Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  Lewis County prosecutors won their appeal of the dismissal of a case by a local judge who concluded gift cards stolen by an employee from K-Mart did not meet the definition of “access devices.”

Angel R.M. Nelson was charged in Lewis County Superior Court in 2014 with second-degree theft of an access device and second-degree possession of a stolen access device. Surveillance video allegedly showed her retrieve empty gift cards three times and add funds to them without adding cash to her register, according to background information in the opinion issued this week by the state Court of Appeals.

At a pre-trial hearing, the judge granted a defense motion, ruling that as a matter of law, a gift card is not an access device, according to the document.

Reviewing in the light most favorable to the state and looking to the statute’s plain language, the three-member panel of justices found the state was correct. The justices said a gift card is an “access device.” The opinion was issued on Tuesday.

They remanded the case for further proceedings.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Prosecutors dropped a felony case they had filed against a Chehalis business owner, alleging after they searched his warehouse and his residence he’d used an alias, illegally possessed a gun and falsely declared his qualifications as a voter.

Elvis A. Matias-Lopez, 34, of Chehalis, was charged at the end of April in Lewis County Superior Court.

According to court documents, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office found Matias-Lopez was illegally in the country and eligible for deportation.

A sheriff’s detective began looking into Champion Greens located on Northwest West Street in Chehalis based on information that arose pursuant to an investigation by multiple agencies into organized criminal activity in Washington state, according to court documents.

Law enforcement conducted surveillance on on Matias-Lopez for about a year, ending last October, court documents relate.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wouldn’t say what kind of organized crime was being looked into, but yesterday said he asked a judge to dismiss the charges earlier this month because he anticipates the case will be transferred to a federal jurisdiction.

The local charges were first-degree criminal impersonation, false declaration as to qualifications as a voter and alien in possession of a firearm without an alien firearm license.

They were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they can be re-filed at a later date, Halstead said.
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For background, read “Probe into unspecified “organized crime” nets local resident eligible for deportation” from Sunday May 1, 2016, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  A worker walked off the job at Cowlitz Timber Trails near Salkum yesterday after encountering an angry 69-year-old man who reportedly held him at gunpoint, telling him he could shoot him and anyone else who came onto his property, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

A deputy called just before 12:20 p.m. about the incident at the 1800 block of Spencer Road was told it happened on the property line in the woods and the 42-year-old resident of Silver Creek had been using a chainsaw to clear brush.

The victim said the man was pointing the firearm at him from within five feet, ranting about a property dispute and the victim was very afraid he was going to die, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. The gunman after about 30 seconds put his pistol away and the victim walked off the job, according to the sheriff’s office.

Cowlitz Timber Trails is a membership-based camping and recreation property along the Cowlitz River.

Roger K. Wilkinson, 69, Salkum, was contacted, arrested for first-degree assault and booked into the Lewis County Jail. He is scheduled to be brought before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court to hear what, if any, charges will be filed against him.

A picture taken just before he went missing on Sunday was shared on social media.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A teenager who got separated from his father while hiking yesterday afternoon south of White Pass was located in good shape this morning.

The White Pass Ski Resort began tweeting just before 1 a .m. today they needed volunteers first thing this morning to help search for 15-year-old Robby Kershaw.

They tweeted he was found just before 10 a.m. and thanked the hundreds of volunteers who responded.

They had been hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail by Hogback Mountain near the Lewis-Yakima county border.

The boy was in good condition when he was found, according to the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Law enforcement is looking for the driver who walked away from a head-on collision in Winlock early yesterday morning after telling an injured woman in the other vehicle he would call for help.

A passing citizen who came upon the wreck on the 200 block of North Military Road called 911 about 5:30 a.m., according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The 50-year-old Winlock woman at the scene sustained serious injuries including broken bones in her face and back, according to the sheriff’s office. She was airlifted to a hospital in Vancouver and then transferred to a Portland hospital for further treatment, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning.

Her pickup truck and the other car were both totaled, Brown said.

The victim said that before the man left, he tried once to open her door, asked her if she could move and said he would call police or an ambulance, according to Brown.

Deputies searched but could not locate him, Brown said.

His 2007 Acura four-door, with Utah license plates, was impounded to be checked for finger prints and DNA evidence, Brown said.

He is described as a white male with dark hair and around 5-feet 9-inches tall. Brown said he could have injuries to his face or arm.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A trial for two men accused of second-degree assault for a fight between distant relatives in Chehalis ended with both found guilty of two counts of fourth-degree assault.

The offenses are gross misdemeanors instead of felonies.

Edu Adsilva Leal, 23, of Chehalis and Gustavo Casmiro-Gomez, 31, were charged in February for the incident that took place the previous September at the 1300 block of Southwest Mills Avenue in Chehalis.

Prosecutors alleged one of them punched his cousin in the head and when the cousin’s father tried to intervene, the other knocked him to the ground, causing a head injury.

Casmiro-Gomez’s lawyer, Chris Baum, said there was yelling, an altercation and then testimony diverged as to what followed.

The jury deliberated in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday after the trial that began the week before.

The two defendants appeared in court this afternoon, out of custody, to set a date for their sentencing. The hearing will take place at 9 a.m. on August 3.
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For background, read “Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup – FROM THE COURTHOUSE” from Saturday February 27, 2016, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A counselor who pleaded not guilty to custodial sexual misconduct in connection with a student-inmate at Green Hill School has struck a plea deal with prosecutors.

Erin Stiebritz, who also goes by the last name of Snodgrass, appeared in Lewis County Superior Court this afternoon to set a date to change her plea.

Courtesy photo DSHS

The now-37-year-old  is expected back in court next Wednesday.

Stiebritz was arrested in January, following an investigation conducted by the Washington State Patrol during 2015.

Prosecutors alleged that the then resident-counselor had an intimate relationship with an incarcerated boy who turned 18 during that time, including engaging in sex in her office, during several months in 2014.

She has been free on an unsecured bond.

Green Hill is run by the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, a division of the Department of Social and Health Services. It’s a medium to maximum security fenced facility in Chehalis that provides older, male offenders education and vocational training.
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For background, read “Juvenile administrators speak out on arrest of Green Hill counselor” from Thursday January 14, 2016, here