Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated at 4:46 p.m.

OFFICERS DETAIN ONE FOLLOWING RUCKUS AT CITY HALL

• Police arrested 69-year-old John C. Baker yesterday morning after they were summoned upstairs at Centralia City Hall where Baker was reportedly causing a commotion in the city attorney’s office. Sgt. Stacy Denham said he wasn’t sure what Baker’s business at the office was but he was arrested for misdemeanor theft as when police asked him to step outside to discuss the matter, a stapler belonging to the city clerk was noticed in his pocket. Denham said one of Baker’s “parting shots” was he would return at 9 a.m. today to go “nose to nose” with the person in the office. Baker, a Centralia resident, was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

BRASS KNUCKLES PUT ALLEGED COMBATANT IN JAIL

• Centralia police officers called about 10:15 a.m. yesterday about two males fighting in an alley arrested one of them for possession of brass knuckles as well as disorderly conduct. Witnesses told police Terry Bryan, 33, a homeless person, attacked a 22-year-old acquaintance for no reason in the area of the 500 block of North Tower Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department. The victim did not wish to press charges for assault but Bryan was booked into the Lewis County Jail for the aforementioned offenses, according to police.

IN-PROGRESS HOMICIDE TUNS OUT TO BE PRANK

• Centralia police responded about 11:15 p.m. yesterday to the 100 block of Virginia Drive after getting a call from a child that a parent was being killed. The young girl reportedly called 911 several times but hung up before dispatchers could get more information. When officer checked the address given by the girl, they found only a family at home, no violence, according to the Centralia Police Department. They checked neighboring apartments as well without success until they discovered an 11-year-old girl who made the calls as a hoax, according to police. She was warned about the consequences for making a false report but not arrested because of her young age, according to police.

BURGLARIES IN CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police were called yesterday morning about repeated burglaries to a building across from the police department on the 100 block of Northwest Prindle Street.

• Chehalis police were called yesterday afternoon to an auto business on the 1600 block of North National Avenue about an attempted break-in and vandalism to a truck parked in the lot. A screen had been removed from the building and the window broken on the vehicle, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Someone punched holes in the water holding tank on a travel trailer parked at the 1300 block of Kresky Avenue in Chehalis, according to a report made to police about 1:30 p.m. yesterday.

ALLEGED GANG MEMBER DENIES BEATING TEEN

• Centralian Joshua Rhoades, purported to be an Surenos LVL gang member, pleaded not guilty this morning to second-degree assault involving a fight in downtown Centralia last Thursday night in which a 17-year-old boy was knocked unconscious.  Rhoades, 32, remains held in the Lewis County Jail as prosecutors included so-called aggravators in their charging, alleging it occurred with a deadly weapon – a knife – and was meant to improve Rhoades’ standing in a gang. Charging documents allege Rhoades and two others got out of a green Ford Taurus in the area of South Tower Avenue and Cherry Street and approached three young men and that Rhoades identified himself as LVL, asking the trio if they were rival “Nortenos”.  The victim, Dustin McLean, told police he replied “no” and then held his head while Rhoades and Rhoades’ friends kicked him in the head, according to charging documents. McLean also said Rhoades used the closed knife like brass knuckles to punch him in the face several times, charging documents allege. One of the young men, Caleb Capo, said when he jumped in to defend his friend, that 24-year-old Ashley Huner punched him twice, charging documents state. Police subsequently found and detained Rhoades, Huner, and 25-year-old  Michael J. Daily. A knife and two cell phones were found in Huner’s jacket pocket, but she said the coat belonged to Rhoades, according to the documents. Rhoades told police he was the one who got jumped, after three young men rushed his car. Rhoades, Daily and McLean all had facial injuries, police stated. This morning, a trial date for Rhoades was scheduled for the week of March 25 in Lewis County Superior Court.

Joshua Rhoades, right, tells Judge James Lawler he is not guilty today in Lewis County Superior Court.

Updated at 1:09 p.m.

LOOKING FOR A BEDTIME SNACK?

• A deputy was called about 10:30 p.m. yesterday to a home in Onalaska after a 28-year-old man walked into a stranger’s residence, strolled past the couple who live there and went into their kitchen. The husband escorted the man back outside where he waited for the deputy, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It happened at the 3000 block of Centralia-Alpha Road, according to the sheriff’s office. The intruder, who appeared to be under the influence of something, gave various names and was finally identified as Matthew E. Eastman, a homeless person who lives in the Chehalis area, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. The couple did not want to press any charges, but Eastman was arrested and booked for making a false statement to a public servant, Brown said.

DRILL ASSAULT SUSPECT FOUND, ARRESTED

• An Ashford man wanted for allegedly assaulted his roommate with a cordless drill was arrested yesterday when he returned to his home. Deputies were looking for him after they were called Monday night and told he beat his 27-year-old female roommate with a steel bar, threw firewood at her head and held a power drill to her throat as she shielded her 4-year-old daughter. Robert C. Sliger, 55, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree assault, according to the sheriff’s office.

JUVENILE ASSAULT

• Chehalis police were called just after 1 a.m. today to Greenhill School regarding a felony assault. Further details were not readily available.

BUSINESS BURGLARIZED IN CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police were called about 4:15 a.m. today about a burglary on Northwest Prindle Street. Someone had broken a window to get inside a business but some of the missing items were found in the bushes nearby, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Recovered was a vacuum cleaner, a hand truck, a radio and  mechanic’s “creeper”, Officer Linda Bailey said. The break-in is under investigation.

MECHANICS TOOLS MISSING IN CHEHALIS

• A deputy was called about noon yesterday to a “mechanic’s facility” on the 100 block of Ribelin Road in Chehalis where almost $2,200 worth of Matco, Craftsman and another brand of professional tools were missing from a large rolling tool box, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The victim, a 27-year-old man from Chehalis, said it occurred sometime since the previous day, according to the sheriff’s office.

SHOP BURGLARIZED IN VADER

• A 57-year-old Vader man called the sheriff’s office yesterday to report a guitar, a spotting scope and two bows were missing from his shop on the 800 block of State Route 506 in Vader. The theft occurred sometime during the previous five days, a deputy was told.

GARAGE BURGLARY IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police arrested a 19-year-old Centralia resident yesterday in connection with a burglary to a garage discovered Monday at the 3000 block of Russell Road. Police say Dustin Z. Nickols at first blamed someone else but then admitted stealing the firearm reloading gear and selling it. The property was recovered and returned to its owner and Nickols was booked into the Lewis County Jail for theft, trafficking in stolen property and malicious prosecution, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MISSING

• A trumpet was reported stolen from the band room at Washington Elementary School in Centralia on Monday.

BOTCHED DINE AND DASH

• Chehalis police were called to Denny’s restaurant on Southwest Interstate Avenue just before 4 p.m. yesterday regarding a complaint a customer had left without paying for her meal, and had forgotten her driver’s license. The business wanted police to know what happened but chose not to pursue it, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

CHILD FOUND ALONE IN BANK

• Police were called to the 2000 block of Northeast Kresky Avenue in Chehalis at 2 p.m. on Monday where a 6-year-old boy in the bank’s lobby said his mother drove away without him. It was only minutes before the mother showed back up, according to the Chehalis Police Department. “It seems like somebody just lost track of their world,” detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said. “She turned around and came back to the credit union.”

SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR CALL

• Chehalis police were called just after 6 p.m. Monday about a male sitting in the street and barking at a trash can. The caller said the skinny, bald individual appeared to be under the influence of something, according to police. An officer checking the area of South Market Boulevard and 18th Street couldn’t locate the subject, detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said.

PROWLING AROUND VEHICLES

• Someone rummaged through an unlocked vehicle parked at the 400 block of Northeast Washington Avenue in Chehalis, according to a report made to police on Monday morning.

• A police officer was called about 3 p.m. on Monday to the 300 block of  Northeast Washington Avenue in Chehalis where someone had entered a vehicle and gone through items in it, according to the Chehalis Police Department. There may have been some change missing, detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said.

• Chehalis police were called to the parking lot at Wal-Mart about 10:30 p.m. on Monday where a subject was watching what appeared to be someone trying to break into a truck. An officer contacted a 53-year-old Centralia man who was wanted on an outstanding warrant related to a driving offense in Whatcom County, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Gary D. Newton was booked into the Lewis County Jail, for the warrant, according to police.

VANDALISM

• Police were called Monday morning the Centralia Outlet Mall where someone had spray painted light blue apparent gang graffiti on the side of the Gymboree store.

DRYER FIRE

• A fire at a home Monday afternoon on Third Street in Chehalis appeared to be caused by something electrical, according to the Chehalis Fire Department. Crews called about 2:25 p.m. found the resident was using a clothes dryer when flames started near the outlet. They used a dry-chemical extinguisher to stop it, Chief Kelvin Johnson said. The damage was estimated at about $1,000, he said.

WHY WON’T MY KEY WORK IN THAT LOCK?

• Morton police responding to a reported attempted break-in about 3 a.m. on Saturday found an intoxicated 23-year-old trying to get inside the wrong house. Residents at the home on the 100 block of Collar Avenue called 911 as someone was trying to get in through a sliding glass door, according to the Morton Police Department. An officer arriving there detained Andrew G. Alexander, cited him for breach of public peace and then he was returned to his own home, according to police.

THEFTS OF TOOLS AND STUFF

• A deputy called yesterday morning to the 100 block of Oyler Way in Ethel learned from an 85-year-old woman that someone had gotten into her barn sometime since the day before and left with a chainsaw, a drill and a welder, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• Someone broke into a storage building at the 100 block of U.S. Highway 12 south of Chehalis and stole numerous tools including a leak detector sometime between Thursday and Saturday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss to Gateway RV and Marine is initially estimated at $2,500, according to the sheriff’s office.

• A deputy was called on Saturday to a vacant home on the 6800 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Morton was told someone entered a detached garage sometime sine Dec. 12 and stole an electrical box and about 180 feet of copper wire, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

VEHICLE THEFT

• An individual called police about 8:40 a.m. on Saturday when their red 1994 Honda Accord came up missing fromm the 400 block of Southwest 18th Street in Chehalis.

• A red 1953 Kiser military six-wheel drive truck with a 1,700-gallon water tank vanished from where it had been parked for sale at the 1500 block of Bishop Road outside Chehalis, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. It was last seen on Jan. 25 and was gone the following day, Chief Civil Deputy Brown said. It is valued at $4,500, Brown said.

FIREARM MISSING

• A shopper at Sunbirds on the 1700 block of North National Avenue in Chehalis returned to his truck to find damage to the door lock and his .45 caliber handgun missing just after 4 p.m. yesterday, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

BEER STOLEN

• A customer who appeared to be about 18 or 19 years old walked out of a Randle store with an 18-pack of Budweiser beer without paying for it on Saturday night, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy called after the approximately 7:30 p.m. incident at J and L Country Market was told a 16-year-old boy had been eyeing the same 18-pack just a few minutes prior.

DRUGS FOUND

• An officer was called to a tanning salon on Northwest Louisiana Avenue in Chehalis yesterday afternoon when a a baggie of methamphetamine was found in one of the rooms. It was taken for destruction, Chehalis Police Department detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said.

VANDALISM

• Police were called about 9 p.m. yesterday after someone threw a rock through a window at the 1100 block of South Pearl Street in Centralia.

UNRULY DUI

• A 57-year-old man pulled over about 8:40 p.m. on Friday on Southeast First Street in Winlock reportedly resisted arrest and was subsequently taken into custody for driving under the influence, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Edward R. Turula, of Winlock, was booked into the Lewis County Jail after he was detained by both a deputy and a Winlock police officer, according to the sheriff’s office.

WRECKS

• An 80-year-old Curtis resident escaped serious injury when he crashed his pickup truck on the 500 block of Wildwood Road yesterday. A deputy arriving around 11:20 a.m. learned the driver had been northbound when his Dodge Ram went into the ditch and then struck a tree, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The truck was severely damaged, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

• A 45-year-old Winlock man was arrested for driving under the influence when he rolled and wrecked his pickup truck Friday night on Pleasant Valley Road near Highway 603 southwest of Napavine. A deputy arriving just before 8 p.m. arrested and booked Erik W. West into the Lewis County Jail, according to Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He was reportedly uninjured.

• A 58-year-old Onalaska driver reportedly was uninjured when he tried to avoid an animal and ran in to a ditch, clipped a utility pole and took out several wooden fence posts on Friday afternoon at the 200 block of Gish Road in Onalaska. His 2010 Nissan Altima however was totaled, according to Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

CHAIR CATCHES FIRE

• Firefighters called about 9:15 p.m. on Friday to a home on the 200 block of Southwest James Street in Chehalis about a burning chair inside a 13-year-old boy’s bedroom found the chair had been pulled out of the home and doused with water. The youngster had been using a lighter to burn threads from his jeans, according to the Chehalis Fire Department. There was no damage to the bedroom and firefighters installed a smoke detector in the home, according to the fire department.

FULL MOON OVER SOUTH PEARL STREET

• A 49-year-old Centralia woman was at the Bank of America on the 100 block of South Pearl Street around 10 a.m. on Friday when she allegedly threatened to blow it up with a bomb, according to police. She didn’t possess any explosives but police said it scared employees and other customers so she was arrested for felony harassment. Sherry L. McPherson was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police contacting a 22-year-old individual who refused to leave a business at closing time on Friday night at the 200 block of South Pearl Street in Centralia say the person became combative and kicked an officer. Kiela D. Current, a Centralia resident, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for third-degree assault, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police arrested a 24-year-old Centralia woman at mid-day on Friday for allegedly shoplifting at a business on the 200 block of South Pearl Street. Samantha L. Brooks was booked into the Lewis County Jail. An officer called about two hours later again to the 200 block of South Pearl Street contacted a 39-year-old Chehalis man for alleged shoplifting. Thomas D. Lininger was arrested and then released, according to police.

DOMESTIC ASSAULT

• Police were called about noon on Friday to Courtland Street regarding a boy who allegedly assaulted his mother by choking her. The boy was arrested for second-degree assault and taken to the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center, according to the Centralia Police Department.

BUNCH OF ATTEMPTED BURGLARIES

• Police got reports of attempted break-ins to businesses in the area of the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue on Friday morning, with damage to the doors. One building was entered but nothing appeared to be missing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called about 1:30 p.m. yesterday regarding graffiti on a fence at the 200 block of North Tower Avenue.

VEHICLE ROLLS OVER EMBANKMENT

• A 51-year-old Morton woman was hospitalized after her pickup truck hit a patch of ice on state Route 7, slid off a steep embankment and rolled early yesterday morning. Troopers called just after 1 a.m. to the scene just north of town found the 1989 Toyota on its driver’s side, according to the Washington State Patrol. Mindy L. Woore was transported to Morton General Hospital with unspecified injuries, according to the state patrol. The truck was described as totaled. The trooper noted she was driving too fast.

POLICE: TEENAGER JUMPED IN GANG-RELATED INCIDENT

• Centralia police called about 11 p.m. yesterday to a fight at South Tower Avenue and Cherry Street arrested two men who allegedly beat up a 17-year-old boy who was knocked unconscious in what police called a gang-related incident. The boy, from Centralia, was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to Sgt. Stacy Denham. Police say the boy and two other young men were walking down the street when a vehicle pulled over and the driver got out to ask the boy if he was a gang member or not. When the boy replied no, the driver asked if the boy knew who he was and then told him, “Spooker Josh LVL,” according to the Centralia Police Department. Denham said Joshua Rhoades had a closed knife in his hand when he punched the boy and once they fell to the ground, another male from the vehicle began punching and kicking the boy. The victim’s two friends managed to repel the attackers, police were told, who jumped back in their car and left. Arriving officers arrested Rhoades, 32, for second-degree assault and Michael J. Daily, 25, for third-degree assault, according to police. Both are Centralia residents. Rhoades told police he was the victim in the situation, Denham said. Denham said the teenager didn’t want to go to the hospital, but officers talked him into it because he had been knocked out. The role of the men’s female companion was part of an ongoing investigation today, Denham said.

WHISKEY THURSDAY AT SHOP N KART

• A 34-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly shoplifting two bottles of whiskey, some Visine and also flour tortillas from Shop ‘N Kart yesterday. Police called just after 1 p.m. to the grocery on the 2100 block of North National Avenue booked Christina R. Harris, of Tumwater, into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• And an officer was called back just before 3 p.m. after a customer walked out of Shop ‘N Kart with an unpaid for bottle of whiskey and began drinking it in the parking lot. Matthew E. Eastman was arrested for third-degree theft and then released, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

PRESCRIPTION MIX UP?

• Chehalis police were called about 5:45 p.m. yesterday about the possible theft of narcotics from the pharmacy at Safeway. An individual said they only got half the number of pills in their Hydrocodone prescription, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The incident was being investigated, according to police.

VIDEO CAMERAS STOLEN BUT IMAGES REMAIN

• A deputy was called about 5:40 a.m. yesterday to a burglary at the 200 block of Hamilton Road North in which someone moved a forklift but got it stuck in some mud and entered several trailers and sheds before leaving with a pump, a seven-drawer Craftsman tool box – with tools – and surveillance cameras. The video images will be reviewed to look for suspects, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

BULLDOZER AMONG MISSING ITEMS

• A deputy called Wednesday to property on the 300 block of Beck Road in Onalaska learned that several items had gone missing since last Friday including a box van, a bulldozer and an asphalt roller. A caretaker of the property had arrived to find someone there with a flatbed trailer, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

DIAMONDS, RUBIES AND MORE MISSING

• A 58-year-old woman reported a theft yesterday of about $2,000 worth of jewelry from her home on the 400 block of U.S. Highway 12 outside Chehalis. A deputy was told that among the items that disappeared sometime since Dec. 31 were a 1972 Toledo class ring with the initials MB, a  gold ring with an rectangle aquamarine stone, a diamond and ruby ring and a solitaire diamond ring, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

LAUNDRY ROOM HEIST

• A washing machine was stolen from a laundry room on the 2900 block of Mount Vista Road in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 12:30 p.m. yesterday. It was a coin operated machine, the theft of which was caught on camera, according to the Centralia Police Department.

BARN BREAK-IN

• Someone stole 200 feet of copper welding wire from a barn on the 300 block of Hamilton Road outside Chehalis, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. A deputy called to the property learned it occurred sometime between Wednesday and yesterday and appeared to have involved an individual on a bicycle who was accompanied by a vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.

CAR PROWL

• Someone broke out the back window of a vehicle and stole tools and a stereo on the 1000 block of F Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 8:25 a.m. yesterday.

HELMET LIFTED FROM BIKE

• Centralia police were called at 1:30 a.m. today by an individual who said his helmet was stolen from his motorcycle while he was in a tavern on the 100 block of South Tower Avenue.

STREET DEPARTMENT WOES ON PROSPECT

• Chehalis police were called again yesterday morning to Southeast Prospect Street where someone had spray painted two speed limit signs orange and white as well as painted a stop sign white.

INMATE SMASHES VIDEO SCREEN WITH HEAD

• A 35-year-old inmate at the Lewis County Jail was “arrested” after he reportedly shattered the screen on a video visitation monitor on Wednesday. A deputy advised of the damage by jail staff viewed the images that showed Nicholas F. Leroux hitting his head on the screen, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The offense is third-degree malicious mischief. The damage is $800, according to the sheriff’s office.

OUT-OF-CONTROL DOG BITES THREE

• Centralia police say a dog had to be Tased yesterday morning to get it secured after it attacked another dog, bit the victim dog’s owner and attacked a cat. it happened on the 1500 block of Lewis Street, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CHIMNEY FLAMES UP

• Crews were called just before 7 p.m. yesterday to a chimney fire on a home at Southwest 18th Street at Ruzicka Drive in Chehalis. “We put a chimney nozzle down there, put the fire out and went inside to make sure it didn’t extend into the attic,” Chehalis Fire Department Firefighter Jay Birley said. It didn’t, Birley said. The damage was minimal, he said.

FIREFIGHTERS DOUSE FLAMES INSIDE VACANT APARTMENT

• Nobody was injured when a fire broke out last night in a vacant upstairs apartment in Centralia. Firefighters called just before 9:30 p.m. to the complex on Virginia Drive just off North Pearl Street found smoke coming out the front and back windows, according to Riverside Fire Authority. The building has six units but other residents had gotten themselves outside, according to Assistant Chief Mike Kytta. It appears to have been a malfunctioning baseboard heater, Kytta said. The damage was primarily to the wall, the heater and the nearby carpet, he said.

OFFICERS FIND WANTED MAN HIDING IN HIDE-A-BED

• Police arrested three people when they found a man wanted on a warrant attempting to conceal himself in a hide-a-bed at the 1200 block of Alder Street in Centralia yesterday. Officers went to Dominic L. Combs’ trailer home in the Pepper Tree RV Park with information he was there just before 4 p.m., according to police. A man and woman told officers Combs was not inside but he was subsequently found with items piled on top of him on his bed, Sgt. Stacy Denham said. Found under the bed were prescription drugs not prescribed to Combs so he was booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of those and his warrant, Denham said. Booked for rendering criminal assistance were Ashley M. Williams, 24, of Rochester and Joseph L. Nickols, 30, a local homeless person, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFT PACKWOOD

• A deputy took a report yesterday from a man who takes care of another individuals’ horses at the 100 block of Timberline Drive in Packwood that sometime over the weekend someone got into a shed and stole a lantern, an emergency radio, waders and a half tank of gas from a van, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

THEFT CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police yesterday were investigating a possible fraud involve someone making transactions on someone’s account. Further details were unavailable.

THEFT CENTRALIA

• Centralia police took a report about 11 p.m. yesterday from an individual at the 1100 block of West First Street who said someone stole his wallet while he was playing dodge ball.

THEFT CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police were called about 10:40 a.m. yesterday about a vehicle prowl at the 1200 block of Bishop Road. Further details were unavailable.

UNRULY SUBJECTS

• A pair of Castle Rock residents were arrested late yesterday afternoon for fighting in public at the 1500 block of Lum Road in centralia. Matthew S. Brown. 25, and Shane A. Ibarra, 30, were both then released, according to the Centralia Police Department. Brown was additionally cited for resisting arrest, according to police.

• A 35-year-old Bellevue man was arrested just after noon yesterday at Woodland Avenue and Hunt Street for obstructing a peace officer, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MARIJUANA FOUND AT HIGH SCHOOL

• Chehalis police were called about 8:30 a.m. yesterday to W.F. West High School about a student with suspected marijuana. The officer spoke to the 17-year-old girl and confiscated the material so it could sent to a drug lab to be tested, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• A Centralia police officer responded just after 3 p.m. yesterday about a building tagged with graffiti on the 400 block of North Gold Street, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Updated at 6:31 p.m.

HOMELESS MAN HOSPITALIZED AFTER GETTING ‘JUMPED’ IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police are investigating after a 45-year-old homeless man with serious injuries sought help at a gas station on the 2000 block of Borst Avenue yesterday evening. An officer called about 6:25 p.m. found the man with a broken nose and numerous facial fractures, according to police. “He was highly intoxicated, he just said someone jumped him,” Sgt. Stacy Denham said. Officers searched the area including Fort Borst Park but found no suspects, according to Denham. The man was checked by medics and transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Denham said. Police were told the injuries were not consistent with falling down or something of that nature, and will be interviewing him again, according to Denham.

SLEEPING DRIVER JAILED

• A 32-year-old Centralia woman was woken up and taken to jail after an officer contacted her “passed out” behind the wheel of a vehicle at an intersection early this morning.  An officer responding about 6:10 a.m. to North Tower and East Oakview Avenue noted the car was at a stop sign with the engine turned off, according to Sgt. Stacy Denham. Tammy L. Brick was subsequently arrested for possession of methamphetamine and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

STOLEN CAR FOUND, BRIEFLY

• Police following up overnight to a suspicious sight at a motel parking lot determined a 2012 Audi there was stolen. An officer near the 1300 block of Lakeshore Drive observed two known subjects around 3 a.m. near the newish vehicle, according to police. They and others contacted in a motel room denied it was theirs but subsequently the officer was told the driver had “borrowed it”, according to Sgt. Stacy Denham. The suspected driver, a 39-year-old Elma man, had already left the area by the time police confirmed with the car’s owner in Elma it was missing, according to police. The 39-year-old is being sought for possession of a stolen vehicle, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FLEEING SUSPECT HEADS TOWARD POLICE STATION

• An individual police called a Good Samaritan called 911 when they spotted a man allegedly shoplift drill bits from Home Depot in Chehalis yesterday and then trailed his vehicle until it was stopped about a block from the police department. Officers responding just before 11 a.m. arrested the suspected shoplifter and his driver, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Christopher D. Buck, 27, of Chehalis was booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of methamphetamine when suspected drugs were found on him at the jail, according to officer Linda Bailey. A recommended charge of third-degree theft was added to his case, Bailey said. The driver, Stephen D. Cobb, 40, of Onalaska, was booked for reckless driving and criminal conspiracy, Bailey said. The car was impounded, she said.

TRUCK BODY PARTS MISSING

• Tailgates were stolen off three trucks at the 1500 block of Northwest State Avenue in Chehalis, according to a report made to police about 9 a.m. yesterday. They are worth $1,000 each, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

BREAK-IN AT TACOMA POWER PROPERTY

• Someone stole part of a scrapped copper “cooling core” from a fenced storage yard owned by Tacoma Power in Mossyrock, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy called out yesterday to the 100 block of Onion Rock Lane learned someone cut a hole in the fence and got inside sometime between Friday and Monday, according to the sheriff’s office. The loss is estimated at $250.

MAN FOUND IN EMPTY HOUSE

• A 30-year-old homeless man was arrested for first-degree trespass yesterday evening after he was discovered inside a vacant home on the 1000 block of E Street in Centralia. Jesus Alejandro Munoz-Cauich was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VANDALISM

• A Centralia police officer responded to a morning call yesterday about a building tagged with graffiti on Tower Avenue. This time it was at the 100 block of South Tower Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MORTON POLICE PURSUIT ENDS WITH WRECKED HONDA

• A 24-year-old Randle resident was arrested last night for attempting to elude after he allegedly tried to get away from Morton police and headed west on state Route 508 into the Bear Canyon area. A trooper called about 9:20 p.m. to milepost 21 reported the 1993 Honda tried to turn right onto a gravel and dirt road but the driver lost control and it went up an embankment. The driver reportedly fled on foot but was apprehended by police, according to the Washington State Patrol. The car was towed. Michael P. Miller was transported to Morton General Hospital for unspecified injuries, according to the state patrol. He was later booked into the Lewis County Jail.