Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Centralia man called police after he was assaulted and robbed by a stranger who came knocking at his door over the weekend.

Officers called to the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue about 8 a.m. on Saturday were told by the victim he opened the door to his motor home, was hit in the head and knocked unconscious.

“That’s the last thing he remembers,” Officer John Panco said.

It had happened earlier on Friday night in the RV park where he lives and he called 911 after he came to, according to police.

A bottle of prescription medication which had been sitting on his table was gone, Panco said. The police report did not note what kind of medicine it was, according to Panco.

The 53-year-old victim was taken to the hospital to be treated for a minor cut on his head, according to police.

He said he didn’t see anyone, Panco said.

“He couldn’t give us any idea who would do this, why they would do it, or anything,” Panco said.

The investigation is ongoing.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Sheriff’s Sgt. Ross McDowell is once again reminding the public to store water, food, medicine and flashlights with batteries in case the “big one” hits.

It’s disaster preparedness month and Lewis County is part of a region vulnerable to earthquakes, according to McDowell.

His message is accompanied by a call for the folks to take part in a statewide “Drop, cover and hold” earthquake drill at 9:45 a.m. on April 25.

In the meantime, McDowell, the deputy director of Lewis County Emergency Management offers a short list of items people can put in their disaster emergency kits, with the expectation of having to be self-sufficient for at least three days following a disaster.

• A gallon of water per person, per day (a three-day supply for evacuation and a two-week supply at home)
• Nonperishable, easy-to-prepare food;
•  A flashlight;
• A week’s worth of medications and medical items;
• Hand-crank or battery-powered radio and extra batteries;
• Extra cell phone chargers;
• Emergency contact information;
• Important documents;
• And some cash.

Small earthquakes occur in Western Washington often. See how often and where by viewing a map and information using the link “Latest earthquakes” on the right hand sidebar of Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Centralia man described as a career drug trafficker was sentenced in federal court today to 15 years in prison.

Juvenal Sanchez-Islas, 33, was arrested in early 2010 with another man at a South King County apartment and the two were in possession of four kilos of heroin, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Significant amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine were found inside the apartment, and searches there and at his Centralia home turned up a firearm and ammunition bearing his finger prints, according to U.S. Attorneys Office spokesperson Emily Langlie.

Sanchez-Islas is a Mexican national who pleaded guilty during his trial in November, according to Langlie.

He had previously been convicted and deported for drug trafficking, according to a news release.

At sentencing this morning in U.S. District Court in Seattle, Judge Robert S. Lasnik said, “He is a big time drug dealer who unleashed a lot of terribly dangerous drugs on the community over a long period of time,” the news release stated.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Centralia Police Department will begin canvassing neighborhoods on Sunday looking for unlicensed dogs and their owners.

Owners of unlicensed dogs will be given an opportunity to buy a license, but those who don’t could face a fine of $119, according to the Centralia Police Department.

The annual fee is $30 for each dog older than two months old, although it is only $10 if the animal is spayed or neutered, according to police.

However, for those not already in compliance, a $20 late fee will apply, according to officer John Panco.

Proof of current rabies vaccination (with an expiration date) is required to get the license, according to Panco.

Panco said the push is not in response to last week’s attack by a pair of dogs on a more than a dozen chickens on West Seventh Street, but an annual canvassing by the department to make sure dogs are licensed, as required by city ordinance.

For more information, visit the city’s website.

CLARIFICATION: This was updated Wednesday April 11, 2012 at 8:55 a.m. to distinguish the usual fee for licensing dogs and the added late fee if licenses are not purchased by the renewal deadline of Feb. 1.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A deputy’s patrol was struck twice by a fleeing suspect yesterday morning during a pursuit that began in Morton and ended with a wreck in Onalaska and the discovery of fair amounts of drugs.

The driver was subsequently chased down and arrested for numerous offenses, after a water bottle he allegedly dropped was found to contain more than two ounces of suspected heroin plus about 14 grams of methamphetamine, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

A high speed pursuit began around 10:30 a.m. near the Seasons Motel in Morton down U.S. Highway 12 to Mossyrock where the driver rammed the patrol car for the second time disabling it, according to the sheriff’s office. Other law enforcement officers continued the chase up Silver Creek Road on to state Route 508 into Onalaska, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

The Lexus crashed into an embankment near Fickett Road and the driver fled on foot but was subsequently apprehended, Brown said. His 19-year-old passenger was detained, according to Brown.

Winlock’s drug-sniffing dog Misha and her partner were there and “alerted” on items discarded by the subjects, according to Winlock Police Chief Terry Williams.

Deputies had been surveilling the couple on Sunday morning because they had identified Joshua J. Martin, 28, of Junction City, Ore., as a suspect in an incident the day before in a trailer park in Morton.

A resident at the park on Chapman Road had told deputies he confronted he driver of a car who nearly ran over a child and the driver threatened him with a gun, according to Brown.

A search of the wrecked car turned up an Airsoft gun, Brown said.

The deputy was uninjured, Brown said, but the patrol car sustained an estimated $1,500 damage.

Martin was booked for two counts of second-degree assault, possession of drugs and eluding, according to Brown. The woman, Danique Defeniks, of Eugene, Ore. was booked for eluding.

Defeniks was released with no charges filed. She had told a deputy the two fled because Martin was wanted for hit and run in Oregon and a warrant, according to Brown.