Lewis County Sirens.com

BARN FIRE MAY HAVE STARTED FROM STORED CHICKEN POOP

• A fire that destroyed an Onalaska barn with five tractors parked inside was probably ignited by decomposing hay or chicken manure stored inside, a fire investigator said this morning. The fire went unnoticed until a worker arriving Friday morning to the structure off the 200 block of Griel Road found the barn had burned and the roof collapsed, according to Fire Investigator Ted McCarty. The hay was still burning, he said. The 100-foot by 50-foot structure sits behind a grove of trees at the end of a dead end road kind of out of sight, McCarty said. There were no chickens in the building at the Matthiesen family farm, just the manure, according to McCarty.

BURNING T-SHIRT FOUND INSIDE HOME

• Firefighters called about 1:30 p.m. Saturday to the 200 block of Tennessee Road near Winlock found a smoke-filled home and a smoldering T-shirt sitting on top of a speaker in a bedroom. They used a fire extinguisher to put it out, according to Firefighter Kevin Anderson of Lewis County Fire District 15. Sheriff’s deputies were reportedly looking into the incident.

ASSAULTS

• Chehalis police were called about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday to North National Avenue where a man with a fat lip said he had been beat up. He said he woke up by the mint factory, and had been at one of the bars, but couldn’t remember where it happened, according to Chehalis police.

• Centralia police were called just before 10 p.m. on Saturday to the 500 block of Harrison Avenue where a male was assaulted and an attempt was made to take a cell phone, according to the Centralia Police Department.

POLICE PURSUIT

• A police pursuit on Saturday afternoon in Randle ended with the arrest of a 37-year-old man who was driving with a suspended license, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy observed a vehicle traveling more than 60 mph and in the oncoming lane at a blind curve on the 100 block of Cispus Road, according to the sheriff’s office. The driver sped up but then parked his vehicle on a bridge and fled into the woods, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning. Jake N. Dunaway of Randle, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for attempted eluding, reckless driving and resisting arrest, according to Brown.

PIECE OF SAFETY EQUIPMENT SNATCHED FROM TRAIN TRACKS

• BNSF reported somebody stole a 100-pound steel safety device from railroad tracks near Bucoda, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. The yellow-painted item went missing from the area between 184th Avenue Southwest and Bucoda sometime between Wednesday and Thursday, according to the sheriff’s office. The object, called a “Hayes derailer” was mounted on a side track and meant to prevent any parked railroad car which might drift from getting onto the main tracks, sheriff’s Lt. Chris Mealy said.

BREAK-INS AND THEFTS

• Somebody snuck into a vacant residence and cut the copper plumbing pipe to a washing machine and hot water heater on the 5900 block of 189th Lane Southwest. The pipe was left behind but it will cost an estimated $5,000 to repair, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. A real estate agent holding an open house heard water running and the damage beneath the house was subsequently discovered, the sheriff’s office reported. It apparently happened sometime between Thursday and Friday.

• Chehalis police were called about 8:45 p.m. yesterday to a break-in to an apartment on Southwest 20th Street. A resident returned home to find a closet door open, according to police.

• Centralia police were called just before 6 a.m. on Sunday to an apartment building on the 1300 block of Harrison Avenue after the discovery of a burglary to an office there. Doors were forced open and computer components stolen, according to police.

• The back door to a business was kicked in on the 300 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police  about 8:40 p.m. on Saturday.

• A storeroom on the 2500 block of Mount Vista Road in Centralia was burglarized, according to a report made to police about 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

• Police were called about 4:15 a.m. today when an individual “interrupted a suspect’ attempting to siphon gas from a rental vehicle on the 1400 block of South Gold Street, according to the Centralia Police Department. However, the suspect fled, police reported.

• A deputy was called Sunday to the 6900 block of Creekside Lane Southwest in Rochester where somebody had cut a gate lock and stole utility trailers, a $5,000 generator, tools, including two edge trimmers, and two duffel bags filled with U.S. Marine Corps gear belonging to the victim’s grandson, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

• Somebody cut and stole eight extension cords valued at $2,400 from Adventure RV on the 18300 block of Albany Street Southwest in Rochester, according to a report made Sunday to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

• A green Craftsman riding lawn mower valued at $1,400 was stolen from a garden shed on the 10,300 block of Case Road, according to a report made Sunday to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

• Somebody stole a Honda EM3500 generator from a travel trailer on Mima Road, according to a report made Friday to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

• Police were called about 3:40 p.m. on Saturday to the 3500 block of Galvin Road where somebody shot at windows numerous times with a BB gun, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS

• Starla D. Parker, 29, of Centralia, was arrested for possession of suspected methamphetamine about 3:30 a.m. today near M and West First streets in Centralia, according to police.

COURT

• The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office announced this morning a jury found a Morton couple guilty on Friday of making a false insurance claim. Jennifer Mau, 30, and David Eden, 47, were in Lewis County Superior Court in connection with a claim filed involving a U-Haul trailer. The couple are the founders of the Mount St. Helens Chapter of a Texas-based group called Guardians of the Children, a group which was instrumental this summer in the search for 16-year-old Austin King, whose body was found a month after he vanished from his Morton-area home. The conviction of a class C felony means the possibility of up to 12 months in jail, according to a news release. Mau plans to appeal, saying she does not feel she is guilty of the charge.
•••

This was updated Tuesday Sept. 28, 2010 at 7:44 a.m.

FIGHTING WITH THE POLICE

• A 19-year-old man ended up going to the hospital and then jail when he fought with a police officer trying to arrest him on an outstanding warrant early yesterday morning in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department. The officer saw Zachary A. Cadwaller at K and West First streets about 3:30 a.m. and in the struggle, the officer ended up with a hurt knee and Cadwaller got scrapes and bruises to his head, according to police Sgt. Kurt Reichert. Both were checked out at Providence Centralia Hospital and Cadwaller was booked for his warrant, Reichert said. The police department will recommend the 19-year-old be charged with third-degree assault.

GIRL FIGHT

• Centralia police took a report on Thursday of a misdemeanor assault at Centralia High School. It involved two 15-year-old girls, according to police.

PURSE SNATCHING

• An officer was called to the Amtrak station in Centralia about 3 p.m. yesterday after somebody grabbed a purse while its owner was loading baggage, according to the Centralia Police Department.

LOTS OF CAR PROWLS, PLUS AN ARREST

• On Wednesday morning, an officer took two reports of thefts from vehicles on the 900 block of North Tower Avenue.

• By lunchtime on Thursday, Centralia police took six reports of car prowls. Stereos were reported stolen from vehicles on 800 block of North Washington Avenue and the 800 block of West Sixth Street. A CD player was reported missing from a car on the on the 900 block of North Washington Avenue. Another prowl had occurred overnight on the 200 block of East Carson Street, according to the Centralia Police Department. Stereos were taken from two more vehicles on the 900 block of E Street, according to a report made about 5:20 a.m. on Thursday.

• Police arrested an 18-year-old man for vehicle prowl and recovered a car stereo about 2:30 a.m. on Thursday. Andrez Velasquez of Centralia reportedly was seen by an officer leaving an area near West Sixth and K streets where a motion detector had activated. The officer found a car door ajar and contacted Velasquez, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

• Police took a report yesterday morning of a stereo stolen from a vehicle on the 300 block of West Sixth Street in Centralia.

• Chehalis police were called Wednesday morning to a break-in to a taco wagon on the 600 block of North National Avenue. Missing was some Mexican money, according to Deputy Police Chief Randy Kaut.

AUTO THEFTS

• On Thursday morning, a deputy took a report of the theft of a truck from a timber company in Mineral. Somebody broke into the compound on the 300 block of Mineral Creek Road sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday and stole a white 2005 Ford F350, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It has a license plate reading A74928XA. A lock was cut and a gate was damaged, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

• Two men were arrested Wednesday afternoon by a deputy in a vehicle reported stolen from Shelton the day before. Charles C. Longshore, 20, and Jacob R. Anderson, 23, were booked into the Lewis County Jail after the contact at Kehoe Road and U.S. Highway 12 in Randle a about 4 p.m., according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

BURGLARY

• Centralia police took a report Wednesday afternoon of a burglary on the 400 block of West Main Street. Computer equipment and loose change were reported missing.

DRUGS

• A pair of 18-year-olds were jailed early Friday morning for possession of marijuana after a trooper checking on what he thought was a disabled vehicle on U.S. Highway 12 smelled marijuana. He asked if they had marijuana in the vehicle and one of them said no, it must be a dead skunk, according to charging documents. A search of the vehicle turned up a little over 40 grams of suspected marijuana in an Orange Crush lunchbox, according to the charging documents. Matthew L. Nyman and Jordain C. Lagra were booked into the Lewis County Jail. They were released on $5,000 bail yesterday afternoon.

• Centralia police arrested a 19-year-old woman Thursday night at the 1200 block of Alder Street for possession of methamphetamine. Courtney C. Phelan was booked into the Lewis County Jail. She was released on $5,000 bail yesterday afternoon.

BURNED CHICKEN

• Firefighters were called about 8 p.m. Wednesday night to a cooking fire in an apartment on the 1400 block of Johnson Road. The building was evacuated and the smoking pan of chicken was taken outside, according to Riverside Fire Authority Capt. Scott Snyder.

DRIVER FALLS ASLEEP, RUNS OFF FREEWAY

• A Toledo man escaped with only a broken ankle when he reportedly fell asleep and his car left Interstate 5 traveling down an embankment and hitting a tree on Thursday. A trooper called about 10:45 a.m. to the scene off the northbound lanes just north of the Toledo-Winlock exit noted the 2000 Hyundai Electra was totaled. The driver, Mitchell K. Davis, 23, was cited for second-degree negligent driving and driving with a suspended license, according to the Washington State Patrol. On the same day, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission announced the lowest fatality rate ever on Washington roads. In 2009 there were 491 fatalities on state roads, according to a news release. The traffic fatality rate last year was .87 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, according to WTSC. The year before it was .94.

MAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO THIRD-DEGREE CHILD RAPE

• A 21-year-old man pleaded not guilty on Thursday to having sex with 15-year-old girls on different occasions. Matthew A. Scott was charged with two counts of third-degree child rape in Lewis County Superior Court. In one case Scott reportedly admitted having sex at a Salkum motel in May with a girl he said he met previously at a party in Mossyrock, according to charging documents. In July, a deputy was contacted by the father of another 15-year-old. Both girls reportedly told a deputy the activity was consensual and not forced. Scott reportedly told a deputy the girls both said they were 15, going on 16. They were. Each were less than two months away from their 16th birthday, after which, they and Scott would have been  allowed under state law to engage in sex which would not have been a crime. Scott remains held in the Lewis County Jail on $20,000 bail.

CENTRALIA MAN WHO REPORTED HE WAS KIDNAPPED FROM KMART FABRICATED STORY, POLICE SAY

• Chehalis police concluded an investigation yesterday of a man who said he was car jacked at gunpoint from K-Mart and forced to drive to Thurston County where he was pistol-whipped, robbed and dumped in the woods earlier this month. “It didn’t happen,” Chehalis detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said. Dennis E. Burns, 56, from Centralia, was arrested yesterday morning and booked into the Lewis County Jail for false reporting and obstructing a public servant, “Both gross misdemeanors,” McNamara said. “I wish they were felonies ’cause he wasted a lot of my time.” Burns made the report to the Chehalis Police Department on Sept. 3, saying the kidnapping occurred two days earlier from the Chehalis retailer. The sergeant said the primary indication the story wasn’t true was he obtained video showing Burns shopping at Sears at the Tacoma Mall during the same hours Burns claimed he was being car jacked in Chehalis. Burns also described his captors as cutting off his pony tail, which actually was missing when he made the report, McNamara said. The Centralia man couldn’t explain how he could be in two places at the same time, according to McNamara. The sergeant said he could only speculate about the motivation in making the report. Burns and Burns’ girlfriend said the supposed assailants stole his $400 rent money, he said.

SHOPPING SPREE ENDS WITH ARREST

• A 23-year-old Chehalis woman was arrested yesterday for identity theft and two related crimes for allegedly using somebody else’s credit card number and making an estimated $3,600 of transactions. It began Sept. 7 with a theft report from the 200 block of Panisco Road in Cinebar and ended yesterday when Andrea Harris, 23, was picked up at the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, according to Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. She was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Aust.

THEFTS

• Centralia police took a report yesterday morning of the theft of an undisclosed amount of money from a burglary at a business on the 700 block of Park Way.

• Centralia police took reports of five car prowls between Monday morning and this morning. Stereos were removed from two vehicles on the 1300 block of Delaware Avenue in incidents reported shortly before 7 a.m. today. On Monday morning on the 200 block of Jackson Street, a compound bow and a tool box were reported taken from a truck. Also Monday, medication was removed from a purse sitting in a vehicle on the 2000 block of Borst Avenue and a backpack was stolen from another vehicle on the 900 block of South Pearl Street, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police took a report yesterday of somebody breaking into a vehicle and stealing medication.

MISSED TURN CAUSES SEMI-TRUCK DRIVER THOUSANDS

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning the driver of the big rig that crashed and burned yesterday near milepost 6 of Bunker Creek Road outside of Chehalis suffered only minor cuts and bumps. Jerry Nolan, 56, of Hoquiam, was southbound when he failed to negotiate a corner, sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Aust said. The 1997 Kenworth – pulling a lowboy trailer loaded with a dump truck – rolled over into a field, Aust said. Nolan was getting out the truck when it caught fire, according to Aust. The Kenworth was a total loss and the damage to the trailer and vehicle it was hauling was estimated at $10,000, he said.

“YOU CAN’T HIT THE POLICE”

• The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office reported this morning a 26-year-old man was found guilty by a jury of third-degree assault yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court. Garrick C. Wall, of Kirkland, was charged in May for an incident that occurred while a Chehalis police officer was making an arrest at a downtown bar, according to authorities. Officer Chris Taylor was assaulted. Police detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said the officer is fine. “He wasn’t really injured, but you can’t hit the police,” McNamara said this morning. Wall faces a sentence somewhere between nine and 12 months, according to the prosecutor’s office.

FIRE DAMAGES CHEHALIS AREA HOME

• Firefighters called about 6:40 p.m. last evening to Pier Road off Jackson Highway south of Chehalis found flames coming out the roof and backside of a two-story home. The residents had gotten themselves out and nobody was injured, according to Lewis County Fire District 5. Firefighter Brad Bozarth said the blaze appeared to have started near the stove and firefighters contained it to the kitchen area.

TRUCK CRASHES AND BURNS

• A driver was hospitalized yesterday after the cab of his truck caught fire when it ran off the road into trees on Bunker Creek Road west of Centralia and Chehalis, according to Riverside Fire Authority. Fire Capt. Scott Weinert said the adult male got himself out of the vehicle but the cab was consumed by the fire.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG FORGERY

• Centralia police yesterday arrested a 28-year-old Morton woman for forging a prescription for pain medication. Shawna L. Watson was booked into the Lewis County Jail after an officer responded about 2:40 p.m. to an address on the 500 block of South Tower Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VEHICLE THEFTS

• Centralia police are asking for calls to 911 if anyone sees a maroon Toyota Tercel stolen yesterday from the 800 block of South Silver Street. An officer called about 8:30 a.m. noted the vehicle had been left unlocked and had an extra set of keys inside. The 1995 Toyota has a license plate reading 789 WGX.

• Chehalis police were called about 8:40 p.m. yesterday to Wal-Mart on Northwest Louisiana Avenue about a stolen gold 1990 Acura Integra.

• Chehalis police were called about 2:40 p.m. yesterday to the Grocery Outlet on Northwest Louisiana Avenue about a stolen white 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer.

MOTOR STOLEN OFF BOAT

• A deputy was called to the 100 block of Fish Hatchery Road near Mossyrock yesterday evening and told somebody had stolen a two and a half horsepower motor from a boat tied up at a private dock. It happened sometime between Friday and yesterday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The Yamaha motor is valued at about $1,130, according to the sheriff’s office.

HIT AND RUN TRUCK SOUGHT

• Centralia police took a report yesterday from the 300 block of South Pearl Street after a white flatbed pickup truck struck a post office vehicle and left the scene.

SHOE ASSAULT

• Chehalis police were called about 3 p.m. yesterday to Southwest Chehalis Avenue and Third Street to a report somebody in a vehicle threw a shoe at her van as she was driving down the street and damaged the front light.

VEHICLE TAKES OUT UTILITY POLE AND POWER IN BOISTFORT VALLEY

• A Curtis resident was arrested for driving under the influence after a wreck early Sunday morning that left a utility pole cut in half and knocked power out in the Boistfort Valley. Lewis County Fire District 13 responded  after the approximately 3 a.m. incident on the 500 block of Curtis Hill Road. An unoccupied red Ford Expedition was found about 25 feet down an embankment, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said this morning. The driver had left to get help and returned to the scene, according to Fire Chief Gregg Peterson. Malaney S.M. Whitesel, 25, was arrested for DUI, according to the sheriff’s office.

ASSAULTS

• Deputies went looking for a 22-year-old Chehalis man after he allegedly returned to a Chehalis area home intoxicated early Saturday morning and struck his 19-year-old brother in the head and face. The victim was seen at Providence Centralia Hospital, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office is asking prosecutors to charge the 22-year-old with second-degree assault, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning.

• Zachery K. Greene, 36, of Centralia, was arrested Friday morning for second-degree assault after he allegedly swung a short, but heavy three-pronged garden tool at his father, according to the Centralia Police Department. The victim locked himself inside the house at the 1300 block of Central Boulevard after the 9:30 a.m. call. Greene was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

MOTEL WORKER ARRESTED FOR STEALING FROM EMPLOYER

• A 50-year-old employee of a Centralia motel was arrested on Friday morning for first-degree theft following an investigation of embezzlement, according to Centralia police. Mohan Singh Bajwa was booked into the Lewis County Jail for theft at the Rodeway Inn on the 700 block of Harrison Avenue, according to police Sgt. Kurt Reichert.

SEARCH OF ROCHESTER HOME TURNS UP BUNDLES OF METH, SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS

• A 48-year-old Rochester resident was booked into jail after a search of his residence turned up packages of methamphetamine totaling almost a half pound and a $400 bass guitar stolen out of Olympia. Thurston County Sheriff’s Office deputies went to the home on the 6600 block of 188th Avenue Southwest on Friday morning after a tip received following a 6 a.m. traffic stop. Deputies found scales, scanners, syringes and other items that led them to arrest Stephan R. Conophy, 48, for unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, sheriff’s Lt. Chris Mealy said this morning. Deputies seized $900 cash, a 1991 Cadillac Seville and a late model Honda Prelude from the residence, Mealy said.

DRIVE-THRU CUSTOMER EXPOSES HIMSELF IN ROCHESTER, SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS

• A 59-year-old Chehalis man was arrested Saturday morning after a 19-year-old employee at a Rochester coffee stand – where the workers are allowed to wear attractive attire – called the sheriff’s office to tell them a drive-through customer was masturbating when he purchased his coffee. A deputy who responded about 8 a.m. to the Graba Java on the 19,500 block of Ivan Street learned that the customer gave the barista a $5 tip and complimented her on her underwear, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. She was outfitted in a short top, underwear and net stockings, according to the sheriff’s office. She also gave the deputy the man’s license plate. Derald L. Harp, 59, was contacted by a Chehalis police office at his residence and arrested by a deputy for indecent exposure, sheriff’s Lt. Chris Mealy said. He as booked into the Thurston County Jail, Mealy said.

ATV DUI

• Deputies making a traffic stop of a speeding ATV with no headlights on Koontz Road early Sunday morning arrested the driver, Kyle P. Hamshaw, 20, of Chehalis, for being under the influence, driving with a suspended license and then, being in possession of suspected marijuana, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning.

STOLEN VEHICLES

• Centralia police are asking anyone with information about a stolen 1988 Honda to call 911. An officer took a report from the 500 block of North Tower Avenue on Sunday morning about the theft of the car, black with black rims and bearing the license plate 010 ZZX.

• Chehalis police took a report on Saturday about a missing Chevrolet Suburban that had been left parked the night before near a downtown bar.

• Two individuals were arrested for possession a stolen vehicle after police were called to a shoplifting incident about 11:30 a.m. yesterday at the Outlet Mall on the 100 block of West High Street. Nicole A, Shoemaker, 22, of Puyallup, and Sothea Chum, 29, of Roy, were booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWL ARREST

• Centralia police arrested a 36-year-old woman about 10:30 p.m. last night for vehicle prowl after witnesses observed her getting into a vehicle on the 700 block of Harrison Avenue. Jonni Rayne Wood, of Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

BURGLARIES AT UNOCCUPIED PROPERTIES

• Somebody broke into a Rochester residence being remodeled and stole  a television, a lamp, silverware and a 5000-watt generator, according to a report made to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday. It happened on the 13,000 block of U.S. Highway 12 sometime between Thursday and Sunday, a Chehalis man who owns the property told a deputy.

• Tools were stolen from a pump house at a piece of property being fixed up to be sold on the 17,100 block of Moon Road Southwest in Rochester, according to a report made Friday morning to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

OTHER BREAK-INS

• Five hundred dollars of copper wire and brass tubing were reported stolen from the 18,100 block of Moon Road Southwest in Rochester sometime between 10:30 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. on Sunday, according to a report made to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

• Nothing appeared to be missing but somebody broke into a south Rochester fire station sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning and broke a window and left the front door open, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. It happened on the 10,300 block of Langworthy Road Southwest.

VEHICLE WINDOW BROKEN

• Centralia police took a report of a broken windshield yesterday at the 900 block of West Plum Street. Police report they have a suspect in the incident.

BICYCLE VERSUS TRUCK

• Centralia police reported a bicyclist ran a red light and rode into the side of a truck about 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at the 1600 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia.

ADNA MAN REPORTS HOME INVASION ROBBERY

• Deputies responded to an Adna home yesterday evening where a man told them when he answered a knock on his door, two males rushed in, knocked him out of his wheelchair and stole his prescription narcotics. The 56-year-old victim said the pair, in their late teens or early 20s, also kicked him in the face and ribs before leaving with a 15-day supply of Oxycodone and Vicodin, as well as two other medications, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. The 5:30 p.m. call to the 100 block of Robin Lane prompted a lockdown of the nearby Adna High School as deputies canvassed the area, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. Deputy Gabe Frase and his canine partner Leko conducted a track without success, she said. He described one of them as wearing baggy blue jeans and a dark hooded sweatshirt, weighing between 120 and 130 pounds, and being 5-feet 6-inches to 5-feet 7-inches tall, Brown said. He couldn’t describe the other subject, but said they were Hispanic, Brown said. The victim was taken to the hospital, according to Brown.

CHILD ASSAULT

• Two individuals were arrested yesterday for second-degree assault of a child and distribution of a controlled substance to a juvenile in connection with a Centralia case that dates back to last year. Raymon E. Bell, 30 and Brandi J. Larson, 28, were booked into the Lewis County Jail. The children involved were a toddler and an infant, according to the Centralia Police Department.

ANIMAL ASSAULT

• Chehalis police were called Thursday evening by an individual who said some kids were torturing three kittens on Southwest 11th Street by putting them in a puddle and throwing them on the concrete. The children were reportedly 7 years old. Deputy Police Chief Randy Kaut said the officer had a talk with the parents and the cats were ok.

DRUGS

• Centralia police arrested a 38-year-old man overnight for possession of methamphetamine. Douglas W. Lohman of Chehalis was booked into the Lewis County Jail after his contact with an officer about 1:30 a.m. today on the 700 block of Harrison Avenue.

THEFTS

• Centralia police took a report about 4 p.m. yesterday about the theft of prescription medication – a narcotic – from the 1300 block of Alexander Street, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office took a report yesterday that somebody broke into a vacant house for sale in the Tenino area and stole a gas cooktop and cabinet fronts from the kitchen as well as faucet handles and a bathroom mirror. The double-oven was tilted out as though someone tried to remove it as well, according to the sheriff’s office. It happened sometime between 8 p.m. and midnight on Wednesday at a home on the 14,600 block of Arrowwood Lane Southeast. The front door was kicked in.

• A 58-year-old man who went out in his boat about 8 a.m. yesterday near Toledo returned about 5 p.m. to find his camping gear gone. A deputy who responded to the call to the Blue Creek boat launch on the 1100 block of Spencer Road reported the Arlington man lost a two-person tent, a cot, a five pound sleeping bag and clothes, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• A sheriff’s deputy took a report yesterday morning of a break-in to a shop in Mineral. A resident of the 100 block of Mineral Road North said he accidentally left it unlocked between Tuesday and Wednesday and somebody took a Stihl chainsaw and a Coleman battery-powered lantern, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

ROTTEN TREE CAUSES FIRE

• A brush fire near Vader that scorched an area approximately 30 feet by 50 feet was caused by a rotten tree that fell onto power lines, according to Lewis County Fire District 15. Firefighters from Winlock and Vader responded to the Tuesday afternoon call near Telegraph Road and state Route 506 and extinguished the blaze, District 15 Firefighter Kevin Anderson said. The power was out to the area for “some time”, Anderson said.

POWER POLE ACCIDENT PROMPTS EVACUATION OF FOUR-PLEX

• About a dozen women and children were evacuated from a Centralia four-plex last night when a power pole fell onto the building. It was raining, the roof was metal and “everything was conductive” said Riverside Fire Authority Capt. Casey McCarthy. There was no arcing or smoking and no injuries, but the residents had to go stay with friends while it was repaired, he said. The incident about 9:15 p.m. on Elma Drive off Big Hanaford Road left the area dark for sometime, according to McCarthy. It appeared the pole broke off at its base, he said.

HEAD ON CRASH INJURES CHEHALIS DRIVER

• A 56-year-old Chehalis woman suffered serious injuries when her Ford Explorer was struck head on by a Freightliner at Hewitt and North Fork roads south of Chehalis yesterday afternoon. The woman, whose name was not released, was airlifted to Southwest Washington Medical Center, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. The truck driver, Scott P. Reed, 37, of Onalaska, was cited for failure to yield.

INMATE RUNS OUT OF JAIL

• A swarm of law enforcement officers quickly caught a Lewis County Jail inmate who bolted yesterday morning from a meeting about whether he might remain in the jail or get to return to drug court. Kurtis W. Kemp, 32, of Chehalis, checked in Monday to the jail where he was sent for a few days for a violation in drug court, according to authorities. During a hearing with the drug court corrections officer in an unsecure portion of the building, he pushed his way past the officer and ran outside making it to Cascade Avenue before he was caught, according to the Chehalis Police Department and the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He was booked back into the jail for first-degree escape and third-degree assault.

FIREARM LIFTED FROM UNLOCKED VEHICLE

• A Toledo area resident contacted the sheriff’s office yesterday evening to report a gun vanished from his unlocked work truck sometime between Sept. 4 and last Friday. The estimated value of the Ruger firearm missing from the 100 block of Plomondon Road is $300, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

THEFTS

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning that more than $1,500 of tools including a Stihl weed eater, a chainsaw and a pressure washer were stolen from an attached shop of a Toledo area home. The burglary at the 100 block of Roberts Lane was reported Tuesday afternoon and apparently occurred sometime in the previous week.

• Police were contacted about 12:30 p.m. yesterday about the theft of a Stihl brush cutter from the back of a maintenance truck at the 400 block of North Oak Street in Centralia

• Centralia police took a report yesterday about the theft of a stereo from a vehicle on the 400 block of North Oak Street that occurred on Friday night or Saturday morning.

DRUGS

• Two Centralia men were arrested for possession of methamphetamine after a traffic stop last night in Centralia. Following the stop about 9 p.m. at North Pearl and West Fourth streets, Dennis L. Lindquist, 41 and Dennis R. Warren, 49, were both booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.