Lewis County Sirens.com

THEFT

• Police were called about 2:45 a.m. today to the intersection of South Washington Avenue and Centralia College Boulevard where a taxi driver said a pair of passengers tried to pay with a fake $100 bill. When the driver noted the counterfeit money, the two men ran off, according to the Centralia Police Department. The currency was actually an altered $5 bill, according to police.

• Officers were called about 4:45 p.m. yesterday to the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia where two teenage boys allegedly stole alcohol from a store. Centralia police noted in a summary nobody was arrested but also reported one 15-year-old was booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center, while the case involving the other 15-year-old was referred for a charge of theft as well as possession of alcohol by a minor.

• Centralia police took a report of misdemeanor theft of money from the 900 block of Johnson Road yesterday afternoon.

• A laptop computer was reported stolen from a business on the 1500 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue in Chehalis yesterday morning.

• Makeup and medication were reported missing a vehicle on the 100 block of McFadden Avenue in Chehalis yesterday.

FIREWORKS START FIRE

• Riverside Fire Authority said it was juveniles and fireworks that caused a fire that destroyed a vehicle Tuesday evening off the 400 block of West Reynolds Avenue in Centralia.

WRECK

• One driver was hospitalized with a laceration to his forehead after a near head-on collision this morning on the 1300 block of Mellen Street in Centralia. Police called just before 7 a.m. reported that one vehicle turned in front of another and the ensuing collision pushed it into a third vehicle.

• A 32-year-old Chehalis man was among four people injured on a car versus truck collision yesterday on U.S. Highway 12 just west of Montesano, according to the Washington State Patrol. Brian A. Schweitzer was a passenger in a Ford 150 pickup that was running out of gas and slowly moving to the shoulder when it was rear ended by a passenger car shortly before 1 p.m., according to he state patrol. All were hospitalized but none of the injuries were life threatening, the state patrol reported.

CENTRALIA 5-YEAR-OLD APPLAUDED FOR CALLING 911

• A 5-year-old child will be honored by the Lewis County Board of Commissioners after making a 911 call summoning aid to Centralia on Sunday morning. The child used a cell phone and stated “Daddy is sick” but couldn’t provide an address, according to a news release from the Lewis County dispatch center. A call taker used satellite coordinates while the little one consoled the ill parent and responders found the location, according to the news release.

THEFT

• Police were contacted by a Centralia business yesterday morning after the discovery their debit card had been used over the weekend racking up spending of around $800. The card had been stolen, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police called yesterday afternoon to a shoplifting incident involving clothing at an Outlet Mall store in Centralia are investigating are the possibility multiple stores in the mall were hit yesterday by the same subjects, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police were contacted yesterday about an incident on Saturday at Wal-Mart in which a customer apparently stole a Shark steam cleaner and tennis shoes, and returned them in exchange for a gift card.

• Chehalis police were called about 7 o’clock this morning about mail found in a yard on the 1800 block of Southwest Fair Avenue.

• Centralia police were called about 3:25 p.m. yesterday to the 400 block of South Iron Street about a license plate getting stolen.

UNCOOPERATIVE SHOPPER

• Chehalis police contacted an individual in the parking lot at Wal-Mart yesterday afternoon after employees called because they found drug paraphernalia including needles inside the restroom. Chehalis police Sgt. Gwen Carrell said for whatever reason he was uncooperative and was taken to the ground by officers. The subject was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital for observation because of apparent drug usage, Carrell said.

WRECK

• A 37-year-old motorist was hospitalized overnight after he totaled his car on Interstate 5 just north of Centralia. Troopers were called just before 3 a.m. after Stephen K. German’s 1996 Geo Metro struck a bridge railing on the right hand side of the northbound lanes, crossed over and hit the center barrier and overturned, according to the Washington State Patrol. The Salem, Ore. resident was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with a head laceration, according to the state patrol.

POLICE: MAN BREAKS GIRLFRIEND’S NOSE

• Chehalis police called to an apartment complex about 2 o’clock this morning found a 22-year-old woman who said she was trying to leave and her boyfriend attempted to to drag her back inside by her hair. James R. Payne, 31, of Chehalis, was arrested for second-degree assault as an officer learned the victim had been hit in the face a couple of days earlier leaving her with a broken nose and possibly a broken eye socket, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Payne was booked into the Lewis County Jail, Sgt. Gwen Carrell said.

ALLEGED DEATH THREAT

• A 41-year-old Chehalis man was arrested for harassment last night after he allegedly told his girlfriend to sit on the bed and that he would kill her if she moved. An officer called about 11:45 p.m. to the 1500 block of Southwest Mills Avenue was told the man was drinking all day and broke some items inside the home, according to the Chehalis Police Department. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail but is being released without charges.

STOLEN CAR RECOVERED, MAN ARRESTED

• A Thurston County man was arrested yesterday for extortion after allegedly contacting the victim of an auto theft and saying he would tell her where her vehicle was if she paid him $500. The red PT Cruiser had been stolen from Centralia the weekend before last and the man somehow learned who it belonged to, according to detective Sgt. Pat Fitzgerald. The owner contacted police and yesterday detectives met the suspect in Grand Mound, Fitzgerald said. After he led them to the car, they arrested him, he said. Ezra L. Yoder, age unavailable, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for extortion and also for trafficking in stolen property, according to police. The partially stripped vehicle was in the woods on the Chehalis Reservation, Fitzgerald said.

INTRUDER RIFLES THROUGH BEDROOM

• A deputy was called to a home on the 200 block of Wilson Road near Mossyrock yesterday where a woman said someone had been in her bedroom and left her dresser drawers and closet door open, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The light was left on as well.

GUNS, OTHER VALUABLES MISSING AFTER BURGLARIES

• An M1 rifle, a Mossberg shotgun and a 55-inch HD 3-D television were among the loot when a Chehalis area home was burglarized yesterday. It happened sometime between between 1:50 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on the 100 block of Juanita Lane, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is estimated at more than $7,000.

• A deputy called yesterday to the 200 block of Bevin Lake Road in Packwood to a report of a break in to a recreational vehicle was told a Glock 22 handgun, a compound bow, a shaving kit, a first-aid blanket and a splint were among items missing. It happened sometime since Thursday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

MISSING MOTORCYCLE

• A 1990 Honda motorcycle was stolen from near a front porch on the 800 block of Davis Lake Road near Morton, according to a report made to the Lewis County Sheriff’s office yesterday.

THREE BIKES TAKEN

• Police were called about 12:15 a.m. today to the 500 block of West Cherry Street in Centralia to a report of two bicycles stolen from the driveway. One was a white women’s Peugeot with yellow handle bars and the other a red, yellow and blue GT mountain bike, according to Centralia police. The same victim said a third bike had been taken during the previous week.

CAR PROWL

• Chehalis police were called about 5 p.m. yesterday to the 1200 block of Southwest William Avenue where someone had broke into a vehicle and taken luggage and prescription medication.

• Tools were stolen from a vehicle parked at the 1200 block of Mellen Street in Centralia sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning, according to the Centralia Police Department.

BAD SHOT, BUT CAN HIT THE SIDE OF A HOUSE

• A deputy was called about 9:10 p.m. on Saturday to the 200 block of Brim Road near Ethel after an apparently stray bullet came through the side of a home and struck an entertainment center. The person reporting the incident had heard what he thought were people target shooting, according to Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. The person who fired the shot wasn’t found, according to Brown. Further details were not available.

WRECK

• A 19-year-old Rochester woman lost control of her Honda Civic last night on the 600 block of Independence Road, rolling it and leaving it totaled, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. She said she was not injured, just sore, according to the sheriff’ office.

CENTRALIA GIRL FLEES WHEN SHE FINDS INTRUDER INSIDE HER HOME

• Police responded to a residence in north Centralia yesterday evening after a 12-year-old discovered a strange man inside her home. The girl said she came inside from playing with her dog, went to use the phone in the kitchen and heard a man’s voice talking on the phone in her parent’s bedroom, according to Centralia Officer Wayne Compton. She then saw him in the living room and he said something to the effect of “come here,” Compton said. The 12-year-old fled out the back door and ran first to a friend’s house, but the friend wasn’t home so she ended up at a store on North Pearl Street where the owner called 911 at about 6:35 p.m., according to police. There was no indication he tried to hurt her, Compton said. A police dog was summoned and attempted to track the intruder in the area of the 100 block of Cindy Road but was unsuccessful, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was described to officers as in his 30s, wearing a blue button up shirt and possibly Asian.

BUSTED

• More than a dozen young people were arrested when deputies broke up a Saturday night party on the 100 block of Troutman Drive in Winlock. Officers arriving about 12:40 a.m. found numerous juveniles sitting around a bonfire outside a large shop building, some drinking beer, some vomiting, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Inside was a large pyramid built with full cans of beer, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. With the help of officers from Winlock and Morton, the youngsters ages 15 to 20 were rounded up, cited for MIP and either released to parents or taken home, according to Brown. At least one teen was disorderly, throwing items around and was taken to the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center, Brown said. One 21-year-old is facing a potential charge of furnishing alcohol to minors, Brown said. A 17-year-old boy who lived there said his parents were out of town, Brown said.

SMASH AND GRAB IN CHEHALIS

• Someone broke into a business on the 1000 block of State Avenue in Chehalis about 2 o’clock this morning, making off with a cash box containing about $300. Police responding to an alarm at Outback Nail and Staple found the glass on the front door shattered and a large amount of tools near the door, according to Officer Linda Bailey. A witness had seen an older pickup truck with a loud exhaust in the area, Bailey said.

1,000 POUNDS OF SCRAP METAL STOLEN

• A 64-year-old man discovered his stockpile of about 1,000 pounds of copper pipe and other scrap metal missing from the 300 block of Little Hanaford Road outside Centralia on Saturday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The victim told a deputy he had been accumulating it for about 30 years and took a piece of copper pipe to a Centralia recycling center to get a price, according to the sheriff’s office. He was going to use the money to build a fence, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. He was told they had recently purchased the same type of metal from someone else, and when he went home to check, found his metal was missing, according to Brown. The sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate, Brown said.

BREAK-IN AT CENTRALIA RESIDENCE

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning that sometime between 5 a.m. and 4 p.m. last Thursday, someone broke into a residence on the 600 block of Roswell Road near Centralia. A window was broken but nothing appeared to be missing, according to the sheriff’s office.

STOLEN VEHICLE FOUND ON BLOCKS

• A Winlock man called the sheriff’s office yesterday when his stolen truck turned up on property near the 100 block of Sandy Lane in Centralia. A property owner contacted the victim after discovering the vehicle on blocks at the end of an old logging road, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The Winlock man had already been reimbursed by his insurer, so the truck was towed, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

DRUGS

• A 48-year-old Randle man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and a warrant for driving with a suspended license after he was observed driving with no tail lights in the area of Kiona Road and U.S. Highway 12 about 9:40 p.m. on Friday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Jon C. Knowles was booked into the Lewis County Jail, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

WRECK

• A 22-year-old Winlock woman possibly broke her hand when she rolled her vehicle on Saturday morning on the 200 block of Brim Road near Ethel, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The 2005 Kia Rio hydroplaned before it left the road, according to the sheriff’s office. It was described as totaled.

UP IN SMOKE

• Two men lost pretty much everything they owned in two separate vehicle fires over the weekend. A 53-year-old homeless man watched his belongings go up in smoke when his pickup truck caught fire overnight on Interstate 5 in Chehalis. And yesterday morning, an Alaska resident relocating to Arizona pulled over on southbound Interstate 5 near milepost 68 south of Chehalis when his travel trailer burst into flames.

The Chehalis Fire Department was called about 2:40 a.m. today to the parking lot at Denny’s restaurant off 13th Street where a canopied 1977 Ford 250 was burning. The driver had pulled into the middle of the lot and bystanders were trying to put it out with buckets of water and fire extinguisher’s Fire Capt. Casey Beck said. Firefighters saved several boxes of his belongings from the back of the truck, but they will never be the same, Beck said, noting smoke damage. Beck didn’t know where the driver was from, but said some of his friends arrived to help him out. He thought something might have gone wrong with the carburetor.

Yesterday just before 11 a.m., a man and his dog escaped injury when their trailer caught fire on the freeway. The trailer was fully engulfed in flames when the fire department arrived, according to Lewis County Fire District 5. A passerby from Napavine had stopped and helped get the dog out of the man’s SUV and tried to put the fire out, Lt. Laura Hanson said. It’s drivable, but the trailer and most of its contents were a complete loss, according to Hanson. Because he was moving to Arizona, the man’s savings – a significant amount of money – was tucked away inside the wreckage, but responders were able to retrieve it. “It was unharmed, pretty amazing,” Hanson said.

The Napavine man, Antonio Martinez, stayed with the victim, assisting him in salvaging what they could, according to Hanson. Hours later, firefighters were called back to the scene when the driver fell from the trailer injuring his arm. He was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital. Hanson said she did not know where the man would be staying.

Southbound Interstate 5 near milepost 68 / Courtesy photo by Kristal Tardiff

HIGH SPEED CHASE ENDS WITH WRECK AT HARRISON, I-5

• A 33-year-old Chehalis man was arrested last night after a police pursuit in Centralia in which he allegedly rammed a police car and subsequently struck at least one passenger vehicle when fleeing the scene. Just before 9 p.m., officers responded to a theft at the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue and found the suspect driving a white Jeep farther north, near Foron Road, according to the Centralia Police Department. The driver, later identified as Edison C. Church, turned around in a long driveway and reportedly rammed a police car before speeding back towards Interstate 5 on Harrison Avenue, police reported. Centralia police say he collided with several vehicles when he attempted to get on the freeway’s northbound ramp and then hopped out and fled on foot. He was quickly taken into custody, according to police. Riverside Fire Authority said it responded to a two-vehicle collision in which neither occupant wanted to go the hospital. Church was booked into the Lewis County Jail for to counts of assault and felony eluding, according to police.

NIGHT FIGHT

• Two individuals were arrested after a fight downtown Centralia around 2 o’clock this morning in which they slammed into a storefront window breaking it. It happened at the 300 block of North Tower Avenue, according to police. Desirae M. Lafferty, 33, and Larae H. Young, 30, both of Centralia were cited for fighting in public and malicious mischief and then released, according to the Centralia Police Department.

NOT A DUI

• A 69-year-old Centralia man who was intoxicated used a “designated driver” but was arrested for reckless endangerment when his driver – a mentally disabled person – caused a wreck, according to the Centralia Police Department. There were no injuries in the Friday night incident at the 1300 block of Harrison Avenue, according to police. The 36-year-old unnamed driver apparently lost control of the vehicle, hitting a fence and damaging a vehicle parked on the other side of the fence, according to police. Ronald W. Justice was cited and then released, according to police.

VANDALISM

• Police were called about 1:30 a.m. today to the 800 block of South Gold Street in Centralia where the back window of a canopy on a truck was broken. The victim saw a white truck fleeing the area, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SHERIFF: UNAUTHORIZED LOGGING FOILED

• A 32-year-old woman was arrested last night after employees of timber company found a pickup truck loaded with eight freshly cut logs on their property at the end of Hemenway Road in Winlock. A deputy was told the truck traveled around a locked gate onto  Port Blakely property and got stuck, according to the Lewis County Sheriff”s Office. Stacey L. McCarty, of Winlock, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree theft and second-degree burglary, detective Sgt. Dusty Breen said.  Deputies are looking for a 33-year-old Winlock man who they were told was with McCarty cutting the trees, Breen said. The 18-inch diameter pieces are valued at about $4,000, he said.

MEDS MISSING

• A deputy took a report yesterday of a burglary between 10 p.m. and midnight the night before at the 900 block of Koontz Road south of Chehalis. Missing was a quantity of oxycodone and hydrocodone, according to the Lewis County Sheriff”s Office. The loss is $30. There did not appear to be any forced entry into the home, according to detective Sgt. Dusty Breen.

TOOLS TAKEN

• A Stihl chainsaw, two cordless drills and their accessories were reported stolen yesterday from a shop building on the 2100 block of Young Road near Mossyrock. The theft occurred sometime between June 4 and yesterday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff”s Office.

SHED PROWLER

• Police called to the 1100 block of Crosby Avenue in Centralia about 2:20 p.m. yesterday arrested an 18-year-old for allegedly breaking into his father’s shed and trying to take items that did not belong to him. Alex M. Folden was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree burglary, according to the Centralia Police Department.

RAINING FIRECRACKERS

• Chehalis police were called about 8:40 p.m. yesterday to a complaint at the 300 block of Northwest Chehalis Avenue that someone was throwing firecrackers from an apartment window down to where children were walking. A warning was given.

DRUGS

• A 27-year-old Centralia was arrested yesterday afternoon for possession of heroin in connection with a contact with Chehalis police in February at K-Mart in which suspected drugs were taken from her. Breann N. Woodring was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

CENTRALIA MAN FINDS HIS STOLEN TOOLS

• A Centralia man who didn’t even realize he’d been burglarized yesterday morning was out and about when he spotted what looked like his tool box in the back of a truck. He followed the truck to a Centralia scrap yard and took down a license plate number, leading to the arrest of a 30-year-old man for trafficking stolen property, according to police. The burglary victim went home, found his tool box missing and called police, Officer Mike Lowrey said. Michael P. Doven, 30, of Winlock was pulled over about 1:25 p.m. near West Pear and South Pearl Streets and arrested and then booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

GUN, JEWELRY, TOOLS STOLEN

• At least $8,000 of valuables were stolen in a Winlock area burglary reported yesterday. A deputy called around 5 p.m. to the 400 block of Hemenway Road learned someone forced their way inside a home and shop sometime since Saturday and left with jewelry, a firearm, a toolbox full of tools and a chainsaw, according to the Lewis County Sheriff”s Office.

CENTRALIA HOME BURGLARIZED

• Police were called about 9:40 p.m. yesterday to a burglary at a residence the 300 block of North Diamond Street in Centralia in which two hunting bows and several pieces of jewelry were stolen.

OFFICE BROKEN INTO

• Police were called just before 9 a.m. yesterday to a burglary to an office at the 2000 block of Cooks Hill Road in Centralia. Someone forced open a door and rifled through cabinet drawers, but nothing appeared to be missing,  according to the Centralia Police Department.

AUTO THEFT

• A black 2003 Chevrolet pickup was reported stolen from about 4:45 p.m. yesterday from the 1100 block of Chestnut Street in Centralia. The vehicle, with a license plate reading B83476N, was taken sometime during the night, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police took a report just after 4 p.m. yesterday of a maroon 2005 PT Cruiser missing from he 100 block of West Maple Street in Centralia. It has a license plate of 815 YXY, according to the Centralia Police Department.

OFF-DUTY OFFICER CHASES DOWN WANTED MAN

• A 34-year-old Chehalis man was arrested after a short foot pursuit about 7 p.m. yesterday near Northeast Boistfort Street and Market Boulevard in Chehalis. An off-duty Chehalis police officer recognized Sean Holzberger and knew he had an outstanding warrant, Sgt. Gwen Carrell said. Holzberger threw down his groceries and ran, she said. Holzberger was arrested for obstruction, Carrell said. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

HALF DOZEN VEHICLES SOLD TO MAN WITH DEMENTIA

• Chehalis police were called yesterday afternoon by a woman who said her ex-husband who has dementia bought six cars from an auto dealer, even after they’d been told not to sell them to him. She thought it was a crime, but was told it should be taken up in civil court, according to police.

BUSTED

• Centralia police broke up an underage drinking party last night arresting 17 young people. Officers responded about 10:40 p.m. to a complaint of a loud party at the 1600 block of Winterwood Drive found the owner of the house was away and her child or children had a number of guests who were drinking alcohol, according to the Centralia Police Department. All of the individuals arrested for minor in possession or consuming alcohol were from Centralia and between the ages of 18 and 20, according to police. A 22-year-old male was arrested for obstructing. All were cited and then released, according to police.