Archive for June, 2010

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

ATTEMPTED ELUDING IN STATE-OWNED CAR LANDS DSHS WORKER IN JAIL, SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS

• A DSHS worker was jailed last night after his vehicle was clocked at 78 mph on U.S. Highway 12 and he told a deputy he tried to get away because he was “driving a state-owned vehicle,” according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Shaw C. Seaman, 39, of Olympia, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for attempted eluding, a class C felony, according to sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Aust. It happened about 9 p.m. just west of Morton where the speed limit is 55 mph, Aust said. After Seaman was spotted by the deputy, Seaman attempted to drive up a logging road, according to the deputy’s report. He told the deputy he was returning from a conference in Tri-Cities and was in a hurry to get home, Aust said.

TWO MINOR BIKE VERSUS CAR ACCIDENTS YESTERDAY IN TWIN CITIES

• Firefighters in Centralia and Chehalis were both called to car versus bike accidents on Monday but nobody was seriously hurt. The Chehalis Fire Department was called just before 9 a.m. to Southwest Cascade Avenue where a bicyclist came out of an alley couldn’t stop and ran into a car. The teenage-age male got “just a bump”, according to the fire department. At about 1 p.m., a bicyclist and an SUV came together in a very slow-speed collision along Harrison Avenue near Country Cousin restaurant, according to the Riverside Fire Authority. The rider had walked away before firefighters got there, said fire Capt. Erik Olson, and they looked for him but could not find him.

PISTOL SEIZED AFTER ROCHESTER FELON SHOOTS AT LIVING ROOM FLOOR

• A Rochester man was arrested Monday after a sheriff’s deputy learned he had reportedly fired “about three rounds” into the floor of his home the day before while he and his wife had friends visiting. Thomas J.E. McMaster, 59, was arrested for second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm; as he is a felon and not allowed to have guns, Lt. Chris Mealy of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office said this morning. A deputy went to the home on the 8000 block of 183rd Avenue Southwest yesterday to do a so-called welfare check after an anonymous caller to 911 described what had happened the day before, Mealy said. A .22 caliber pistol was confiscated, according to Mealy.

SCUFFLE AT BAILEY’S IGA IN ROCHESTER ENDS WITH TWO IN JAIL

• A pair of Oakville residents were handcuffed after a suspected shoplifting incident and a scuffle in Rochester on Friday night in which store security personnel  had to grab a shopping cart carrying two children as it rolled toward a lane of traffic in the store parking lot, after a 27-year-old mother allegedly walked away from the cart. Anastasia L. Kinkade, 27, was arrested and booked for reckless endangerment. It started when security personnel tried to question her about a $2.55 bottle of iodine they suspected her of shoplifting, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. It all happened about 9:30 p.m. at Bailey’s IGA on the 10,300 block of U.S. Highway 12, sheriff’s Lt. Chris Mealy said on Monday. Randy M. Kinkade, 48, got involved, and after he put his hand on the shoulder of the security person, the unnamed security person took the senior Kinkade to the ground, Mealy said. He was booked for felony harassment, as he was allegedly heard making a threat to kill the store employee.

THEFTS, AND MORE THEFTS

• The sheriff’s office took a report on Monday of a forcible break-in to a Randle-area residence in which somebody removed two buckets of hand tools valued at about $200. The deputy was told it happened sometime between June 4 and Saturday at the home on the 600 block of Skinner Road, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office this morning reported a stolen 2003 Polaris 500 ATV was recovered and Ryan M. Weigant, 23, of Silver Creek, was arrested and booked on Saturday for second-degree burglary and trafficking in stolen property. The ATV was taken from an Onalaska area-shop on the 100 block of Fickett Road sometime between last Tuesday and Friday, according to the report to the sheriff’s office.

• Centralia police on Monday took a report somebody entered a building on the 1700 block of Taylor Street and stole a stereo.

News brief: Traveling honor flag to be raised in Chehalis tomorrow for Deputy Gallagher

Monday, June 21st, 2010

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Sheriff Steve Mansfield is inviting the public to gather at noontime tomorrow at the Historic Courthouse in Chehalis as the United States Honor Flag is raised and flown in tribute to fallen Deputy Stephen “Mike” Gallagher.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputy died last August after his patrol vehicle struck an elk on U.S. Highway 12 in Packwood as he responded to a call.

The honor flag, flown at ground zero, has traveled across the country and flown to symbolize sacrifice, bravery and the call to duty in honor of law enforcement, firefighting and the military, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

The flag flies today and tomorrow for officers who died in the line of duty during 2009 in Washington, including Gallagher and officers from Seattle, Lakewood, Grant and Pierce counties.

The former county courthouse sits north of West Main Street, in between Chehalis and Pacific avenues.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, June 21st, 2010

TEXT MESSAGE USED AS HOLD-UP NOTE, POLICE SAY

• A 21-year-old man was arrested for robbery after he allegedly used his cell phone to text a demand note to a Chehalis grocery store clerk last night to get a carton of Marlboro cigarettes. Police were called about 1:30 a.m. to Safeway on South Market Boulevard. The subject had left and when a patrol officer contacted him, he took off running, according to Chehalis police. The officer chased him for several blocks and eventually caught up to Michael E. Bylsma, 21, of Chehalis, police detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said this morning. Bylsma was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree robbery. McNamara said the suspect had typed out his “little demand note” on his phone and then showed it to the clerk.

WOMAN TRIES TO STOP SISTER FROM TURNING HERSELF IN TO JAIL, BOTH LOCKED UP

• A 28-year-old Chehalis woman was arrested for unlawful imprisonment on Sunday morning after she allegedly held her sister in her home on the 100 block of Southwest Cascade Avenue and wouldn’t let her leave. Chehalis police said the 20-year-old younger sister, a Centralia resident wanted to turn herself in at the jail, as she was wanted on a warrant. Police detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said he didn’t know why the older sister didn’t want her sister to turn herself in. The victim was able to get away and go to the jail, McNamara said. He didn’t say how long the sister was held against her will. Police went to the house and arrested Jillyn M. Sill, 28. She was booked about 9 a.m. on Sunday.

BASEBALL BAT ATTACK IN CENTRALIA

• A 26-year-old man from Kent was arrested for second-degree assault after he allegedly used a baseball bat on his old girlfriend’s new boyfriend in Centralia. Police were called about 7:30 p.m. Sunday to the 600 block of South Diamond Street where it happened and not long afterward, the suspect vehicle was spotted near freeway exit 76, according to Centralia police. Police Sgt. Stacy Denham said the victim was not severely injured. Edgar G. Escobar-Rodas, of Kent, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Denham.

TRUCK ROLLS OVER MAN IN WINLOCK

• A 37-year-old man was hospitalized yesterday after a pickup truck he was working on rolled over him and dragged him 25 to 35 yards outside of Winlock. Aid was called about 5:50 p.m. Sunday to the scene at the 200 block of Burnett Road, off of Jones Road, according to to Lewis County Fire District 15. The truck ran over his shoulders and a helicopter picked him up at Winlock’s elementary school and flew him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to Fire District 15. The man’s name was not available.

INTERRUPTED BURGLARY IN CENTRALIA

• A woman returning to her Centralia area home along the 2200 block of Graf Road on Saturday morning found it ransacked and saw a man running away into the woods. Deputies searching the area after the 9:30 a.m. call found a pile of stolen goods – including a small wagon, a machete, a weed eater and bolt cutters, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies also found a man identified as the one leaving the house, sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Aust said this morning. Daniel J. Miller, 49, of Chehalis, was arrested and booked for first-degree burglary, Aust said.

ATTEMPTED BURGLARY ARREST IN CENTRALIA

• Scott J. Koth, 39, of Shelton, was arrested and booked for attempted residential burglary last night in connection with an incident on the 1300 block of South Gold Street in Centralia, according to police.

MAN CAUGHT STEALING BARBEQUE FROM CENTRALIA DRIVEWAY, POLICE SAY

• A 19-year-old Morton man was arrested and jailed after he was reportedly caught in the act of stealing a barbecue from a driveway in Centralia on Friday. Police, called just before 1 p.m. about the theft from near east Main and South Buckner streets, reported the victim and his sister confronted a pair of suspects, one of which fled on foot and the other who reportedly tried to get away by driving up and over a curb as officers arrived. Tyler J. Carbaugh, 19, was arrested for third-degree theft, according to Centralia police.

WOMAN IN TROUBLE FOR FALSE STOLEN VEHICLE REPORT, POLICE SAY

• Centralia police concluded a report of a stolen vehicle in Centralia on Saturday afternoon was actually made up when the vehicle was involved in a hit and run accident. The female who reported her vehicle stolen will be referred for possible charge of making a false report, according to police Sgt. Stacy Denham. The driver of her vehicle was arrested, according to Centralia police.

BUSINESS LOSES ANOTHER SECURITY CAMERA TO THEFT

• A new security camera to replace one stolen recently from a business on B Street in Centralia was reported stolen on Sunday afternoon.

DRUG RESIDUE FOUND, ARRESTS MADE

• Centralia police arrested Makia D. Adams, no age or hometown reported, for possession of methamphetamine at about 8:30 Sunday morning on the 300 block of West Summa Street in Centralia. It involved a pipe and suspected drug residue, according to police.

• Daniel L. Carpenter, 33, of Centralia, was arrested early Sunday on the 1000 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia for possession of methamphetamine. It involved suspected drug residue, according to police. Carpenter was also cited for driving with a suspended license.

MORE THEFTS

• Centralia police took a report on Friday morning of a vehicle prowled on the 500 block of Woodland Avenue. Sometime overnight, somebody had gone inside the unlocked vehicle and took a key that was in the console, according to Centralia police.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office this morning said they took a report on Friday of several spools of new copper wire being missing from a business on the 100 block of Sturdevant Road in Chehalis, from sometime between last Wednesday and Thursday. Somebody cut a fence to get in, according to the report. The loss was estimated at $500.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office this morning said they took a report on Friday of the theft of prescription medication and alcohol from a home on the 3400 block of Trevor Lane outside Centralia. Taken sometime between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. was a bottle of liquor and a bottle of Lorazepam, according to Cmdr. Steve Aust.

DUI ARREST

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s office reported this morning that a deputy arrested Luis M. Valdovinos, 33, of Kent, on Saturday for driving under the influence. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

News brief: House fires stopped before homes destroyed in Chehalis, Randle

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Firefighters were called to a structure fire on Saturday afternoon at a home on Pine Drive, west of Chehalis.

Furniture in the living room had caught fire and extended into the walls and the ceiling, according to the fire investigator.

The mother awoke from a nap to find the smoke level was halfway down to the floor, fire investigator Jay Birley said today of the 3:45 p.m. call.

“She grabbed the two kids and got out,” Birley said.

There was quite a bit of smoke damage in the living room area, he said. The cause is still under investigation.

Lewis County Fire Districts 6 and 5 just an hour earlier, had been called out to a kitchen fire at a double-wide mobile home on Chehalis Valley Drive.

The resident had extinguished a grease fire on the stove, but later heard popping noises and called the fire department, Birley said. Fire had gotten into the ventilation duct and into the attic.

Birley estimated about $5,000 damage to that home.

Birley also said today a Wednesday fire at a residence in Randle was believed to have started in a light fixture in a bathroom.

A resident of the double-wide mobile home on Kelly Lane doused the flames with a garden hose as best he could, but flames got into the ceiling and the attic, according to Birley.

The resident’s phone wouldn’t work, so he ran to a neighbor’s home to call 911 about 12:50 a.m., Birley said. About half the attic there was damaged, he said.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, June 18th, 2010

CHILD PORN FOUND ON FAMILY’S COMPUTER GAME MEMORY, POLICE SAY

• Police arrested a former Chehalis man yesterday after a dozen or more pornographic pictures of children were turned up on a memory card from the family’s children’s computer game machine. Joshua N. Hensley, 27, was arrested at his Grand Mound workplace and booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, Chehalis Police Department Sgt. Rick McNamara said this morning. The investigation began after police were called March 21 to a Chehalis home and arrested Hensley for second-degree assault, domestic violence, McNamara said. His wife turned over to police a computer, which is still being examined for suspected illegal images by experts at the state crime lab, he said. Following Hensley’s March arrest, the wife contacted detectives again to say she discovered some pictures on the children’s game. McNamara said he didn’t know for sure if the children saw the photos or exactly where the photos originated.

DRUGS

• A Silver Creek man was arrested for unlawful possession of a controlled substance after a traffic stop about 11:40 p.m. last night on South Tower Avenue in Centralia, according to Centralia police.

THEFTS AND BURGLARY

• Chehalis police were called about 3:20 this morning about a burglary on Southwest Interstate Avenue. A window was shattered, according to the report made to police.

• A stolen riding lawn mower was found at the recycling center on Reynolds Avenue in Centralia by its owner, according to a report made to Centralia police yesterday morning.

• A clarinet was stolen from a vehicle on the 1300 block of West Main Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday morning. Later in the day, police were called about a purse being taken from a vehicle on the 2000 block of Industrial Way.

VEHICLES VANDALIZED

• Chehalis police were called about 3:45 p.m. yesterday about vandalism to a truck on Southwest Second Street. Centralia police took two reports yesterday of vandalism to vehicles; one on the 1300 block of Belmont Avenue and earlier in the day, another report that all four tires were slashed on a vehicle on the 1800 block of North Pearl Street.

DRYER FIRE ABOVE SKATING RINK

• Firefighters were called just after midnight to a smokey smell at an apartment above the Rollerdrome in Centralia. What they found on the 200 block of Maple Street was a dryer fire, Capt. Ken Colombo said this morning. The residents had laundered and then dried oily rags, which spontaneously combusted as they sat in the warm dryer, he said. The fire was confined to the machine, however, it had melted plastic parts inside. The resulting overwhelming burnt plastic odor leaves the inhabitants with probably thousands of dollars in cleaning costs, Colombo said.

SCHOOL’S OUT: SAFETY REMINDER

• With the school year ending, fire Lt. Laura Hanson wants to remind motorists to keep their eyes out for more youngsters on the streets. Children will be playing in parks, next to roadways and just having a good time riding their bicycles, Hanson of Lewis County Fire District 5 said, and drivers just need to be even more aware.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

KNIFE LEADS TO ARREST FOR ASSAULT

• Centralia police reported this morning they arrested  man for reportedly choking his girlfriend and holding a knife to her neck. The call to the 1300 block of Johnson Road about 11 a.m. on Wednesday led to Allan C. Baker, 39, of Centralia, being booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree assault, domestic violence, according to police.

THEFTS IN CHEHALIS AND CENTRALIA

• Centralia police took a report yesterday of the theft of more than $2,000 of dental lab tools from an address on the 1500 block of South Gold Street in Centralia.

• Somebody broke a window to get inside a vehicle on the 1100 block of Brotherson Road in Centralia and stole a scanner and other items, according to a report made to police just before 7 o’clock this morning. Yesterday at about 1:30 p.m., a report was made that somebody had removed compact discs and a GPS unit from a vehicle on the 1000 block of South Pearl Street. In that case, entry was made by bending the window frame of the vehicle, according to the summary of the police report.

• Chehalis police took a report on Tuesday afternoon that items were stolen from a truck while it was parked over the weekend at the 1900 block of Northeast Kresky Avenue.

• Chehalis police were contacted just after 8 a.m. on Tuesday about a burglary. Further details weren’t readily available.

News brief: Public’s help sought in missing woman case

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating an 18-year-old woman who was reported missing more than a month ago.

Kayla Mae Croft-Payne is somewhat transient, living most recently in the Chehalis area, according to the sheriff’s office.

Kayla Croft-Payne

A friend made a missing person report on May 5, after not seeing or hearing from Croft-Payne for several days, according to a news release. She has also not accessed her MySpace Internet account since April 28.

“We’ve exhausted all our leads,” sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Aust said this morning. “We don’t have any information she’s met with foul play, but we don’t have any information she’s safe and sound.”

Croft-Payne is a white female with blue eyes described as 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing about 105 pounds. The sheriff’s office released two photos of her yesterday hoping that will help in their investigation.

Kayla Croft-Payne

She has been known to frequent several locations in Lewis, Grays Harbor and Pierce counties, the sheriff’s office said. She did not have a job, according to Aust.

The sheriff’s office asks anyone with any information on her whereabouts to call  detective Jamey McGinty at 360-748-9286, referencing case number 10C4830. Also, information can be passed along anonymously through Crimes Stoppers of Lewis County at www.lewiscountycrimestoppers.org or the sheriff’s office new online crime tips page at http://tips.lewiscountywa.gov/