Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Centralia resident Weston G. Miller pleaded not guilty to murder three weeks ago and now he’d like to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

Miller, 30, is being held in the March shooting death of his house guest, 43-year-old David Wayne Carson.

David Wayne Carson

A hearing has been scheduled so a judge can hear from experts on both sides about Miller’s mental state at the time of Carson’s death.

It is on the court calendar for Jan. 28.

The former welder told police he acted in self-defense, but prosecutors say it was unprovoked attack when Miller shot Carson twice in the chest area inside Miller’s house on B Street.

An early court filing by Miller’s attorney indicated he would be relying upon a defense of insanity / diminished capacity. His lawyer, J.P. Enbody, has not detailed what his client’s issues are.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said today he won’t discuss the issues, at least until the upcoming hearing.

Miller was only just arraigned last month because of a question whether he was competent to stand trial. A hearing was set for a judge to decide, but then lawyers suddenly agreed Miller was competent.

Meagher said the judge will hear from experts on both sides and can either find Miller not guilty by reason of insanity or decide it is a decision for a jury to make.

His trial is currently scheduled for next month.
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For background, read “B Street homicide: Defendant says self defense” from Wednesday March 14, 2012, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Watch out for that rookie trooper.

He graduated from the Washington State Patrol Academy, got sworn in at the capitol building in Olympia and then headed to his new assignment in Chehalis where on his very first traffic stop, he arrested a man for driving under the influence.

The 37-year-old Lacey motorist said he was headed to the post office in Tumwater, but Trooper Evan Clark found him weaving southbound on Interstate 5 near the 13th Street interchange in Chehalis, according to Trooper Will Finn.

The arrestee said he drank a beer before leaving home, according to Finn.

Trooper Clark earned the praise of Lt. Ken Garrison for the Dec. 17 traffic stop who indicated getting drunken drivers off the roadways is the state patrol’s number one concern.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Trooper Clark,” Garrison said in a prepared statement. “Impaired driving is a leading factor in Washington traffic deaths.

Clark, who comes from Vancouver, is one of four newly commissioned troopers who began working in Chehalis earlier this month.

The graduation ceremony was actually on a Friday, and the DUI arrest came the following Monday after the new troopers met with their commanders in Vancouver and then headed out on patrol.

The four are among 37 cadets who were part of the 100th graduating trooper basic class.

Also new to the Chehalis detachment are:

• Jessica L. Dizon, from Olympia

• Aleksandr V. Ignatov,  from Vancouver

• Blake A. Willson, from Chehalis

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Got an old gun laying around you’d like to get rid of?

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office will take it off your hands, if you like.

Their first ever public event to give citizens the opportunity to dispose of unwanted firearms or ammunition is set for next month.

While they won’t pay you for it, they will have free gun locks to give away. And their SWAT and dive teams will put some of their equipment on display.

It happens on Jan. 19, a Saturday, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the McLane Fire Department at 125 Delphi Road NW, Olympia.

Sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin says the gun givers can choose if their donated weapon gets traded for ammunition for deputies to use in training or gets destroyed.

“If you want it ground up, we’ll do that,” Elwin said.

If it’s traded, it will go to a vendor who will resell it, he said.

Also on hand the same day will be a collection bin for unwanted or old prescription drugs as well as a child identification program provided by Olympia-Thurston County Crime Stoppers.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

An audit issued today for the Doty area fire department reported their internal controls are adequate to safeguard public assets.

Lewis County Fire District 16 took in $17,434 in revenue during 2011, primarily through property taxes, to support its operations, according to the Washington State Auditors Office.

The report dated Dec. 20 covers the two years ending on Dec. 31, 2011.

The auditor also notes that in the areas it examined, the district complied with state laws and its own policies.

The volunteer department is governed by an elected three member board of commissioners.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The 33-year-old Thurston County mother missing since last Saturday has been found, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

Kyndra L. Nevils hadn’t been seen since she left her children with a roommate at home east of Tumwater and was believed to be headed for the Capitol Mall in west Olympia.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Alvin Griffin said today she turned up just after 8 p.m. last night. A deputy and her husband contacted her at the mall, he said.

Griffin didn’t have details about where Nevils had been. He said her husband was going to take her to a hospital, but it wasn’t clear for what.
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For background, read “News brief: Thurston County mom missing almost a week” from Friday December 28, 2012, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Almost two weeks after a head-on crash in Rochester, three of the four persons injured remain hospitalized.

Angela M. Saxon, 40, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where she was listed in critical condition following the Dec. 16 collision  on U.S. Highway 12 at Denmark Street.

Saxon is in satisfactory condition today, according to a hospital spokesperson.

The driver of the car she was in, Eric W. Saxon, 41, was in good condition today at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia. They are both from Rochester.

The Centralia couple traveling in a 1993 GMC van were both taken to Providence Centralia Hospital immediately after the wreck.

Rita S. Dominguez, 54, just got released on Friday, according to her daughter.

Yesenia Dominguez, who also lives in Centralia, said her father was transferred to Harborview that weekend and underwent his second surgery there today.

J. Vidal Dominguez-Mireles, 54, who has his own handyman business, had a broken pelvis and what his daughter described as a burst vertebrae.

“Luckily he’s not going to be paralyzed, that’s the miracle,” Yesenia Dominguez said.

It’s an intersection that has seen several fatalities over the years, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Lt. Eric Smith who was part of the crew that responded to the afternoon wreckage.

The Washington State Patrol described the collision as occurring when Dominguez-Mireles moved into the oncoming lane to avoid stopped traffic.

Yesenia Dominguez said she understood the car in front of her parents stopped very fast and her dad swerved to miss it. Both vehicles were totaled.

The 30-year-old says she’s been praying for her parents and the other couple who she doesn’t know. It’s the kind of incident that’s made her rethink the importance of family, she said.

“You work all day, come home and don’t take a lot of time for family,” she said. “I realize my mom and dad could be worse; like, not here.”
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For background, read “News brief: Four injured in Rochester head-on crash” from Sunday December 16, 2012 at 6:10 p.m., here