Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Ricky Allen Riffe could possibly back in Lewis County as early as next week to face charges in the 1985 kidnapping and slaying of an elderly Ethel couple.

Riffe, 53, remains in custody in Alaska, following his surprise arrest the Sunday before last at his home in King Salmon, Alaska. He and his brother moved to Alaska in 1987.

Ed and Minnie Maurin

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said a hearing is scheduled tomorrow for the extradition proceedings.

Meyer doesn’t know for sure how long it will take to get the suspect back to Washington to face a judge.

“Worse case, another 20 days,” Meyer said today. “Best case, next week.”

Meyer sought and secured a governor’s warrant, signed by governors of both Washington and Alaska, he said. It has been delivered to prosecutors office, he said.

Ed and Wilhelmina “Minnie” Maurin disappeared from their home along U.S. Highway 12 on Dec. 19, 1985.

Riffe and his brother John Gregory Riffe were long time suspects, but only just charged earlier this month as additional evidence and witnesses finally coming forward shored up the case, according to Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield.

John Riffe was 50 when he died last month of ill health, according to the sheriff.

Authorities believe the brothers got into the couple’s home, and then forced them to drive to a bank in Chehalis to withdraw $8,500 before shooting them in the backs with a shotgun. Their bodies were found on Christmas Eve 1985 dumped off a logging road outside Adna.

One of Minnie Maurin’s four grown children, former Lewis County Commissioner Dennis Hadaller, offered rewards and hired private detectives to work the case.

Riffe is charged with two counts each of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree robbery, as well as one count of burglary.

Numerous aggravating circumstances are alleged including particularly vulnerable victims and deliberate cruelty. Ed Maurin was 81 years old, his wife 83.

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For back ground, read:

• “Breaking news: Sheriff: Cold case solved in 1985 shooting death of elderly Ethel couple” from Monday July 9, 2012 at 9:13 a.m., here

• “Sheriff: It’s safe for further witnesses to come forward following arrest in deaths of Ethel couple” from Monday July 9, 2012 at 5:14 p.m., here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The county has settled a lawsuit with a magazine publisher who claimed the Lewis County Jail violated his rights under the First Amendment by refusing to accept its free publication for inmates.

Crime, Justice and America claimed the jail’s blanket ban on unsolicited publications was exaggerated.

Jail Chief Kevin Hanson said after the suit was filed in federal court at the end of March, he would accept the magazine, but only in limited quantities and if addressed to specific named inmates.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor David Fine notified the county board of commissioner’s today that Lewis and a dozen other Washington counties signed the settlement on Friday.

Lewis County will pay the California publisher $10,000, Fine said.

It just means the case is over, Fine said, and the county’s insurer has sent them $10,000.

“They’ve never sent us a magazine, but if they wish to, and it’s addressed to an inmate, it’ll be handed over to the inmate,” Fine said.

There won’t be any policy changes because the jail is in compliance with the law, according to Fine.

Crime, Justice and America’s publisher Ray Hrdlicka, was claiming monetary damages from lost advertising and wanted a judge’s order for the jail to stop violating its rights.
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For background, read “Jail sued over magazine offer for inmates” from Thursday March 29, 2012, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A couple from Yakima County were airlifted after their motorcycle collided with a van this afternoon on U.S. Highway 12 in Ethel.

Aid and troopers were called about 3:25 p.m. to the intersection at Leonard Road found the Harley Davidson upside down in the ditch as well as its riders, according to responders.

Randy Gomez, 51, had a broken leg; Irene Gomez, 50, had two broken legs, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Lewis County Fire District 8 Chief Duran McDaniel said they called for LifeFlight because they were open fractures.

The Gomezs, from Moxee, were headed west when an eastbound van made a left turn in front of them, according to the state patrol.

The driver of the Mercury Villager, Beverly Overbay, 70, from Mossyrock, was reportedly uninjured.

Both vehicles were described as totaled.

Randy Gomez was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle; Irene Gomez was flown to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, Wash., the state patrol reported.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – One expert says he is competent to stand trial and another expert says he is not.

Centralia resident Weston G. Miller, 30, is charged with first-degree murder in the March shooting death of his house guest, 43-year-old David Wayne Carson.

Miller told police he acted in self-defense, but Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer has said it was unprovoked attack in his house on B Street.

The former welder was also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, after police searched the home and found five guns, a silencer, a laser site for a gun and a bullet-proof vest.

Miller appeared briefly in Lewis County Superior Court this morning when lawyers scheduled a half-day hearing for next month.

Meyer said an evaluation conducted by Western State Hospital concluded Miller is competent and a defense expert concluded he is not.

A judge will hear from both sides on August 15 and make a decision, according to Meyer.

Carson, a Centralia resident who had just signed up for college and was going to learn to fly so he could go work in Alaska, died of two gunshot wounds to his chest area on March 13.
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For background, read “B Street homicide: Defendant says self defense” from Wednesday March 14, 2012, here

Updated

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The man charged with the 1985 kidnapping and murder of Edward and Wilhelmina “Minnie” Maurin declined today to waive extradition proceedings that would bring him back to Lewis County from Alaska, according to a news story published in the Anchorage Daily News.

Rick Riffe

Associated Press reporter Rachel D’Oro writes that Rick Riffe appeared before a judge today in Anchorage and said he didn’t need an attorney appointed to him, he planned to hire one.

Riffe, 53, was arrested Sunday at his home near King Salmon, Alaska by two Lewis County Sheriff’s Office detectives with help from Alaska state troopers.

The bodies of the elderly Ethel couple were found on Christmas Eve 1985 off a logging road near Adna. They had gone missing several days earlier.

Prosecutors believe Riffe and his now-deceased brother John Gregory Riffe got into the couple’s home, uncovered bank records and forced the couple to go with them to the bank and withdraw $8,500 before shooting them in the backs with a shotgun inside their car, according to charging documents.

The brothers moved from Lewis County to Alaska where they have lived since 1987, according to the sheriff’s office.

A detective and Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead stayed in Alaska in hopes of bringing Riffe back right away, the sheriff’s office told county commissioners yesterday.

D’Oro did note note in her news story how long those proceedings could take.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer planned to seek a governor’s warrant as soon as possible if Riffe chose to go through extradition proceedings, the commissioners were told.

A hearing is scheduled for July 19, according to Meyer.

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For back ground, read:

• “Breaking news: Sheriff: Cold case solved in 1985 shooting death of elderly Ethel couple” from Monday July 9, 2012 at 9:13 a.m., here

• “Sheriff: It’s safe for further witnesses to come forward following arrest in deaths of Ethel couple” from Monday July 9, 2012 at 5:14 p.m., here

Updated at 10:52 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 50-year-old Rochester man was killed in a motorcycle wreck this afternoon in south Thurston County, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Troopers were called just after 1:15 p.m. to the collision on Southwest Tilley Road near Goddard Road, east of Interstate 5.

The brand new Harley Davidson was northbound on Tilley Road when it struck a deer in the roadway, according to the state patrol.

The motorcyclist has been identified as Mark T. Mercurio.

Mercurio was wearing a helmet, according to the state patrol. His bike sustained an estimated $5,000 damage.

It’s unknown if alcohol or drugs may have been involved, according to the investigating trooper.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A pair of Rochester teenagers were hospitalized after multiple collisions on southbound Interstate 5 near Centralia this afternoon that backed up traffic for at least five miles.

Troopers and aid were called just before 2 p.m. when possibly more than a dozen vehicles were involved in several separate wrecks, according to authorities.

Washington State Patrol spokesperson Ryan Tanner said nobody was seriously injured and preliminary information suggested five different collisions around the area just south of the Lewis-Thurston county line.

Riverside Fire Authority Mike Kytta said besides the two who were transported, a handful of motorists which were looked at by medics had very minor or no injuries and declined further assistance.

Kytta thought he counted 16 vehicles which had all pulled over to the inside shoulder along about a half mile stretch.

He called it a very fortunate and very surprising outcome with so many vehicles on a high speed road.

A memo from the state patrol described one portion of the incident as four vehicles that were damaged when a 1999 Chevrolet Prizm tried to go around others which were slowing for traffic. It was totaled.

It’s driver, Lacy M. Wood, 17, suffered an injury to her right knee, according to the state patrol. Her passenger, William Short, 19, hurt his left knee and right arm, the investigating trooper reported.

Both were taken to Providence Centralia Hospital.

The other three vehicles involved in that collision sustained damage varying from about $500 to $5,000 but were able to be driven from the scene.

The Washington state Department of Transportation indicated the roadway was all cleared by about 3:45 p.m.