Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated 4:40 p.m.

BUSTED

• A man who reportedly slapped his mother last night was arrested after he was found hiding under a comforter upstairs under some rafters. Deputies called about 12:30 a.m. today to the 600 block of Grove Street in Centralia reported the subject resisted attempts to arrest him all the way down the stairs and also spit in a deputy’s face. Emmanuel Martinez, 20, was arrested and booked for third-degree assault and his case will be referred for other potential charges such as fourth-degree assault and resisting arrest, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

BUSTED

• An officer responding to a complaint about a possible drug deal in the parking lot at the Eagles in Chehalis yesterday came upon a 20-year-old man who appeared to be shooting up heroin, according to police. He had a needle in his arm, Sgt. Gwen Carrell said. Jence S. Sawyer was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of heroin, Carrell said. A 19-year-old Chehalis man, Nicholas A. Huston, was also arrested in connection with possession of a medication, according to police.

DRUGS

• A 24-year-old Rochester woman was arrested  after a traffic stop about 12:15 this morning on North Street and Cascade Avenue in Chehalis. A police dog sniffed around and “hit on some things” in the vehicle, including suspected heroin, according to police. Kira M. Fry was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

THEFT

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning someone carried off 50-pound aluminum blocks from a business on the 100 block of Sears Road over the weekend. They also cut wires from a portable cement mixer, according to the sheriff’s office. The loss is about $167.

• Chehalis police were called about 9 p.m. yesterday after a truck towed away from an apartment complex parking lot on Southwest 20th Avenue was found to have been stolen out of Olympia.

• Police were called about 11:40 a.m. yesterday to a car prowl on the 1000 block of South Pearl Street in Centralia. Nothing was taken, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Somebody smashed the windows and gauges of an excavator parked in a rock pit on state Route 508 near Morton, according to a report made to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office yesterday morning. Its hand controls were torn out as well, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

WRECK

• A passenger in a Ford Taurus was taken to the hospital after a two-car collision at North Fork and Lucas Creek roads outside Chehalis yesterday evening. Responders called shortly after 7 p.m. learned a 22-year-old Centralia man was at a stop sign and failed to see an approaching car because vegetation obscured his view, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Both vehicles sustained extensive front-end damage, but only the one female was hurt; she complained of soreness to her left side, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. No citations were issued, according to Brown.

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Correction: The news item about the arrest of Emmanuel Martinez has been updated to correctly reflect the events occurred at a home on Grove Street in Centralia, not Roe Road in Winlock.

GOLD JEWELRY PILFERED

• A Silver Creek woman who was asked by the man she hired to mow her lawn yesterday if she had any gold jewelry he could buy called the sheriff’ office early this morning after discovering several pieces she had shown him – including an angel pendant and a platinum and diamond ring – were missing from her home. A deputy summoned to the 300 block of Huntting Road learned the loss was estimated at almost $6,000, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The man said his name was Jeremy, Cmdr. Steve Aust said.

FREEZER THEFT

• Police were called just before 10 p.m. yesterday to the 300 block of South Pearl Street in Centralia when a resident spotted someone on their back porch stealing meat from a deep freezer. The individual dropped the meat and ran away, according to the Centralia Police Department. Officers were not able to locate a suspect.

PHONEY REFILL SUSPECTED

• Chehalis police were called to Rite Aid pharmacy on South Market Boulevard yesterday after a check with a provider on a called-in prescription revealed it was not legitimate, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The case is under investigation, police said.

FUNNY MONEY GIVEN TO BANK

• Wells Fargo Bank in Chehalis contacted police after finding two counterfeit $100 bills among their deposits from local businesses. The money, which displayed the same serial numbers, are being turned over to the U.S. Treasury, Chehalis Police Department Sgt. Gwen Carrell said this morning.

ASSAULT

• A 35-year-old Tacoma man was arrested early on Sunday morning after police responded to Motel 6 in Centralia and found his 47-year-old girlfriend with a bloody lip. The couple was in town for a dart tournament and were fighting, according to police. Officers were told he had grabbed her by the hair, dragged her back into the room and put her in bed. The suspect was booked for unlawful imprisonment but has been released from jail and faces a possible misdemeanor assault charge instead, according to the Officer Carl Buster.

DRUGS

• A 30-year-old Elma man was arrested early Saturday after an officer approaching two men yelling near Garbe’s Tavern on Northwest Chehalis Avenue in Chehalis saw one of the men run behind a car and throw something that turned out to a baggie of powder that field-tested positive for methamphetamine. Jerry E. Lithicum was booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of methamphetamine, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

STOLEN CAR SLIPS BY OFFICERS

• Centralia police were contacted yesterday by the Bellingham Police Department about a vehicle reported stolen there because a Centralia officer on Saturday had run the vehicle’s license plates at the Motel 6 when investigating a dispute. The victim didn’t report it missing until he returned home from a trip. The car and driver have not been found since, according to Centralia police.

FLASHLIGHT TASER MISSING

• Someone broke into a vehicle parked on Northeast Cascade Avenue in Chehalis in the night and stole a Taser, according to a report made to police on Saturday. It wasn’t a police Taser gun but a product that looks like a flashlight and called a Shock Light, according to Sgt. Gwen Carrell.

RAIL RIDE ENDS IN CENTRALIA

• A pair of 21-year-olds from Oregon were arrested for trespassing last night in Centralia after they were found riding on a BNSF rail car in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department. Jay G. Williams and Desiree M. Rutherford were not booked into the jail, according to police.

BRUSH FIRE CENTRALIA

• Firefighters called about 6:15 p.m. yesterday to smoke in the area of Salzer Valley Road outside Centralia found tall grass burning. The fire about a mile out of town was contained to an area of about 100 feet by 100 feet, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

ROBBED IN CENTRALIA

• A woman in her early 20s called police to the 400 block of West Cherry Street in Centralia yesterday after two males robbed her of her wallet and X-box. The victim said they came to her purchase the X-box, but instead, one ran out the door with the game system and her wallet while the other one held her from behind, according to the Centralia Police Department. One of the males was known the victim only as “Danny”, according to police.

ASSAULT

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning deputies are looking for a 29-year-old Centralia man who fled in a car after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend’s son on Friday night in Centralia. Deputies were called about 8:30 p.m. to the area of the 1600 block of Windsor Avenue to a report a teenage boy was running from a man, according to the sheriff’s office. The man fled in a car and the 17-year-old said his mother’s boyfriend had choked him, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

BEAR HUNTER RESCUED

• More than a dozen responders hiked into a wooded area in East Lewis County on Saturday afternoon to bring out an injured bear hunter, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The 63-year-old man from Roy had hurt his ankle and members of Packwood Search and Rescue, Mount Rainier rangers and Pierce County Fire District 23 from the Ashford area carried him a quarter mile out in the area of Forest Service Road 5230, according to the sheriff’s office.

DRUGS

• A traffic stop about 6:45 p.m. on Saturday on Coal Creek Road near Centralia-Alpha Road led to the arrest of a 53-year-old Chehalis man with more than 200 gram of marijuana, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The driver was arrested for driving under the influence and misdemeanor possession (less than 40 grams) of marijuana,a and the passenger, Timothy J. Haston, 53, was arrested and booked for possession with intent to deliver, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

BURGLARY AND THEFT

• Police were called to an apartment on the 1400 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia where someone cut a window screen and reached in and stole a pack of cigarettes on Friday morning.

• A Centralia woman called Centralia police Friday after getting notices from collection agencies and realizing someone had opened multiple credit accounts in her name.

• A motorized scooter was stolen from a yard at the 1300 block of Central Boulevard in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 2:20 p.m. on Friday.

• A 2006 Saturn was found by a passerby in the park and ride lot on Camas Road near Toledo with a window smashed out and its it door and truck open about 1:40 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The driver who was subsequently contacted by a deputy said he had left it there locked.

• Morton police are asking for the public’s help after a call last week from an Olympia resident who said someone stole bicycles and the bike rack from off his motor home, possibly when he stopped to in Morton to eat.

• Morton police and the state patrol on Thursday recovered a vehicle stolen from Marysville that was sold online on Craigslist to a Morton resident. It was returned to its owner, Morton police reported.

DUI

• A 27-year-old motorist from Puyallup was arrested for driving under the influence about 9 p.m. on Saturday after officers got multiple calls about an erratically driving vehicle on Interstate 5 in Centralia. After exiting the freeway at Harrison Avenue, concerned citizens were able to take the keys from the vehicle and keep Leslie C. Miller at the scene until police arrived, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Kalin E. Maxwell, 20, of Centralia, was arrested for driving under the influence after a single-car accident about 1:10 a.m. on Saturday at the 200 block of North Washington Avenue in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A 19-year-old Toledo man was reportedly uninjured but his car sustained major damage when he ran a stop sign at Cousins and Twin Oaks roads and ran through a fence on Saturday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

WRECK

• A woman reportedly was uninjured when she accidentally drove off the road into a pond on Northwest Louisiana Avenue at Airport Road in Chehalis on Friday evening. It happened about 6 p.m. and passersby assisted her in getting out of the water, according to the Chehalis Fire Department.

INJURY AT HORSE EVENT

• Lewis County Fire District 1 called to an equestrian event yesterday off Gish Road in Onalaska arranged for an injured person to be airlifted to Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver. Further details were not readily available.

ASSAULT IN CENTRALIA

• Deputies are looking for a 27-year-old Centralia man after taking a report yesterday he grabbed his ex-girlfriend by the throat and punched her. A deputy called about 11:40 a.m. to the home on 100 block of Grant Street did not locate the suspect there, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

THREAT TO KILL

• A 59-year-old Centralia man was arrested yesterday for allegedly threatening to kill his grown daughter. Officers called about 12:30 p.m. to their home on the 500 block of South Rock Street booked Richard B. Goodwillie into the Lewis County Jail for felony harassment, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CARPORT BURGLARY

• Someone stole shovels, rakes and a gas can from inside a carport on the 2900 block of Sandra Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office yesterday afternoon. A deputy who responded to the call learned a neighbor had seen a blue and black car parked across the way for about 30 minutes earlier in the morning, with its lights off, according to the sheriff’s office. Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown urges the public to go ahead and call 911 if they see something suspicious, such as a vehicle out of place or something that just doesn’t look right. It can help them solve crimes, Brown said. “We do not mind coming out to make sure everything is okay,” she said.

DRUGS

• A 32-year-old Chehalis woman was arrested for possession of a controlled substance after an officer who knew she had a warrant spotted her at Wal-Mart yesterday evening. The officer found syringes, a pipe and waxed paper with a brown residue on it suspected to be heroin, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Melissa C. Church was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

MARIJUANA: HAND IT OVER

• A Chehalis officer who stopped a driver for expired license tabs last night smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle and asked the driver to hand it over. “He said okay and pulled it out” and gave it to him, Deputy Sgt. Randy Kaut said. The motorist, Corey J. Malinak, 32, of Chehalis, was cited for misdemeanor possession of marijuana and sent on his way, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

LITTLEROCK HOUSE DESTROYED BY FIRE

• Eight fire departments responded to a house fire north of Littlerock early this morning. The two-story home, built in the 1880s, was vacant and described as a total loss. West Thurston Regional Fire Authority called at 5:50 a.m. to the blaze at 110th Avenue and little Rock Road, said nobody was injured. Neighbors report there may have been transients living at the property,” Fire Lt. Lanette Dyer stated in a news release. There was no electrical service to the home so it is suspicious, according to Dyer.

TELEMARKETING SCHEME TARGETS AREA SENIORS

• The (Longview) Daily News reports a consumer warning yesterday about phone solicitors targeting seniors is based upon incidents from Lewis, Clark and Thurston counties in recent days. According to a news release from the state Attorney General’s Office, telemarketers selling reverse mortgages are posing as state agents offering a senior property tax relief program. “All seniors who receive these calls are advised to refrain from giving out personal information over the phone to someone they do not know,” the Attorney General’s Office advises. “Seniors should contact their county assessor offices to find out more about property tax relief programs and the Department of Veterans Affairs (1-800-562-2308) for veteran’s benefits.”

BURGLARY ARREST IN CHEHALIS

• A 22-year-old Chehalis man as arrested yesterday evening for burglary in connection with as much as $3,000 worth of tools and other items stolen from the 700 block of South Gold Street. Suspected methamphetamine and a pill were found when Richard E. Engel was searched, according to the Chehalis Police Department. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail, Officer Linda Bailey said.

CENTRALIA HOME BURGLARY

• Police were called just before noon yesterday about a burglary at a home on the 1000 block of Roosevelt Street in Centralia. Missing were electronics and jewelry, according to the Centralia Police Department.

STOLEN GOODS SOLD TO PAWN SHOP

• Centralia police arrested a 51-year-old California man yesterday for allegedly pawning unspecified items stolen from the 1200 block of Alder Street. Marcus Middlebrooks was booked into the Lewis County Jail for trafficking in stolen property, according to the Centralia Police Department.

STOLEN VEHICLE ABANDONED

• A vehicle stolen from Centralia was located yesterday evening abandoned at the 1000 block of Brotherson Road in Centralia. The Saturn which apparently had been there about two weeks appeared to have been rifled through but not stripped, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWLS

• Chehalis police took a report yesterday afternoon of a car prowl that may have occurred while the victim was parked at the post office on Northwest Cascade Avenue. Missing from a backpack out of an unlocked vehicle were an iPad and garage door opener, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• A deputy took a report yesterday of a vehicle prowl that apparently occurred on July 29 at a Chevron station on the 12000 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Packwood. The woman said there were young people in the parking lot when she went inside to pay and subsequently discovered binoculars, a National Geographic bird book and a pack missing from her vehicle.

FAKE PRESCRIPTION

• A 29-year-old man was arrested yesterday afternoon after he allegedly attempted to fill a forged prescription of Oxycontin, for a friend, at a pharmacy on the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia. Jeromy Freitas, of Graham, was booked into the Lewis County jail for forgery and identity theft, according to the Centralia Police Department.

REPEAT GRAFFITI

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office took a report yesterday from a 65-year-old man on the 1600 block of Windsor Avenue in Centralia who found orange spray-painted graffiti on his garage doors, just two weeks after painting over similar graffiti. The lettering makes note of “South side” and “White PPL,” according to the sheriff’s office. On the same street another resident yesterday found an orange swastika an reference to “white power” on their garage, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

DEER 1, TRUCK 0

• A 30-year-old driver escaped injury when he totaled his 1990 Ford Ranger after he swerved to miss a deer on the 300 block of Henriott Road near Toledo yesterday. A deputy called about 10:30 a.m. found the truck grazed a telephone pole and went into a ditch, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

SMALL FIRE BREAKS OUT AT CHEHALIS PLANT

• Three fire departments converged on Draper Valley Farms’ plant at West Main Street and State Avenue in Chehalis about 3 p.m. yesterday for a fire call. It was a small  electrical fire in a unit in a loft up above, according to the Chehalis Fire Department. It was still sparking when firefighters arrived but workers there had it mostly put out, Fire Capt. Ted McCarty said. Crews used a dry-chemical fire extinguisher to finish it off, according to McCarty.

COWLITZ  DEPUTY CORONER ACCUSED OF STEALING FROM DEAD MAN

• The (Longview) Daily News reports a deputy coroner in Cowlitz County has been arrested for allegedly using a dead man’s debit card to steal nearly $12,000. News reporter Leslie Slape writes that Jeffrey W. Hart, 44, of Castle Rock, said he was tempted because of severe financial problems and thought he could get away with it since the coroner’s office was having difficulty locating the dead man’s relatives. Hart was fired. Read about it, here

JUDGE SENDS MAN TO JAIL FOR APPEARING IN COURT INTOXICATED

• A 60-year-old Centralia man who reportedly came to court drunk yesterday morning after twice being told by a judge to return to court sober was cited by a judge for contempt and taken to jail, according to the Centralia Police Department. Steven G. Thurman was booked into the Lewis County Jail after police summoned to Centralia Municipal Court just after 8 a.m. administered a portable breath test, according to Sgt. Kurt Reichert.

BAD TOUCHING

• A 52-year-old Centralia man was arrested yesterday after he allegedly propositioned another man in Borst Park in Centralia and grabbed him between the legs. The 25-year-old victim offered to break the man’s hand and called 911, according to Sgt. Kurt Reichert said. Steven D. Koreis was booked into the Lewis County Jail for fourth-degree assault, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was released yesterday afternoon.

VEHICLE THEFT

• A 78-year-old woman’s car was stolen from a church parking lot yesterday at the 2300 block of Sandra Avenue sometime between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. A deputy called to the Centralia Bible Evangelical Free Church was told she may have left her keys hanging in the church door when she arrived, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Missing is a dark gray 1996 Saturn wagon, according to the sheriff’s office.

• A deputy took a report yesterday of a red 1993 Chevrolet pickup truck stolen from the 3900 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia on Friday between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.  It was a work truck parked at an employee’s home and belonging to a reforestation company, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

TROUSERS AND SHIRT TAKEN

• A 22-year-old Centralia man who allegedly stole a pair of pants and shirt from relatives and returned them to the store for cash was arrested late yesterday for trafficking in stolen property. Travis Amburgy was arrested also for possession of methamphetamine in connection with a call just before 6 p.m. to the 1900 block of Van Wormer Street in Centralia,  according to the Centralia Police Department. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

WRECK

• A 16-year-old driver who said he swerved to miss a deer along a curve and wrecked his 2001 Ford Explorer suffered abrasions on his neck and chest , the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said this morning. The accident on the 500 block of Logan Hill Road about noon time on Monday in Chehalis left the truck with major damage, according to the sheriff’s office.

POLICE: MAN FIGHTS TO STAY OUT OF PRISON

• A 20-year-old Centralia man is facing a potential robbery charge after he allegedly used physical force in the course of stealing something late yesterday morning. Police called just before noon to the 500 block of South Tower Avenue were told Galen R. Whitmire shoplifted an $8 box of facial wipes from a grocery store and when two security personnel chased and tackled him, he fought back, according to the Centralia Police Department. Police Sgt. Carl Buster said Whitmore is facing 42 months in prison for an unrelated situation and a warrant had been issued for his arrest. Injuries to all involved were limited to scrapes, according to Buster. Whitmore was arrested and booked  yesterday into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree robbery. In late March, Whitmire was arrested for multiple offenses after he reportedly sped away from a police car and then crashed into two vehicles, fled on foot and was  subsequently found by a police dog hiding in some bushes along Long Road in Centralia. He has a history of being captured by both of Centralia’s two police dogs, Buster said.

STRANGER CUTS TEEN WITH NEEDLE

• Chehalis police were called about 9:30 p.m. yesterday after three teenage boys said they were walking through Penny Playground when they were confronted by a person wearing dark clothing who stabbed one of them with a needle or knife in the finger, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Further details were not readily available.

MAN ARRESTED FOR BITING, CHOKING GIRLFRIEND

• A 34-year-old man police were looking for after an early Sunday morning domestic assault at the 300 block of North Diamond Street in Centralia was arrested about 10:40 p.m. last night back at his girlfriend’s home, according to the Centralia Police Department. CJ Boynton, a Centralia resident, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree assault because he allegedly choked his 37-year-old girlfriend leaving bruises on her neck and bit her fingers, according to Sgt. Carl Buster. The case is being referred by prosecutors to municipal court for a misdemeanor crime instead of a felony.

THEFT

• A pry bar found at the scene of an attempted burglary yesterday evening near Centralia is being processed for fingerprints, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy called to the Galvin School on the 100 block of Joppish Road was told someone tried to pry open a door on a tool shed and stole items from a scrap pile, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Missing is an industrial heat pump and a pressure pump, sometime since Saturday evening, Brown said. The loss is estimated at $605.

• Somebody stole two propane tanks, two pictures, a  metal table and a pair of chairs from a residence on the 100 block of Nancy Lane in Centralia, according to a report made yesterday afternoon. The 31-year-old victim said someone got inside her home sometime since June 1, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. There was no sign of forced entry, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

• Morton police are investigating the theft of items from a storage shed on the 300 block of Division Avenue.

WE CAN’T HELP YOU

• An individual from Southwest Chehalis Avenue in Chehalis called 911 on Friday afternoon saying he wanted to talk to an officer because although his chickens won at the fair last year, nobody will buy his eggs. He wanted to take someone to court, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Further details were no readily available as no report was written. It was labeled a civil issue, police said.

OVER THE LIMIT

• A 41-year-old man caught by police with 43 fish in Gus Backstrom Park in Morton on Friday evening was cited for first-degree unlawful recreational fishing. Carmelo Ginez Tecpil is from Lakewood, according to the Morton Police Department.