Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A jury of six men and six women found Leo B. Bunker III of Winlock guilty as charged in a rape case in which doctors told the victim the stress of testifying could kill her because of her heart condition.

The victim took the witness stand earlier this week and returned to the Chehalis courtroom this afternoon to hear the verdict.

Bunker, 53, testified on his own behalf denying her allegations that he physically abused her during their short marriage in late 2011. He said he was impotent and couldn’t have done what she said, according to his attorney Michael Underwood.

A first trial that began in January ended in a mistrial when Bunker, who was diagnosed with throat cancer after his arrest, caused a daylong recess because of his illness and then the following day the judge took ill.

The former log truck driver was found guilty of  two counts of second-degree rape, one count of harassment and two counts of violating a protection order. The jury deliberated about three and half hours.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler ordered him held without bail pending sentencing.
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For background, read “Lewis County rape case plagued with delays hits another hurdle” from  Friday May 31, 2013, here

Responders work on one patient while others prepare to stabilize the vehicle in order to get out a trapped patient. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 6

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A man and a woman with possible life-threatening injuries were airlifted after a single-vehicle wreck west of Chehalis today.

Firefighters called about 11:40 a.m. to Twin Oaks and Frogner Road found a pickup truck on its side, and cut off its roof to extricate the female passenger who was trapped.

Neighbors and passing motorists were on the scene helping already, according to Lewis County Fire District 6 Chief Tim Kinder.

Sarah Hamilton said she heard tires squealing, a crash and a boom outside her home which sits at the bottom of a hill.

She and her boyfriend ran out and found the driver outside the truck on the ground, she said. He was conscious and talking, she said.

“He said his brakes went out,” Hamilton said.

The couple were apparently delivering phone books; a load of them were scattered around the truck.

The two were transported to the Chehalis-Centralia Airport where they were loaded into two helicopters bound for Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Twin Oaks at Frogner Road west of Chehalis.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Deputies are looking for a Thurston County man following a beating last night of a 52-year-old Lacey resident.

William R. Bellamy

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office says the victim was lured to an address on the 9600 block of Old Highway 99 south of Tumwater under the pretense of performing some contract work about 8:30 p.m. yesterday.

When he arrived, he was knocked to the ground, punched and kicked sustaining broken bones, including in his face, according to the sheriff’s office.

William R. Bellamy, 54, who is wanted for second-degree assault, was last known to live in Lacey, sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said.

Bellamy drove the injured man to an Olympia hospital and dropped him  at the emergency room, according to Elwin.

Elwin said he believed the incident was related to them both seeing the same woman.

The victim is recovering at Capital Medical Center.

Elwin is asking anyone who knows Bellamy’s whereabouts to call 911, and anyone with information about the assault is asked to phone the sheriff’s office at 360-786-5500 or 360-704-2740.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A jury took less than two hours today to find a Federal Way man guilty in the failed March jewelry heist in downtown Centralia.

Justin D. McPherson, 29, survived a gunshot wound he sustained when he was confronted inside Salewsky’s Jewelry shop in the early morning hours of March 20. Centralia police detectives tracked him down at a Tacoma hospital.

The owner said all the stolen pieces were recovered; in a trail of jewelry that led through a hole cut into the wall of the shop.

Plea deals were made with two women who police at first labeled the getaway drivers, but both testified they weren’t in on a plan to break into the business.

Their testimony however placed McPherson and his childhood friend Ryan W. Cox in the vicinity at the time of the burglary.

Cox had a plea agreement with prosecutors as well, but it fell through and he wasn’t called to testify in the three-day trial. He remains in the Lewis County Jail.

McPherson was found guilty of residential burglary, second-degree burglary and second-degree malicious mischief.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead described the shop as a residence because Jeremy Salewsky lived in an upstairs apartment. Salewsky testified he went downstairs to investigate noises and fired at a person who surprised him, and then jumped out a hole in the wall.

The second burglary count is related to the vacant business on the other side of the wall.

McPherson shook his head ever so slightly as he turned toward the jury when the verdict was read. He is represented by Chehalis attorney Ken Johnson.

The jury of nine women and three men also found an aggravating circumstance, that McPherson committed the crime while the victim was present.

That finding means a judge will be free to sentence him to the maximum of 10 years, according to Halstead.

A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
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For background, read “Jewelry store break-in defendant’s companions testify against him” from Thursday May 30, 2013, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Two people from Randle were injured this afternoon when their car ran into another car that had lost control on Interstate 5 in Clark County.

Margaret E. Sundstrom, 66, was transported to PeaceHealth Hospital, after the collision which occurred just before 3 p.m. near milepost 16, north of Vancouver, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Her passenger William L. Little, 68, was injured as well, according to the state patrol.

Sundstorm’s 2005 Buick LaSabre was described as totaled.

Troopers responding to the scene said a 55-year-old Portland driver was merging onto the freeway southbound from Northwest LaCenter Road when she swerved right to avoid a semi truck, overcorrected, veered back in to the center lane and was struck broadside by the Buick.

That driver, Thuy T. Vu, was taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center as well, according to the state patrol. Her 1989 Dodge Dynasty was also totaled.

Updated at 11:22 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Crews called to a house fire east of Napavine just before 11 p.m. found smoke coming from all sides and called in help from three neighboring districts.

The single-story home on the 300 block of Forest Napvine Road East was unoccupied, according to Lewis County Fire District 5.

District 5 spokesperson Lt. Laura Hanson said the kitchen, dining and laundry rooms were heavily burned. The 1,500-square-foot wood structure sustained smoke damage throughout, according to Hanson.

The house was undergoing some renovation between renters; it’s owner resides in an RV on the back of the property, according to Chief Eric Linn. A passing motorist saw smoke and woke up the owner, he said.

It seemed to have begun in the laundry room, Linn said.

“He said before he went to bed, he threw some clothes in the dryer,” he said.

The chief said it had been burning for awhile before the fire department was called. Flames from the laundry room rose into the attic and then ran the full length of the building, dropping fires into other rooms, he said.

Firefighters were on the scene until about 4 a.m.

Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Rick Vanwyck poses with his new partner Axel.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Two new police dogs joined local police agencies after passing their accreditation tests last week.

The Chehalis Police Department now has a canine to call its own, with 19-month-old Reign partnering with Officer Warren Ayers.

The German Shepherd and Malinois mix was introduced this evening to the city council.

He worked his first shift this weekend, helping try to track a subject in Thurston County, Ayers said.

The animals’ basic training consisted of 400 hours over three months.

At the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, 15-month-old Axel is now qualified to work patrol with his handler Deputy Rick Vanwyck.

The sheriff’s office said the German Shepherd in the near future will be cross trained for narcotics detection.

Both the new dogs are from the Czech Republic and both are trained to track and apprehend people and evidence.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield, in a news release, praised Centralia Police Department Officer Tracy Murphy for assisting to select the right dog, which he called another excellent tool to help combat crime in Lewis County.

Chehalis Police Department Officer Warren Ayers shows off his new partner Reign.