Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 46-year-old Centralia man was arrested overnight for allegedly thrusting a samurai sword through the side of a trailer nearly stabbing a woman inside.

Police say Norman R. Pedigo also used the 28-inch long weapon in an attempt to stab the victim through an open window.

Officers called about 12:15 a.m. to a gas station on the 1200 block of Mellen Street learned Pedigo and his brother had been involved in a dispute at the nearby trailer park. They spoke with Pedigo there and then spoke to the brother, according to the Centralia Police Department.

According to police, the two men who reside together were arguing and the brother went next door to get away from the situation. That’s when Pedigo became so enraged, he attacked the neighbor woman’s trailer, according to police.

The woman was not injured, but the brother was allegedly punched in the face by Pedigo, according to police.

The suspect was arrested first-degree assault and fourth-degree assault, and booked into the Lewis County Jail.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A woman who crashed her bicycle on the tracks in front of an approaching train was rescued by bystanders overnight in downtown Centralia.

Police were called at 2 a.m. to the 200 block of North Railroad Avenue where they found the woman with a small cut on her head from the fall, according to the Centralia Police Department.

While the woman was helped to safety, there wasn’t enough time to move her bike and belongings from the tracks before the train passed, according to police.

She was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital where she was treated and given stitches in her forehead, according to police.

It wasn’t that long ago when a Centralia man wrecked his bike on the tracks in the same area, and was fatally struck by a train.

Victor J. Bonagofski, 72, lost his life when he fell off his bicycle on the railroad tracks at Locust Street and was hit by a freight train the night of Aug. 12.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 56-year-old man caught fishing when he shouldn’t have been on the Cowlitz River was sentenced yesterday to almost two years in prison.

Robert L. Niquette was on the water near the Blue Creek boat launch out of Salkum at about 10 o’clock one night this past December when a Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife officer on patrol recognized the lone vehicle in the parking lot.

The officer heard a motorboat and watched for awhile as two individuals fished in the dark.

Yesterday, in Lewis County Superior Court, a judge imposed a 22-month sentence on the Vancouver, Washington resident.

“It’s not just fishing without a license,” Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Eric Eisenberg said today. “But fishing when his right to fish had been revoked for life.

“This is his third conviction for that.”

Eisenberg said Niquette pleaded guilty on the morning his trial was to begin last month.

When they went before a judge yesterday, even Eisenberg thought the potential penalty was awfully high.

The standard sentencing range, given Niquette’s number of previous convictions, was 22 to 29 months, Eisenberg said.

“My recommendation was 15, cause that’s really a lot,” he said. “And in fact, he did not catch anything.”

Judge James Lawler gave the defendant five days credit for time already served in the jail

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Silver Creek area man who went missing yesterday was found dead last night inside his wrecked truck twenty to thirty feet down an embankment not far from his home.

Paul L. Halstead, 63, had left home yesterday morning and by afternoon, his family and deputies were looking for him because he hadn’t returned, according to responders.

His family found his Ford Ranger pickup on its top off of  state Route 122, about two miles northwest of Mossyrock, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Troopers and aid responded to the scene just west of Steelhead Drive about 8 p.m., Washington State Patrol Sgt. Mike Cournyer said.

Cournyer said he believes the crash occurred in the morning.

It had rained, so there weren’t tire marks on the road and the vehicle was such that a person wouldn’t have seen it unless they were in exactly the right spot, Cournyer said.

Troopers concluded Halstead was westbound from Steelhead Drive and drifted to the right, and then overcorrected causing his truck to leave the roadway, roll down the embankment and come to rest on its top. He was seat belted in, responders said.

Cournyer said it’s a narrow and curvy road and the cause of the crash seemed to be inattention, but the coroner should be able to determine for sure what happened.

The 2007 Ford Ranger was described as totaled.

Flames rise from a huge metal and wood structure used for storage. / Courtesy photo by Rob Gordon

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Firefighters weren’t able to determine what caused a blaze yesterday morning that destroyed a former chicken barn in South Thurston County.

Crews called at 6:50 a.m. to the corner of Leitner Road Southwest at Danby Drive found the large wood and metal building fully involved in flames, according to Thurston County Fire District 12.

They were joined by six neighboring fire departments and on the scene until almost noon, Battalion Chief James Fowler said.

The structure was about 200 feet long and 50 feet wide, Fowler said.

“There were no chickens in it, they were using it for storage, like old tractors and a car,” he said. “The owner said he had a brand new table saw he never got to use yet.”

Nobody was injured.

Fowler said the destruction was such there was no way to even be certain where the fire originated, let alone what caused it. He’s putting it down as undetermined, he said.

The property has a Rochester address, but is east of Interstate 5 and north of the Old Highway 99.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 20-year-old Randle resident died following a head-on crash in Pierce County on Saturday night that authorities blamed on driving too fast for conditions.

Three occupants of the other car were also hospitalized after the highway wreck that shut down the roadway for three hours and 45 minutes, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Raymond R. Craig, 20, of Randle, was transported to Tacoma General Hospital but passed away there at 9:40 a.m. on Sunday, according to the state patrol.

Troopers called at about 11:30 p.m. on Saturday determined Craig had been northbound on state Route 161 and crossed in to the southbound lane at a curve where his 1992 Mitsubishi GT struck an oncoming 2013 Nissan four-door.

It happened near Thomas Road, about eight miles south of Graham.

No alcohol was involved and everyone was wearing their seat belts.

The three in the Nissan were injured and taken to Good Samaritan Hospital.

They are, the driver, Ramon J. Becerrabecerra, 26, of Fresno; passenger, Jose A. Becerrabecerra, 21, from Eatonville; and passenger Carlos A. Becerrabecerra,20, of Puyallup.

Both vehicles were totaled and impounded, but no charges are expected.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Detectives continue actively investigating the disappearance of a Centralia mother of three who spent time on Saturday at and around freeway exits near Vader wearing pajama bottoms and no shoes, after leaving her car on Interstate 5.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office has said Elizabeth A. Pham, 33, may be suffering from from postpartum depression.

Elizabeth A. Pham

Yesterday after lunchtime, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown indicated that while Pham came into contact with several individuals at a gas station, a truck stop and a restaurant, the last sighting of her appears to have been around noon on Saturday sitting beneath the overpass at exit 59 staring into the Cowlitz River.

Members of the sheriff’s office Swift Water Team spent five and half hours yesterday scouring the river. They searched to an area approximately two miles downstream from the Mandy Road overpass, according to Brown.

Team members stated the visibility, in the areas searched, was good as the river is fairly shallow and slow moving, Brown indicated.

They stopped at the point they did, because the river was too shallow in many places to continue downstream, according to Brown.

They didn’t find any evidence she actually went into the river.

Her makeup bag was turned into police on Sunday, having been discovered by a fisherman near the fork in the Cowlitz and Toutle Rivers. That’s close to a bridge that crosses the river at milepost 52 on the freeway.

Pham had tried to get a ride with a truck driver who was heading to California, but also asked a taxi driver to take her to Olympia, before she was spotted gazing into the Cowlitz on Saturday.

She resides in Centralia with her three children and her husband, a local dentist with whom she works, according to Brown. She was reported missing on Sunday morning.

Chief Deputy Bruce Kimsey stated yesterday their hope is someone will see Pham and call them.

The sheriff’s office number is 360-748-9286.

If tipsters wish to remain anonymous, they can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-748-6422. Private messages can also be sent through their Facebook page “Lewis County Sheriff’s Office”.
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For background, read “Missing mother’s makeup bag fished out of Cowlitz River” from Tuesday October 13, 2015, here