Lewis County Sirens.com

One of two missing inmates is arrested on Sunday afternoon. / Courtesy photo by state Department of Corrections

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Two escapees from Cedar Creek Corrections Center near Littlerock were apprehended yesterday afternoon without incident about six miles north of the facility.

Richard Harvell, 30, and Sage Bear, 26, were arrested together about 3:50 p.m., according to the state Department of Corrections.

They were found in the Capitol Forest, according to DOC.

Both men are pending transfer to a state prison facility and medical treatment for minor injuries sustained while escaping, authorities stated yesterday afternoon.

DOC said early yesterday morning the pair left about 9:40 p.m. on Saturday from the minimum custody institution at 12200 Bordeaux Road west of Littlerock.

Harvell was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm out of Snohomish County and began serving a 44-month sentence on March 15. Bear was convicted of first-degree manslaughter out of King County in January 2009 and had been scheduled for release in  July of next year.

DOC offered thanks to the many individuals who provided tips to the phone lines.
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For background, read “Law enforcement searches for prison escapees from Cedar Creek” from Sunday June 11, 2017, here

Richard Harvell, 30, and Sage Bear, 26, escaped last night

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Two inmates have escaped from the minimum custody Cedar Creek Corrections Center near Littlerock, according to the state Department of Corrections.

Law enforcement and DOC are searching for Richard Harvell, 30, and Sage Bear, 26, who escaped about 9:40 p.m. yesterday, according to a statement from DOC posted on its Facebook page and Twitter account at about 3:30 a.m. today.

Authorities advise anyone who sees either man not to approach them, but to call 911 or call Cedar Creek Corrections Center at 360-359-4100.

Harvell was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm out of Snohomish County and began serving his 44-month sentence on March 15, 2017. His expected release date had been tentatively set for March 19, 2019.

Bear was convicted of first-degree manslaughter out of King County and began serving his 130-month sentence on January 27, 2009. His expected release date had been tentatively set for July 9, 2018.

Correctional employees initiated inmate recount of the entire facility and escape procedures at approximately 10 p.m., according to the statement. The facility notified local law enforcement and activated inmate recovery teams.

Cedar Creek houses approximately 480 male inmates at the facility at 12200 Bordeaux Road west of Littlerock.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Authorities have identified the Vancouver bank robbery suspect who died after exchanging gunfire with police as 50-year-old David W. Hamilton of Centralia.

Hamilton died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office.

At approximately 2:20 p.m. on Tuesday, officers responded to a robbery of the IQ Credit Union in which a rifle-carrying, ski mask-wearing subject ran into the bank, robbed it of an undisclosed amount of money and then fled, according to the Vancouver Police Department.

The individual was seen getting into a white vehicle and responding officers then spotted the subject getting into a second vehicle and driving away, according to police. A pursuit ensued, a PIT maneuver was conducted on the fleeing vehicle and shots were exchanged between the suspect and officers, according to police.

No officers were injured, but three officers were put on leave, according to the Vancouver Police Department. An investigation was initiated by the Regional Major Crimes Team.

Shop building reignites hours after fire department leaves. / Courtesy photo by Tayler Williams

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The shop building used by a rural Chehalis man who refurbishes and tunes pianos is a total loss after a noontime fire was extinguished and then reignited yesterday evening.

Lewis County Fire District 6 Chief Tim Kinder said it was about 6:45 p.m. when a neighbor called and reported the structure was fully involved in flames.

Firefighters from District 6 and three other departments had spent about an hour and a half earlier in the day putting out a fire in the same building at the 300 block of Logan Hill Road. That ended with main structure still intact, according to the fire district.

Kinder said they knocked the second fire down within about 15 minutes but stayed on scene until after 9 p.m. moving materials to make sure there were no hots spots remaining.

He said the building held pianos on one side and the actual shop on the other side. He estimated the loss of building and contents at about $30,000.

The second fire spread to the adjacent carport and threatened the house, he said. The cause is under investigation.

Shop building on Logan Hill Road. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 6

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – There was heavy damage from flames and smoke but the main structure of a garage south of Chehalis was saved after a fire broke out today.

Firefighters called just before noon to the 300 block of Logan Hill Road were told no one was inside the building, according to Lewis County Fire District 6.

The fire was contained to the garage and nobody was hurt, according to Firefighter DJ Hammer.

A building inspector was requested to check the shop building for structural integrity, according to Hammer. The cause is being investigated.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 49-year-old Centralia man was sentenced today to 20 months in prison for indecent liberties in a case in which a young woman said he molested her while she was sleeping in his fifth-wheel trailer while she was withdrawing from heroin.

Keith D. Keene pleaded guilty on May 10 to the felony offense, but made an Alford plea, in which he admitted no wrongdoing.

He appeared in Lewis County Superior Court this morning before Judge Andrew Toynbee, with his lawyer Don Blair.

Keene was charged earlier this year in the case detectives began investigating last July following a tip from an inmate at the Lewis County Jail who said they knew of multiple women sexually assaulted by Keene.

The original charges included the cases of two other women in their 20s who told of similar instances, but those charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal, according to Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Melissa Bohm.

The victim in the case in which Keene was convicted was 19 years old in November 2015 and told police he had offered her to use his bed and when she she woke up to Keene pressing himself against her, she immediately got up and went outside. She said it happened just before she went to rehab.

The judge gave Keene credit for 32 days of time already served and imposed three years of supervision after his release.
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For background, read “Centralian accused of taking advantage of multiple younger women” from Saturday February 11, 2017, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Authorities say the woman whose body was found inside a car at K-Mart’s parking lot this weekend died of suicide.

Twenty-five-year-old Jennifer E. Zamora was from Centralia, according to the Lewis County Coroner’s Office.

Chehalis police began investigating following an approximately 10 a.m. call on Sunday to the 1200 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue about a person deceased inside a 2001 Kia Rio in a parking space at the far south side of the lot.

Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod indicated this morning Zamora died of a gunshot wound to her head. Police said a shotgun was located with her.

Chehalis Police Department Sgt. Gwen Carrell said it appears it happened sometime during the night, but police are still tying up loose ends in the case.

Six deaths this year in Lewis County have been ruled suicide, as of two weeks ago.