Lewis County Sirens.com

SMOKE IN THE BOYS ROOM

• Police responded to Centralia Middle School about 10:40 a.m. yesterday and arrested two teenage boys for allegedly setting fire to a plastic light cover in the boy’s bathroom. Further details were not readily available, however, according to Riverside Fire Authority, there was no actual fire and firefighters were not summoned to the Johnson Road school. The two were booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center for first-degree arson, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AUTO THEFT

• A light blue 2012 Ford Focus was stolen from a driveway at a residence on the 3000 block of Skate Creek Road North in Ashford sometime between 4 p.m. on Sunday and 11 o’clock yesterday morning, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It has a license plate of AGL 0040, the sheriff’s office reported this morning. There is no suspect information, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

TAVERN ALTERCATION

• Morton police reported yesterday they are continuing to investigate a report of an assault made on Wednesday about an incident that might have occurred the previous weekend at the Bucksnort Pub.

THEFT

• An officer was called on Thursday afternoon about a burglary to an apartment at the 300 block of Westlake Avenue in Morton. Police reported yesterday the victim believed someone entered the home a day or two before and took a number of unspecified items.

• Tire rims were reported stolen yesterday morning from behind a business on the 1000 block of West Main Street in Centralia, according to police.

• Centralia police took a report yesterday that someone stole a wallet from a vehicle at the 1100 block of Woodland Avenue in Centralia. It occurred sometime since Saturday evening, according to police.

VANDALISM OR BAD PARK JOB

• Chehalis police called about 11 a.m. yesterday to a complaint someone slashed two tires on a vehicle on Northwest Florida Avenue noticed rub marks, as opposed to punctures, on both tires on the curb side, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with a suspended license, shoplifting, DUI; responses for burglar alarms, misdemeanor thefts, disturbances; complaints of disorderly dogs … and more.

BAD BOYFRIEND

• A 32-year-old Chehalis man was arrested on Saturday after items he allegedly stole from his girlfriend were found at a Chehalis pawn shop. A deputy was contacted on Friday by the 32-year-old woman from the 100 block of Skinner Road in Napavine who said not long after she began a relationship with Raymond G. Denault, he took several rings and fishing poles from her home, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Denault was booked into the Lewis County Jail for theft, trafficking in stolen property and burglary, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

HOME BURGLARY

• A deputy was called about 5 a.m. on Saturday about a break-in to a home on the 2400 block of Salzer Valley Road outside Centralia where five tool boxes, a trimmer and a carton of cigarettes were stolen, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office has two suspects, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

• Someone threw a rock through the front window of a home on the 400 block of Coal Creek Road outside Chehalis, went inside and stole a safe, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said the burglary was reported on Sunday night and said it’s unknown what the safe contained.

LAKE SIDE THEFT

• A deputy responded to the Lion’s Club Campground on Front Street in Mineral on Saturday for a report a 15 horse power motor was taken from a boat belonging to a Puyallup man and to the same place the day before where a Tacoma man said someone cut a cable and stole a $1,000 Honda generator which had been attached to his trailer.

DRUGS

• A 44-year-old Centralia man as arrested for possession of methamphetamine about 10 a.m. on Saturday at the 1300 block of Delaware Avenue in Centralia. Keith A. Obrist was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Centralia police were called about 4:45 a.m. yesterday to the 2000 block of Borst Avenue where an individual said he observed someone inside his car – which he got a picture of –  who then ran off into the park.

FUEL STOLEN

• Centralia police took two reports on Saturday night of theft of gasoline from vehicles at the 2800 block of Russell Road.

VANDALISM

• Police were called to the 800 block of South Pearl Street in Centralia just after 9 o’clock yesterday morning to take a report someone had slashed a children’s’ inflatable pool its owner had just spent three days setting up.

• Chehalis police were called yesterday evening to an address on Saunders Way to a report someone had slashed a soft-sided hot tub, deflating it. The loss is estimated at as much as $2,000, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• Someone spray painted graffiti on the skateboard ramps at Riverside Rotary Park on the 700 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia, something which was discovered on Saturday morning.

WRECK

• A female driver struck the back end of a parked vehicle on Southwest 13th Street near Penny Playground in Chehalis about 10:15 a.m. yesterday which caused her car to roll onto its side, according to police. There were no serious injuries, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

WHEELS OFF THE ROADWAY

• A 32-year-old Centralia man was cited for wheels off the road when his vehicle failed to negotiate a curve, rolled onto its driver’s side and then back up onto its four wheels at the 2500 block of Salzer Valley Road outside Centralia on Friday. A deputy called about 4:40 p.m. to the scene noted the 2007 Toyota Yaris sustained major damage but the two occupants declined aid, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for driving with suspended license, warrant, DUI; responses for family disputes, bar dispute, non-injury, minor injury – including hit and run – collisions, misdemeanor theft, misdemeanor assault, burglar alarms, found wallet, found bicycle; complaints loud music, erratic drivers … and more.

ELECTRICAL ISSUE SUSPECT IN CENTRALIA FIRE

• A man, a woman and their three dogs escaped a fire last night in their home on the 300 block of Big Hanaford Road outside Centralia. Firefighters called about 8 p.m. found flames breaking through the floor of the single-wide mobile home and put a stop to it fairly quickly, according to Riverside Fire Authority. Capt. Scott Snyder said the occupant saw smoke near a heat register and contacted the trailer park’s manager. The damage to the home is repairable, but Red Cross was contacted to help the couple with temporary accommodations, Snyder said. They suspect an electrical problem but the cause is under investigation, he said.

STOVETOP FIRE STOPPED WITH FLOUR

• Firefighters helped evacuate smoke from an apartment yesterday morning after cooking oil on a stove boiled over at the 1600 block of Johnson Road in Centralia. Firefighter Jesse Berry said the occupant did the right thing, putting flour on the flames instead of water.

PORK PILFERING

• Centralia police were called yesterday afternoon about the theft of a ham. The incident was captured on surveillance video at a grocery store on the 500 block of South Tower Avenue, according to police. A department spokesperson said he didn’t have all the details of how someone managed to get out the door with a ham. “They probably hid it, cause you’d be noticed if you just carried out a ham,” Officer John Panco said. “But I don’t know how big the ham was. It could have been a little one you could just throw in your purse.”

VANDALISM

• Police were called about 6:10 p.m. yesterday after a basement door was discovered kicked in at the 1500 block of Crescent Avenue in Centralia.

• Someone removed the lug nuts from the wheel of a vehicle at the 300 block of South Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday morning.

• Centralia police responded yesterday morning to a slew of graffiti postings around town. Some of the spray painting was red, some was black and it was found on buildings, walls and a fence at the 300 block of South Tower Avenue, the 500 block of North Tower Avenue, the 1100 block of Johnson Road and the 700 block of North Washington Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department.

WRECK

• Firefighters responded late yesterday afternoon to a two vehicle collision at the northbound onramp to Interstate 5 in south Chehalis. The injuries to the occupants of a pickup truck and a car were minor, nobody went to the hospital, according to the Chehalis Fire Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrant, driving with suspended license, underage drinking; responses for a stolen purse, fender benders  … and more.

Updated at 7:34 p.m.

HIT AND RUN

• Just before 1 a.m. today, a Centralia police officer noticed a parked vehicle with significant damage that appeared fresh at the 300 block of Harrison Avenue. A suspect vehicle was located a few blocks away, but officers are still investigating to figure out who the driver was, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FUNNY MONEY

• An officer was called to Chehalis City Hall yesterday afternoon about the receipt of two counterfeit $20 bills. They were taken into evidence, according to police.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Police were called about 4:15 p.m. yesterday to the 700 block of South Pearl Street in Centralia regarding two tool boxes taken from a van in a carport there.

VANDALISM

• Police were called to a restroom at the Fairway Shopping Center on South Gold Street in Centralia yesterday for graffiti in which someone posted an individual’s name and phone number and suggesting folks call to tell that person to tell them to tell Obama to keep his filthy hands off other people’s guns.

WRECKS

• Centralia police and aid responded to a rear end collision at noon yesterday at the 700 block of West Main Street in which the rear window of one of the vehicles was broken out by its driver’s head. He was treated by medics, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

• A driver escaped without serious injuries when his vehicle left U.S. Highway 12 just east of the Mayfield Lake bridge, hit the ditch and rolled up onto its top yesterday, according to Lewis County Fire District 8. Firefighters called just before 5 p.m. said the lone occupant declined treatment.

• A collision around 6:15 a.m. on southbound Interstate 5 near the Napavine interchange blocked the left lane and shoulder for a period of time this morning, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. A Toyota pickup ran into the median causing minor damage to the truck, something that seemed to have followed the driver suffering a medical problem, according to Lewis County Fire District 5. A trooper started CPR which medics continued all the way to Providence Centralia Hospital, District 5 Firefighter Brad Bozarth said. The Washington State Patrol reported that Michael E. Seifert, 61, of Onalaska, died. His truck scraped along the jersey barrier for approximately 600 feet before coming to a stop, according to the state patrol.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for misdemeanor assault, warrant; reports of misdemeanor theft, parking lot fender benders; responses for burglar alarms, suspicious circumstances … an individual who called to report a threatening note found on her car while she was inside Wal-Mart regarding leaving her dog in the vehicle … and more. (Looks like it’s nearly the end of a practically drama-free week around Lewis County.)

Updated at 7:04 p.m.

SKILLET ATTACK REPORTED

• Centralia police were called just after 11 p.m. yesterday to the 3000 block of Borst Avenue where a woman said her 18-year-old daughter hit her with a frying pan. The daughter was not located and the investigation continues, according to the Centralia Police Department. Sgt. Kurt Reichert said the victim had a minor bruise on her cheek.

ALLEGED BONG-SMOKING BABY’S MOTHER IN TROUBLE

• Centralia police yesterday arrested the mother accused of giving her toddler a hit off a bong for violating a protection order. Rachelle L. Braaten, 24, is free on bail pending trial in the case that caught the attention of a worldwide audience with a cell phone video last month that prosecutors claim shows her allowing her 2-year-old to smoke marijuana from a water pipe. Braaten is prohibited by court order from contacting the boy, but officers were tipped off about 9 p.m. yesterday she was at the home on the 1400 block of Delaware Avenue in north Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department. She was discovered hiding in a closet, Sgt. Kurt Reichert said. Braaten was arrested and then released.

ATTEMPTED BREAK-IN

• A deputy was called about 8:15 p.m. yesterday to the 100 block of Pinkerton Road in Ethel following the discovery someone had pried a lock off a door to a garage-shop building. The person taking care of the property for its owner thought it had occurred sometime after April 13 and didn’t believe anything had been stolen, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

‘SURVIVORMAN’ IN LEWIS COUNTY WILDERNESS AREA

• The missing survivalist thought to be lost in  the Capitol Forest is alive and well in a wilderness area near Morton, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. The Lacey man was dropped off in the woods last Thursday by his wife, according to kirotv.com, and a search was conducted when he didn’t return home on Monday. The sheriff’s office notes via Twitter, that Scott Garrow said he left of his own free will.

SUPER FIRE DEPARTMENT GAINING TRACTION

• Effective immediately, Riverside Fire Authority Chief Jim Walkowski will oversee the Chehalis Fire Department as well as his own in Centralia. Walkowski said his board of commissioners last night approved the agreement, already given the thumbs up by officials in Chehalis. Chehalis’s Chief Kelvin Johnson retired this week after five years at the helm.

ANOTHER ARREST MADE IN ADNA SHOTGUN CASE

• The Raymond woman who authorities say concocted the plan that led to a shotgun incident in an Adna parking lot last week has been arrested. Amalia L. Copp was booked into the Lewis County Jail yesterday afternoon after she was apprehended in Pacific County. Prosecutors allege an acquaintance of hers fired at a car being driven by her ex-boyfriend outside at the 76 station on state Route 6 the morning of April 16. Gilbert Borquez, 36, was arrested two days later and then charged with first-degree assault, drive by shooting, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of an illegal firearm. Copp, 43, faces identical charges. Court documents state she was trying to get back her rental car from her ex-boyfriend who stole it. A judge this afternoon ordered her held on $100,000 bail. Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said she masterminded the plans, and that even though Gilbert Borquez fired the sawed off shotgun, Copp is charged as an accomplice. Halstead  declined to say if the alleged victim and vehicle have been located, answering this afternoon with a “maybe.”

ALSO FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• Prosecutors have made an offer for a plea arrangement to the pair of brothers arrested in January after a marijuana growing operation was discovered in their Seminary Hill Road home. 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. Defense attorney Douglas Hiatt told a judge today the offer was conveyed to the men and they’d be contemplating it over the next week. The brothers and their lawyers were in Lewis County Superior Court this afternoon for a review hearing. They are scheduled to appear before a judge again next Thursday afternoon.

BONUS QUOTE OF THE DAY

• “You’ll see me in court.” – Angry parting words to a judge from a woman unhappy with his ruling on her request this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended licenses; reports of stolen bicycles; responses for burglar alarms, reports of misdemeanor assault, landlord-tenant issues … and more.

FRAUD ATTEMPT ON ELDERLY WOMAN

• Chehalis police were called yesterday afternoon by a woman who said her mother went to Western Union at Shop ‘N Kart to wire money to an impostor who had phoned and said he was her grandson being held at a police department until he could pay the repair bill following a rear end collision he caused. “Her children were able to catch it before the transaction, thank goodness,” detective Sgt. Gary WIlson said. Wilson called it a typical scam, which is widespread and nearly cost the woman who is in her 80s $1,885.

THEFT FROM FRONT PORCH

• Two old wooden bar stools were removed from a front porch at the 200 block of North Diamond Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police at mid-morning yesterday.

OTHER THEFT

• A tool box was reported stolen yesterday afternoon from the 500 block of South Silver Street in Centralia.

• Centralia police took a report about 12:40 a.m. today of a wallet stolen from a locker at a health club at the 2000 block of Borst Avenue.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called again yesterday morning to the 100 block of Virginia Drive regarding vehicle tire issues. This time a subject reported their tire was slashed.

NOT AN ASSAULT

• Chehalis police were called just before 7 p.m. yesterday to an alley off of Southwest Lewis Street where a witness thought they saw a male hit a female with a car, knocking her down. The female told an arriving officer he tried to drive away, she got her hand hung up in the car and fell in a mud puddle, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Nobody was arrested.

NO ROOM AT THE INN, OR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT

• Chehalis police were called about 3 o’clock this morning from a  registered sex offender at a downtown bus shelter who said he was kicked out of where he had been staying, was very cold and inquired if he could sleep at the police station. Detective Sgt. Gary WIlson said he didn’t know how this particular call turned out but said officers commonly attempt to find a shelter or organization which can assist in those cases.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault, misdemeanor theft; responses for disputes, burglar alarms; complaints of harassment; vehicle tire punctured, barking neighbor dogs … and more.

Updated at 6:59 p.m.

DRUG BUST AT CHEHALIS HOUSE

• A 36-year-old Chehalis man was arrested at his home yesterday morning following an ongoing investigation into drug sales. A half dozen law enforcement officers arrived about 9 a.m. with a search warrant at the single family residence on the 500 block of Southwest William Avenue, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Three individuals were detained but police arrested only Jonathan A. O’Connor, for multiple counts of delivery of methamphetamine, detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said. The case regarding his 36-year-old girlfriend is being referred to prosecutors for evaluation of a possible charge of conspiracy to deliver drugs, Wilson said. Officers found minimal amounts of suspected meth, but confiscated packaging materials and scales, which suggest drug dealing, according to police.

THEFT OF CRIME STOPPERS SIGN

• Someone stole the Crime Stoppers sign right off its posts in Morton. It was near the 400 block of Second Street and police are looking for tips as to where it is now. Chief Dan Mortensen asks anyone with information to call Lewis County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-748-6422.

GARAGE AND TOOL LOOTING

• A weed eater, a power saw and motorcycle gear were reported missing yesterday from a garage on the 200 block of North Oak Street in Centralia. The theft occurred sometime during the previous couple of days, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police were called about 1:50 p.m. yesterday regarding tools missing from the front porch of a residence on the 800 block of Woodland Avenue in Centralia.

CAUGHT INSIDE VACANT HOME

• Centralia police arrested two women yesterday afternoon for allegedly breaking a window and entering an unoccupied home on the 200 block of West Magnolia Street. The 22-year-old and the 48-year-old were booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree burglary, but both were released without charges today pending further investigation.

BOOZE RUNS

• A 48-year-old woman was caught just before noon yesterday trying to steal a bottle of vodka from a store on the 500 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia and then later around 8 p.m., a pair of males each shoplifted an 18-pack of beer from a business on the 1300 block of South Gold Street, according to the Centralia Police Department.

WRONG PEDAL PROBLEM

• Police officers were called about 7:25 p.m. yesterday to the 1200 block of Johnson Road in Centralia after a driver inadvertently stepped on the gas pedal while backing up and ended up hitting a vehicle, a travel trailer, a garage and two fences, according to the Centralia Police Department. The driver’s injuries were minor, according to police.

THOSE SNEAKY DEVILS

• Centralia police were called at 7 a.m. yesterday to the 100 block of Virginia Drive where a female said someone was deflating the tires on her car. They were called back to the same area just before 2 o’clock this morning where a male discovered someone had let the air out of one if his tires.

LEADERSHIP CHANGE AT RURAL CHEHALIS FIRE DISTRICT

• Longtime volunteer firefighter Jim Martin was recently sworn in as an interim commissioner for Lewis County Fire District 6. The 41-year-old rural Chehalis resident ran unsuccessfully for the position in 2011. Martin said he replaces Greg Pulver, who resigned his post to work outside the area. When he ran against now-Commissioner Kirk Johnston in 2011, the two men indicated neither would be very upset if the other won, as they shared many of the same views on how to run the department. Martin says he plans to run in November for a permanent six-year-term. He said he intends to continue as a volunteer firefighter-EMT. “My main focus is steering, to help steer, the district in the future, as one of three commissioners,” he said.

FLAMES LIGHT UP WINLOCK SKY

• A 30-foot long fifth wheel trailer burned last night south of Winlock and the cause is under investigation. Firefighters from four departments were called to the 9:15 p.m. call to a back field northwest of the intersection of state Route 505 and North Military Road, according to Lewis County Fire District 15. “It was fully involved when we got there,” District 15 Firefighter-EMT Patrick Jacobson said this morning. State Route 505 was shut down for about 30 minutes, because of the large number of fire trucks, he said. Nobody was living in the trailer and nobody was injured, Jacobson said. It didn’t seem suspicious, he said.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault; responses for burglar alarms, fender bender, found drug paraphernalia, noisy neighbors; complaints of disputes … and more.

Fifth wheel trailer burns in Winlock / Courtesy photo