Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 64-year-old Centralia man was found deceased at the scene when his pickup truck wrecked yesterday afternoon along Centralia-Alpha Road east of Chehalis.

Deputies and firefighters were called at 3:24 p.m. and found the 2004 GMC Sierra was totaled, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

It appeared the truck had drifted off the road, struck a culvert and rolled multiple times, sheriff’s Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said. The vehicle came to rest wheels down, on the roadway, according to Lewis County Fire District 6.

The driver was the sole occupant, according to Breen.

The Washington State Patrol is assisting with the investigation, he said.

Northbound Interstate 5 traffic in Chehalis is diverted off freeway at exit 79. / Courtesy image WSDOT

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A motorcyclist was killed this morning on northbound Interstate 5 in between Chehalis and Centralia.

Troopers and firefighters were called at 5:09 a.m. to milepost 80 for what was initially described as a multiple vehicle accident and they found semi trucks and cars pulled over with one motorcycle down, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Trooper Will Finn said about 9 a.m. detectives were still sorting out what occurred but he said the collision involved at least one semi truck.

“It’s a pretty dynamic situation,” Finn said.

All northbound traffic was being diverted off the freeway at the Chamber of Commerce Way exit, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The state patrol has a person of interest not at the scene they want to interview who may have been involved or may be just a witness, Finn said.

A tow truck had been called by about 9:10 a.m. but Finn had no estimate as to when the lanes would reopen.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  Authorities recently announced two sex offenders have moved to Lewis County and registered their addresses with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

One moved to Chehalis and the other to Ethel and both are designated level three, meaning they present a clear risk to the community, according to the sheriff’s office.

Neither is wanted by law enforcement, but notification to the community is meant enhance public safety, according to the sheriff’s office.

Rodney M. Matlock

Rodney M. Matlock, 59, just got out of prison, where he was serving a 20-year sentence for a February 2000 conviction in Lewis County Superior Court for first-degree rape of a child in which the victim was a 9-year-old boy he knew, according to sheriff’s detective Jamey McGinty.

Before that, he served a five-year sentence for a 1991 conviction of first-degree sexual abuse of a 6-year-old female relative in Clatsop County, Oregon, according to McGinty.

Matlock resides on the 600 block of Northeast Franklin Avenue in Chehalis.

He is described as 5-feet 9-inches feet tall and weighing 200 pounds with gray hair and blue eyes.

Matlock will be supervised by the state Department of Corrections for three years, according to McGinty.

James M. Keith

A 68-year-old man who has been out of prison since 2010 notified the sheriff’s office at the end of March he would be living on the 100 block of Best Drive in Ethel.

James M. Keith is described as 5-feet 6-inches tall and weighing 190 pounds has gray hair and blue eyes.

Keith was convicted in King County in 1986 of first-degree statutory rape for ongoing forced sexual contact with two girls to whom he was related, ages 6 and 3, according to McGinty.

He was sentenced to not more than 20 years, transferred to work release in 1988 and escaped the day after arrival, McGinty stated.

The following year while on the lam, he stayed with friends and one day followed their 11-year-old daughter to her room where he struck her twice in the head with a large rubber mallet, according to McGinty. Keith began to put tape over her mouth, began to choke her but when he saw she was bleeding called 911 and her mother, according to the sheriff’s office.

He told the girl he was going to choke her, rape her and then kill her, according to McGinty. Keith was charged in 1990 in King County with first-degree assault, convicted and then given a 20-year sentence which ran concurrent to the first case, according to McGinty.

Keith has other convictions including theft, motor vehicle theft, driving under the influence and AWOL.

He is no longer on probation.

Anyone with questions may contact McGinty or Field Operations Chief Bruce Kimsey at 360-748-9286. Visit the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office web site to look up registered sex offenders, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The former Centralia apartment manager accused of setting a fire at a building where she lived and worked pleaded guilty today to one count of first-degree arson.

Kathrin L. Turner

Kathrin L. Turner went before a judge today in Lewis County Superior Court with her attorney, David Arcuri.

Turner’s eyes stayed on the judge as she replied, “guilty”.

Centralia police investigated after two small fires were set on two consecutive mornings at the 1100 block of Scammon Creek Road. Turner told responders she used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames that damaged an approximately 15 square foot area of exterior siding on Nov. 3.

Three days later, Turner was found in the bathroom of a common area of the complex with life-threatening lacerations and taken to Tacoma General Hospital where she spent 45 days, according to authorities.

Centralia police concluded she’d cut her own throat and wrists.

Judge Andrew Toynbee accepted her plea and scheduled her sentencing for 11 a.m. on May 10.

She faces a standard sentencing range of 21 to 27 months in prison.

Arcuri said the reasoning behind his client’s and the prosecutor’s thinking will likely be made more clear at that hearing.
•••

For background, read “Centralia apartment arson suspect held on $10,000 bail” from Tuesday January 24, 2017, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A fire investigator is looking into the cause of a fire that destroyed a Morton area home today.

Nobody was home and nobody was injured, according to Lewis County Fire District 4.

Firefighters were called about 7:30 a.m. to the mobile home park on Chapman Road, off state Route 508 just west of town, according to Fire Chief Dan Powell.

“There were actually mobile homes on both sides, but no damage to them,” Powell said.

They were assisted by members of Lewis County Fire District 3.

Powell said a small camp trailer was lost as well.

The person who resides there was away this morning, the chief said.

Firefighters held house fire to bedroom. / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority

Updated at 6:03 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – An elderly woman escaped safely when an oxygen machine and bed caught fire during the night at a home near Providence Centralia Hospital.

Firefighters called about 2 o’clock this morning to the 600 block of Nick Road found flames in the bedroom of the mobile home, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

They were joined by the Chehalis Fire Department and extinguished the fire, which was confined to the bedroom, according to Capt. Scott Weinert.

The mattress was almost completely consumed and damage was mainly the bed and adjacent furniture however there was smoke damage throughout the residence, according to Weinert.

The woman got out before the first crew arrived and suffered a minor burn injuries to her torso, according to the fire department. She was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital for evaluation, Weinert said. He described her condition as stable.

The fire is believed to have started when the occupant fell asleep with a lit cigarette, Capt. Tim Adolphsen stated in a memo this afternoon.

Though smoke alarms were present, they were not working.