Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A hero to every boy from Winlock, whose longing for Christmas during his years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam prompted the small town to decorate itself as such for his July 1973 homecoming has died.

Edward W. Leonard, a highly decorated veteran who grew up in Winlock, was shot down on Memorial Day and passed away last month on Veterans Day, two of those “boys” related as they recalled a childhood idol.

He became a lawyer and lived in Astoria and then was was mayor of Ilwaco, Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey said.

Another of those who went in the practice of law, Dana Williams, spoke of Leonard being honored with a medal rarely given.

“Eddie was a hero to every kid from Winlock, including me,” Williams said.

The Chinook Observer writes that Leonard spent five years as a POW, three and a half of those years in solitary confinement.

Brosey said Leonard and now Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., were in adjacent cells at the so-called Hanoi Hilton.

His obituary says the former Air Force pilot was 76 years old when he died in Portland, Ore. on Nov. 11. Internment and military services will be in the spring at the Air Force Academy in Colorado, according to the obituary published Nov. 25, in the Chinook Observer.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 37-year-old Centralia woman was arrested on Thursday on a $100,000 warrant for rape of a child.

Chrystal G. Munoz-Rosales was booked into the Lewis County Jail, following an investigation that began in mid-September when the Centralia Police Department was given information from Child Protective Services regarding a 16-year-old girl.

Charging documents describe allegations of ongoing sexual abuse in a household Munoz-Rosales shared with her live-in boyfriend and his children.

Lewis County prosecutors allege in the documents Munoz-Rosales coerced the girl into giving her oral sex once when the girl was 9 years old and another time when she was 15.

A Centralia police detective interviewed the girl and her siblings, one of which said Munoz-Rosales would let the girl “work off being grounded” by performing chores and giving foot massages and back rubs, which occurred in the older woman’s room, according to the documents.

No physical violence is alleged.

The charge for the earlier instance, first-degree child rape, carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. The charge for the more recent instance, third-degree child rape, carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Munoz-Rosales has no prior felony convictions, according to the documents filed by Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh.

Munoz-Rosales remains held on $50,000 bail.

The driver of the log truck escaped with minor injuries. / Courtesy photo by Washington State Patrol

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A truck driver from Mineral was uninjured when a log truck struck the concrete bridge beam he was hauling in Raymond this morning.

Steven J. Douglas, 61, of Mineral, was driving a Kenworth, with an oversized load – a 100-foot-long beam – south on state Route 101 and turned east onto state Route 6 just before 7:30 a.m., according to the Washington State Patrol.

Douglas hadn’t yet cleared the intersection when a northbound loaded log truck collided with him, according to the state patrol.

The driver of the 2007 Western log truck, 37-year-old Scott J. Leopard of Montesano, escaped with minor injuries, according to the state patrol.

The intersection was fully blocked for more than three hours. The collision is under investigation.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Lacey resident trying to break up a fight between two individuals at his home during a party was stabbed, and a Centralia man is in custody.

Police responding about 12:40 a.m. yesterday to the residence contacted the suspect as he was leaving in a vehicle, according to the Lacey Police Department.

Twenty-year-old Stuart A. Acosta of Centralia was arrested for second-degree assault, detective Sgt. Terence Brimmer said.

The incident is still under investigation, Brimmer said, but it seemed as though a group of people showed up the homeowner was unfamiliar with and two of them got into a fight. One of the two was Acosta, he said.

The homeowner, also in his early 20s, stepped in between them and was stabbed in his lower abdomen, Brimmer said.

He said he wasn’t sure how seriously the victim was injured.

“As far as his medical status, I don’t know,” Brimmer said. “He was taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital.”

Acosta was booked into the Thurston County Jail, he said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Randle teenager is locked up after a dispute with his neighbor last night in which he reportedly went to the door with a stun gun and zapped the neighbor in the face when he answered.

Deputies called to the 100 block of Morris Road just before 7 p.m. were told the two had been arguing earlier and the 17-year-old threatened the 50-year-old man with the stun gun, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The man chased the boy away with an axe, according to the sheriff’s office.

Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said it wasn’t yet clear to her what the disagreement was about.

Brown said she understood the 17-year-old later went to the neighbor’s door and when the 50-year-old opened the door, he was shocked in the face. The boy pushed the man into the residence, continuing to shock him and began to stab him with what was described as a blunt metallic object.

The two fought and the older man was able to gain control of the situation, Brown said. The 17-year-old was later located and booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center, she said.

The injuries are not severe, according to Brown. The victim is missing a tooth and sustained several scrapes from the metallic object, she said.

The teen had a bloody nose and a cut on his forehead, she said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The family whose house and vehicle were hit by gunfire over the weekend in Centralia tell police they don’t know why they would have been targeted.

They have no idea, Centralia Police Department detective Pat Beall said this morning.

It happened early on Sunday morning at the the 1300 block of Windsor Avenue but wasn’t discovered until that afternoon.

“We know somewhere around 5 o’clock a vehicle, we think a vehicle, drove by and fired four shots,” Beall said.

Nobody was hurt.

One round struck the rain gutter and lodged into the wood portion of the home, a second ricocheted off the windshield of their truck and hit the gutter, according to Beall. Two others struck the truck, he said.

It’s a family who lives there, with children, according to Beall.

Officers responded about 3:30 p.m. on Sunday and detectives are investigating the case.

Beall said they also know one person was in the area on foot, but didn’t elaborate.

Police are not releasing what type of bullets they found, or what kind of gun they would have come from.

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For background, read “News brief: House, vehicle fired upon in north Centralia” from Monday November 24, 2014, here