Lewis County Sirens.com

A Saturday fire in Winlock consumes a large barn. / Courtesy photo by Kalli Dawes

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Four fire departments responded to a barn fire in Winlock on Saturday night, a blaze which occurred while its owner was out of town.

The cause is under investigation.

A deputy traveling along the 200 block of Tennessee Road  spotted the fire shortly after 8 p.m., according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Lewis County Fire DIstrict 15 Assistant Chief Kevin Anderson said the large two-story structure was fully involved in flames and there were exploding propane tanks and a recreational vehicle involved. Anderson wasn’t there, and said an engine arriving from Napavine handled incident command.

According to the sheriff’s office, two individuals who were house sitting for the owner were at the scene, and some chickens perished.

Anderson said he believed Red Cross was was contacted to assist one displaced person, but had no further details.

Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown described the loss as more than $10,000. It wasn’t immediately clear what the barn contained.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A former Chehalis resident serving 160 years in prison for participating in shooting up an inhabited trailer in Yakima County in what was described as a gang-related retaliatory attack is back in Lewis County, to face charges in a 2010 drive-by shooting on Southwest William Street in Chehalis.

Andrew Morales-Loberg

Andrew Morales-Loberg was a 19-year-old wanted but never captured in connection with an incident in which someone in a red Chevrolet Blazer fired a round from a pistol that struck a parked vehicle while people were in the area of a residence.

Authorities described the suspects as LVL members and the shooting as related to a debt owed to somebody called “Candy man”. The alleged target was Rolando Carrillo Cruz, who later got in trouble for firing at individuals who came to his Centralia apartment complex on Ash Street.

A $500,000 arrest warrant was issued for Morales-Loberg in the Chehalis case. He and others were jailed in Yakima County shortly after the March 2011 incident there, convicted and then sentenced in October 2012

It appears he was brought from Clallam Bay Corrections Center today to the Lewis County Jail to go before a judge.
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For background, read “Last suspect from summer 2010 drive-by shooting in Chehalis now accounted for” from Wednesday October 3, 2012, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

An image on surveillance video shared by the news media led to tip this morning to Crime Stoppers resulting in the arrest of a 30-year-old suspect for last week’s armed robbery of a Tenino grocery store.

Deputies at about 10 o’clock today took Gregory E. Corbin into custody, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin reports when detectives located Corbin, they also found evidence connecting him to last Thursday’s hold up at the Whistle Stop, and says he confessed.

Corbin was booked into the Thurston County Jail for first-degree robbery, according to Elwin.

Corbin is expected to appear in court tomorrow, Elwin said.

The scene along Rhobina Street in Centralia as police work to coax man from house. / Courtesy photo by Brandon Williams

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 911 call yesterday about a suicidal subject in northeast Centralia led to a large police response and the evacuation of nearby homes, but the hours-long incident ended with nobody hurt and the 31-year-old man safe and put into the hands of family and mental health professionals.

Officers dispatched about 2:10 p.m. to the 1200 block of Rhobina Street were initially told the subject was holding a handgun to his head, according to police.

His father had left the residence and police learned there were numerous firearms inside, according to Centralia Police Department Chief Bob Berg.

Berg indicated information was varied as to the man’s danger to himself and propensity for violence. It was because attempts to contact him were unsuccessful and out of an abundance of caution that police decided to ask neighbors to leave, according to Berg.

Officers, joined by members of the Centralia and Lewis County SWAT teams, blocked off the area for security.

After consultations between police, family members and representatives from Cascade Mental Health, a decision was made just before 8 p.m. for police to simply enter the home, which they did, according to the chief.

The man was contacted and then left in the care of family and individuals with the mental health clinic, according to Berg.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Lewis County coroner says an examination of the baby who died in Winlock yesterday turned up no signs of trauma or foul play.

The sheriff’s office said deputies were investigating the death after being called yesterday morning to the residence on Nikula Road south of town where the infant was unconscious and unresponsive. He was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital  where he was pronounced dead, according to the sheriff’s office.

Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod identifies the child as five-month-old Zane Duel, of Winlock.

Although an autopsy was performed, the cause and manner of death won’t be determined for as long as 12 weeks when the results of toxicology tests and other studies are completed, according to McLeod.

Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said yesterday it is not necessarily suspicious at this point, but anytime there is a death of a child, the sheriff’s office gets involved.

Updated at 2:27 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Deputies are investigating after an infant was found unconscious at a Winlock area home early this morning.

Aid and the sheriff’s office responded about 6:30 a.m. to the 300 block of Nikula Road south of town where the baby was unresponsive, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The 6-month-old boy was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital where he was pronounced dead, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

An investigation is ongoing, Brown said.

Brown said it is not necessarily suspicious at this point, but anytime there is a death of a child, the sheriff’s office gets involved.

The donated home on Sanderson Road south of Chehalis is allowed to burn freely after training is finished. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 6

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A two-story house built in 1890 was reduced to cinders and its concrete foundation after firefighters were done having their way with it yesterday in Chehalis.

The structure on Sanderson Road donated by former volunteer Bob Knapp served as a training tool for members of Lewis County Fire District 6, and a trio who joined them from Riverside Fire Authority in Centralia.

The practice went well, despite the drizzly weather, according to Firefighter Mike Goodwillie.

“All of our combat firefighters received good live fire training and we got to experiment with our new fire extinguishers,” Goodwillie said. “Most importantly no one got hurt.”

Capt. Scott Snyder observes as two volunteers head into burning room with their hose; left, Erica Lorenzo and Jarrod Fernstrom. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 6