police contact just before 1 a.m. on the 800 block of North Tower Avenue. Michael R. Ward was  booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFTS

• Centralia police took a report about 3 p.m. on Saturday of the theft of an ATV from  business on the 300 block of South Tower Avenue. It is a green Yamaha Kodiak, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police were called about 9:20 p.m. Friday to the 900 block of Johnson Road in Centralia where a car stereo and three baseball mitts were stolen from a vehicle. A side window was smashed out, according to police.

More later

“GRANDPARENT” SCAM

• Chehalis police were called after a Chehalis resident took a phone call from a female who said she was her granddaughter and needed money on Wednesday. Deputy Chief Randy Kaut said he didn’t have further details on this incident, but said officers have gotten a few similar reports. The state Attorney General’s Office just this week distributed a caution for what they call the “grandparent scam” and other similar ruses to convince someone they need money wired immediately. Kaut said usually the calls are from Canada and the caller is claiming to have been in an accident. The state Attorney General’s Office urges citizens to warn the seniors in their lives and offers a list of red flags to watch out for.

METH SALES ARRESTS AT CHEHALIS APARTMENTS

• A pair of Chehalis residents were arrested for delivery of methamphetamine and their apartment searched after a 6:30 a.m. visit by police yesterday. About a dozen officers converged on the Chehalis Avenue Apartments, at Third Street and Southwest Chehalis Avenue, to serve a search warrant, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The arrests are the result of an ongoing investigation into drug sales, according to police. Jeffrey W. Hixon, 39, was booked for three counts and Marjorie P. Turvey, 27, was booked for two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, police stated in a news release. Hixon’s 15-year-old son was in the apartment at the time and police made a referral to Child Protective Services, police said. Deputy Chief Randy Kaut said he wasn’t sure yet if any drugs were discovered in the home, but said officers did find a set of scales.

THEFTS IN CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police took a report yesterday of the theft of expensive items from outside a business on the 1100 block of State Avenue. Among the items stolen were A steel cable choker, metal plates and something called a percolator valued at about $5,000, according to Deputy Chief Randy Kaut.

• Chehalis police were called to Southwest Ninth Street yesterday about the theft of video games and an iPod from a home.

• A 2003 Toyota MR2 reported stolen Wednesday morning from Northeast Coal Creek Road in Chehalis was found later the same day on the side of a road in Thurston County, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Another vehicle at the same Chehalis location had been prowled, police said.

OUTLET STORE WORKER ARRESTED FOR TAPING VIDEO IN DRESSING ROOM

• Centralia police say they plan to get a warrant to examine a cell phone after an Outlet store employee was allegedly caught taking a video of a woman trying on bras in a dressing room. Demetrius S. Alford, 20, was arrested at his Centralia home on Wednesday after the incident at the VF Outlet on West High Street, according to police. Police Sgt. Stacy Denham said officers were shown the video and are checking to see if it’s not the first time he’s done it. The Olympia woman, in her 40s, told police the employee showed her to a dressing room and then lingered. Then she spotted him pointing a camera in her direction through the louvered dressing room door and saw his head, according to Denham. The woman yelled for her daughter and subsequently the store manager and police were contacted, he said. Alford was booked into the Lewis County Jail for voyeurism, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFTS IN CENTRALIA

• A Centralia city parks department vehicle was stolen from the 900 block of Johnson Road in Centralia on Wednesday, according to police. The dark blue 1993 Buick Lasabre went missing sometime between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. It has city emblems on the doors and a license plate that reads 19486D, according to police.

• The case of an 18-year-old Centralia man was referred for potential charges of first-degree burglary yesterday after he allegedly broke into an ex-girlfriend’s Centralia apartment and took several unspecified items, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police arrested Noelle I. Straggi, a 43-year-old Chehalis woman, for identity theft after taking a report Wednesday she used another name and address to fraudulently order cellular phones.  She was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

• Centralia police took a report on Wednesday at the 1100 block of Johnson Road that a male came into the store and signed a false name when purchasing items on a charge account.

DRUGS

• Centralia police during a traffic stop last night found and confiscated an item suspected to be illegal drugs but will have to have it lab tested to confirm that, according to the Centralia Police Department. Police Sgt. Stacy Denham said what the officer found was a liquid, but he didn’t have further details about its packaging or quantity. Other items at the scene such as marijuana led to the officer’s suspicions, he said. Nobody was arrested. The traffic stop came about 9 p.m. on M and West First streets, according to police.

• A 23-year-old Napavine man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and a warrant after contact with a Centralia police officer yesterday evening at the 1200 block of Alder Street. Edward E. Jerns was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

TEENAGER THREATENED OTHER TEENS WITH RIFLE, SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said this morning a 16-year-old Chehalis boy may be charged with second-degree assault after a report he pulled a rifle from the cab of his truck and pointed it at three high school students. The incident occurred on Jan. 8 at the Chevron station on the 1100 block of state Route 6 following an unspecified verbal exchange, according to the sheriff’s office. A deputy was called yesterday to take a report about it at W.F. West High School, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. All involved are from Chehalis, according to Brown.

VIDEO GAME PLAYING TURNS UGLY IN RANDLE

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office yesterday arrested a 19-year-old Randle resident they say got so angry when repeatedly losing at a video game, he allegedly choked, hit and bit his opponent, as well as held a survival knife to his throat. Deputies were called about 8:20 p.m. on Sunday about the attack on the 100 block of Cispus Road but couldn’t respond because of flooding in the area, according to the the sheriff’s office. The 19-year-old’s grandmother said the two had been separated into their different homes, Chief Stacy Brown said this morning. Yesterday, deputies arrested Jeffrey T. Peddie, 19, of Randle, for second-degree assault, Brown said. Peddie reportedly got upset because the 17-year-old kept winning and also allegedly also threatened the 17-year-old boy with a box cutter, leaving the victim with bruises on his face, as well as bite marks and punctures on his back, arms and fingers, Brown said.

STORAGE UNIT BUSINESS DISCOVERS MASSIVE THEFT

• Somebody pried open a roll up garage door to a storage unit in Grand Mound and managed to break through walls and ceilings to burglarize six different storage spaces of about $10,000 in valuables over the weekend. The theft at the Grand Mound Mini-storage on the 20,600 block of Grand Mound Way was discovered on Sunday, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. Two individuals who rented the six spaces lost items such as aluminum semi-truck wheels, a specialty torque wrench, auto supplies and other tools, Lt. Greg Elwin said this morning.

TRIO OF BURGLARIES IN ROCHESTER NEIGHBORHOOD

• The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office took reports of three break-ins that all occurred on the same night near 178th Avenue Southwest and Applegate Street in Rochester. Lt Greg Elwin said said the thefts happened between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Friday. Somebody went into a vehicle inside a garage and took items like binoculars and sunglasses and someone went into another garage and stole power and electric tools, he said. Somebody also prowled a pickup truck parked in a driveway, Elwin said. He indicated it seemed likely given the time frame and proximity the victims were all targeted by the same individual.

CAR THEFT IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called to the Mellen Street park and ride just before 5 p.m. yesterday after a motorist discovered their purple 1994 Acura left there in the morning was gone. The car has a license plate of 823 MBQ.

CAR PROWLS

• Police were called about 4:30 p.m. yesterday about a car prowl on Lum Road. A laptop was taken from an unlocked vehicle, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police also yesterday took a report of a car prowl from South Pearl and West Main streets in which a backpack was stolen from a vehicle. It occurred about a week and a half ago, police reported.

VEHICLE VERSUS PEDESTRIAN

• Centralia police reported this morning an officer responded to a vehicle versus pedestrian accident on North Schueber Road at about 8:45 p.m. last night. The injuries were minor, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SAFE CRACKER SNEAKS INTO TOLEDO BUSINESS

• Somebody broke into a Toledo restaurant, prying open a safe and taking approximately $1,500, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy called just before 7 a.m. yesterday to the Country House restaurant on the 400 block of state Route 506 noted videotape was obtained that showed a male wearing a blue and white flannel shirt.

CAR NEARLY SUBMERGED IN CENTRALIA DITCH

• Four individuals managed to escape from a car on Saturday afternoon that flipped upside down into a water-filled ditch off North Gold Street in Centralia and was submerged up to its floor boards, according to authorities. Aid and police were called about 3:30 p.m. to the scene just north of Maple Street, according to police. The occupants were left with just bumps and bruises, according to the Centralia Police Department. The 19-year-old driver of the Acura Integra was cited for going too fast, according to police.

CREEPY-NESS

• Chehalis police were called about 8:45 p.m. on Saturday by a woman who said her daughter had received a phone call from a restricted number in which a male advised he was looking in her window, and when the daughter looked out, he said he could see her. An officer responding to the 500 block of Riverside Drive did not find anyone outside, according to police.

• Police were called on Saturday to a Centralia cemetery on the 1100 block of Cavenss Drive where somebody had been knocking over grave stones the previous few nights.

WITNESS INTIMIDATION REPORTED

• A deputy took a report on Saturday from a 24-year-old Centralia woman who said she had received a phone call from a man who threatened to kill her and her family if she testified at a trial related to a drive-by shooting case from Chehalis, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A referral was made to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office for possible charge of intimidating a witness, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

CHURCH BREAK-INS

• Centralia police were called about 8:30 a.m. yesterday to a report of a burglary to a church office on the 700 block of Park Way.

• Centralia police were called about 2 p.m. on Sunday to an apparent attempted break-in at a church office on the 200 block of North Washington Street.

THEFTS AND BURGLARIES

• Centralia police took a report yesterday of a burglary to a shop on the 600 block of West Third Street.

• Centralia police were directed to an abandoned vehicle about 9:30 p.m. last night on the 1200 block of West Pear Street that turned out to be stolen out of Thurston County, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called about 7:50 a.m. on Sunday to Adams Avenue about a black 987 Mazda pickup truck stolen within the previous two hours. Shortly after that, an officer responded to a blue 1989 Mazda pickup truck stolen sometime after 7 a.m. on Washington Avenue.

• Chehalis police were called Saturday afternoon to a former shoe store on Kresky Avenue that had been burglarized. Seven pairs of shoes were missing, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• Two chainsaws were stolen from the back of a work truck on the 600 block of Leonard Road in Onalaska sometime between 12:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is estimated at $1,800.

• A chainsaw, two wall heaters and a finish sander were discovered missing on Friday from a storage building on the 900 block of Davis Lake Road near Morton, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Somebody forced their way inside damaging the door frame and lock, the sheriff’s office reported.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s office took a report of a theft that occurred sometime between Dec. 20 to Dec. 25 of a handmade Amish mini horse wagon and a leather show harness from a barn on the 2500 block of Seminary Hill Road outside Centralia. The loss is estimated at $3,000, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy brown.

• Custom rims and tires, along with a piece of a sound system, were stolen from inside a vehicle on the 1100 block of South Pearl Street in Centralia, according to a  report made yesterday afternoon.

DUI FOLLOWS WRECK

• A 41-year-old man from Curtis was arrested for driving under the influence after a single-vehicle collision into a ditch early on Friday morning near the 1400 block of South Schueber Road, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. Robert D. Smith was arrested. His Ford Ranger truck sustained an estimated $750 damage, the sheriff’s office noted. His injuries were not reported by the sheriff’s office.

CLIENT AT SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE FIGHTS WITH GUARD, POLICE SAY

• A 64-year-old Onalaska woman was jailed yesterday after she allegedly swung her purse at a guard at the Social Security office in Centralia. Police Sgt. Carl Buster said the woman was asked to leave the Cooks Hill Road building after she became unruly, upset because she wasn’t being seen. She left, then returned and swung her purse at the guard and hit him repeatedly, according to Buster. “She got him several times before he was able to take her to the ground,” Buster said. Casandra N. Brower, 64, was arrested for third-degree assault and booked into the Lewis County Jail.

SHOPLIFTING GONE BAD

• A 27-year-old woman who allegedly shoplifted pens and hand lotion from a Centralia store was arrested for second-degree robbery yesterday because she shoved a clerk who told her to come back, according to the Centralia Police Department. An officer called about 9:30 p.m. to Fullers Market on the 500 block of South Tower Avenue found Lindsay C. Watson also was in possession of suspected heroin and methamphetamine, according to Sgt. Carl Buster. The Centralia woman was booked into the Lewis County Jail. Buster said what would have been a simple misdemeanor becomes a felony if a person uses force to take or retain property.

ORDINARY SHOPLIFTING

• Police were called back to the 500 block of South Tower Avenue about 6:15 a.m. today and detained a 23-year-old Centralia woman for shoplifting. Kari N. Driver was arrested and released, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AUTO THEFTS

• Centralia police reported the recovery of a stolen vehicle yesterday afternoon connected with a location of the 1000 block of North Schueber Road.

• Centralia police took a report of an apparent attempted theft of a vehicle on the 900 block of South Silver Street yesterday morning. Somebody got inside and tore the console apart as though trying to hot wire the vehicle, according to police.

BURGLARY

• Centralia police were called to a downtown business about 10:50 p.m. on Wednesday after a citizen reported a door was open. An officer responding to the location on the 100 block of North Tower Avenue found nobody inside but an owner subsequently discovered money was missing from the till.

THEFT

• Centralia police report an individual at the 1100 block of Stillwaters Avenue fell victim to a phone scam, according to a report taken by police on Wednesday.

BABY DELIVERED AT FIRE STATION, BY DAD

• Firefighters in Maytown got to help deliver a baby overnight, sort of. West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Battalion Chief Jacob Yake said a couple arrived at the fire station on Reeder Road about 3:30 this morning. “The car pulled into the fire station then started laying on its horn and as he was calling 911, he basically caught the baby.” A crew of three came outside and took mother and infant to the hospital, Yake said. The father returned later to announce it was a healthy baby boy, Yake said. It’s not uncommon for emergency responder to help with child birth, according to Yake, but “I don’t know we’ve ever had ’em in the parking lot of the station.”

SPINOUTS AND ROLLOVERS

• Firefighters from Chehalis through Littlerock were kept super busy for about a two-hour period last night with calls for cars slipping off the roadways in the snow. No injuries were reported. The Chehalis Fire Department responded to one vehicle at Devries and Shorey Roads that had slid back down a hill, rolled and went down an embankment, narrowly missing a pond, according to Acting Capt. Derrick Paul. The calls began about 7 p.m. and added up to a half dozen, Paul said. Firefighters from Grand Mound, Rochester, Maytown and Littlerock must have answered close to a dozen calls of in the same period, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Battalion Chief Jacob Yake

MYSTERY OPERATOR PUTS LOGGING EQUIPMENT TO WORK

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning somebody took a Cat 527 for a joy ride near where it had been parked along the 3000 line off Lincoln Creek Road outside Centralia. The subject also drove a 330 Cat shovel/loader sometime before early Monday morning and used the logging equipment to clear some brush and trees and lift up a gate belonging to the state Department of Natural Resources, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. The damage to the gat is estimated at $4,000.

FORGERY

• A woman who accidentally left her wallet in a shopping cart at K-Mart in Chehalis called police about 8:30 p.m. last night to say she learned somebody had used her credit card and before the night was over, police had tracked down a suspect who was arrested. Police detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said K-Mart called and said the card was being used a second time and somebody got a license plate of the connected vehicle. An officer found the motor home parked at a Chehalis apartment complex and contacted Noelle I. Straggi, 43, who was booked into the Lewis County Jail for forgery and possession of stolen property, McNamara said. The case involving a 53-year-old Centralia woman who was with her was referred for possible charges as well, McNamara said.

FIREARM THEFT

• A sheriff’s deputy took a report on Tuesday of a Springfield .45 caliber gun stolen from the 200 block of Jones Road in Winlock, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. An investigation led to Shannon L. Kerssen, 33, who was arrested and booked into jail for theft of a firearm, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

ATTEMPTED BURGLARY

• Centralia police say a 38-year-old Centralia man trespassed onto property where a house was being remodeled and tried to steal “property” before he was apprehended yesterday afternoon in Centralia. Douglas W. Lohman was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for attempted burglary an incident about 10:45 a.m. related to the 1000 block of Long Road, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS

• Centralia police arrested a 40-year-old man yesterday afternoon for an outstanding warrant and possession of methamphetamine. James A. Mueller of Chehalis was booked into the Lewis County Jail following his contact with an officer at the 300 block of Railroad Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department. The case was not charged, pending further investigation.