By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The Olympian reported yesterday that Frederick A. McCutchen of Rochester was sentenced to four months of work release after his June arrest following a sting operation by lottery officials at his mother’s Shelton shop.
Read news reporter Jeremy Pawloski’s story here and the original story from June here
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The (Vancouver) Columbian reported yesterday that one-time Republican congressional candidate David Hedrick was arrested over the weekend for allegedly striking his wife during an argument.
Read news reporter Bob Albrecht’s story here
TOLEDO HOME SAVED FROM FIRE THAT BURNED GARGE TO THE GROUND
• A blaze yesterday morning in Toledo destroyed a detached garage but a nearby house sustained only minimal damage. Firefighters from Lewis County Fire District 2 were called about 9 a.m. to the 100 block of Cooper Road off state Route 505. “We went right to the house, the garage was already on the ground and the back side of the house had already started to burn,” Fire Lt. Tracy Summers said. The residents were not home at the time. Firefighters from Winlock and Vader assisted. A lot of tools and motor parts were lost, according to Fire Investigator Jay Birley. He said this morning he doesn’t yet know what caused the fire.
GRAFFITI IN CENTRALIA
• Centralia police yesterday took two reports of spray-painted graffiti on the outsides of buildings. One was on the 100 block of West First Street and the other on the 200 block of South Pearl Street. Centralia police Sgt. Stacy Denham said one of them contained the word “Sensa.” Denham said he is not sure what was meant by it, but said it is a martial arts term for a teacher or boss.
THEFTS AND BREAK-INS
• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday somebody stole more than $6,000 of items from a storage shed on the 400 block of Conrad Road in Winlock. A deputy took a report Saturday evening and learned that among the items missing were a power tools, a Kawasaki motorcycle, televisions, a floor jack and a propane tank. Damage done to wiring, gas lines and a sewer hose totaled an estimated $1,800, according to the report. The victim lives out of town and the break-in apparently occurred in previous weeks.
• A deputy took a report on Saturday about a break-in to a shop on the 700 block of Gish Road in Onalaska. Among the items stolen were a miter saw, a Stihl chainsaw and five sets of drive sockets, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. it had occurred sometime in the previous two to three weeks.
• Somebody broke the window of a Honda Civic and left the glove box open after it was left broken down Sunday evening on the side of the road near Old Highway 99 and the Oregon Trail Road, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. The Chehalis woman who owns the car had removed the stereo and put it in the trunk, and nothing was missing, the sheriff’s office reported.
POLICE CHIEF BERG TEACHES, LEARNS ABOUT NEW TECHNOLOGY
• Centralia Police Chief Bob Berg was among some 30 law enforcement officers who attended a rural law enforcement technology institute last week, an event held in Coronado, Calif. which Berg called innovative and informative. Among the topics of discussion were crime mapping, records management, communications, and technologies related to patrol vehicles, aviation and digital video, according to a news release yesterday. Participation was funded by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice, according to the news release. Berg was a presenter as well, speaking about implementing electronic ticketing. Berg noted the most beneficial aspect was the interaction with his contemporaries. “I found that other departments are facing the same issues that we encounter and that there are some good solutions out there that are reasonable in cost,” Berg said in the news release. “Moreover, it reinforced my belief that the Centralia Police Department is in the forefront of implementing and using new technology for law enforcement.”
TOLEDO COUPLE FINDS THEIR HOUSE TRASHED
• A pair of Toledo residents returned home Saturday evening to find someone had dumped paint throughout their house on the walls, floors and furniture, as well as left writing with a black permanent marker in various places including the walls and appliances. The damage, which added up to an estimated $50,000, also included three televisions – one which was struck by a hammer – several broken windows and bleach and vinegar poured around the home, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Somebody also fired a shot through a window, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning. It happened on the 500 block of state Route 506 sometime between Friday and Saturday evening, Brown said. The suspect, the 38-year-old daughter of one of the residents, was interviewed in the Pacific County Jail and admitted the damage, Brown said. She was not arrested, but the case was referred to the prosecutor’s office for charges of first-degree malicious mischief and theft of a firearm, according to Brown.
UNRULY ARRESTEES
• Centralia police booked a 29-year-old Rochester man into jail Saturday afternoon after he reportedly kicked out the rear window of a patrol car. Ryan A. McCarter, of Rochester, was arrested for second-degree malicious mischief. It followed a contact with an officer about 4 p.m. on the 700 block of West Cherry Street. Why he was put in the patrol car was not reported by police.
• A wanted man found hiding in a closet was uncooperative and damaged a patrol car when he banged his head against the side window and plastic divider early Saturday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responding to a tip on the whereabouts of John T. Malantich went to a residence on the 200 block of Newaukum Valley Road in Chehalis about 5 a.m. Saturday to arrest him for a warrant, according to the sheriff’s office.
OUT-OF-TOWNERS MAKE GETAWAY INTO DEAD END
• While Chehalis police take reports virtually every day of shoplifting, most often from Wal-Mart, a trio of individuals made their job a little easier on Saturday afternoon by fleeing north in their vehicle towards Home Depot and to the car dealership where the road dead-ends. Officers were called about 3:35 p.m. by a witness who saw two men run out of the store and hop into a waiting van, according to police. As police were responding, the van, being followed by a witness, got turned around and was stopped just beyond the northbound entrance to Interstate 5 at Chamber of Commerce Way, detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said. Police recovered two DVD players. The three were arrested for third-degree theft, a misdemeanor, and then released. They are Calvert R. Anderson, 27, of Lacey; Nicole D. Haas, 21, of Lacey; and Jeffrey A. Bennett, 30, of Tumwater, McNamara said.
PAIR PUNCHED BY PASSING STRANGERS
• Another type of call that keeps Centralia and Chehalis police fairly busy is misdemeanor assault, however, the assailants are not usually strangers, and it most commonly involves bar fights on the weekends, according to detective Sgt. Rick McNamara. However, an officer was called about 2:20 a.m. on Saturday to the 400 block of North Market Boulevard in Chehalis after a male reported two males walking by punched him and his friend in the head. The two subjects were not found, McNamara said.
10-YEAR-OLD GIRL LOCKED UP FOR ALLEGED ASSAULT
• Centralia police arrested a 10-year-old girl for felony assault on Saturday afternoon. A summary of the incident from the Centralia Police Department does not make note of the type of alleged assault, but the girl was taken to the Lewis County juvenile detention facility following contact with an officer about 3 p.m. on the 1100 block of Scammon Creek Road, according to police. Centralia police Sgt. Stacy Denham later said the child was angry at her mother’s boyfriend and when the mother returned home and began to deal with the issue, the girl threw a jar at her mother, which missed but struck her younger brother in the head. He had to get stitches, Denham said. The girl was arrested for second-degree assault. Denham said children between the ages of zero and eight are incapable of committing a crime in the eyes of the courts, and those 8 to 12 years old are presumed incapable as well, but sometimes can be found through a lengthy process as knowledgeable and mature enough to be charged with a crime.
DRUGS
• Gary L. Lohr, 64, of Centralia, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail overnight for possession of methamphetamine, according to the Centralia Police Department. The arrest followed a contact just before 3 a.m. near the 2400 block of North Pearl Street.
• Police took a report of the theft of prescription medications from a residence on the 2900 block of Mount Vista Road on Friday afternoon. Just before 3 o’clock the following morning, an officer took another report of the theft of medication – and a cell phone – from an address on the 1100 block of West Chestnut Street.
CAMPAIGN SIGN THEFT
• Chehalis police were called Friday afternoon and told all of an individual’s campaign signs were missing from Northeast Kresky Avenue. Lewis County Assessor Dianne Dorey’s signs seemed to have vanished from elsewhere in town as well as from Centralia and around the county, according to the report.
LOG TRUCK LOSES LOAD ON BRIDGE
• Nobody was injured but a Honda Civic ran into a log on the roadway after a Centralia truck truck driver spilled his load of logs on U.S. Highway 101 north of Humptulips in Grays Harbor County on Friday, according to the Washington State Patrol. William E. Mattox, 50, was southbound and attempting to pass another vehicle when he overcorrected and lost his pup trailer and logs on the Humptulips Bridge, according to the state patrol. It happened just before 6 a.m. He was cited for driving too fast, the patrol reported. The Honda, being driven by a 21-year-old woman, was totaled.
•••
Sirens was updated at 10 a.m. on Tuesday Oct. 12, 2010
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The Kitsap Sun published a story over the weekend saying lawmakers will likely consider giving prison inmates more time off their sentences for good behavior as the state’s budget situation worsens.
Read news reporter Josh Farley’s story here
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A judge set bail at $250,000 yesterday for a Centralia man accused of sneaking into a neighbor woman’s house while she slept.
Centralia police reported yesterday a woman sleeping with her child woke up about 1 a.m. on Thursday to find a stranger sitting on her bed holding women’s lingerie.
A registered sex offender who lives a block from her on North Pearl Street was arrested later that day at his home.
Michael A. Sanders, 42, has been felony-free for five years and lived at the same address for the past six or seven months, defense attorney Bob Schroeter told the judge yesterday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court as bail was contemplated.
Deputy Prosecutor Colin Hayes said Sanders became a registered sex offender following a conviction for voyeurism in the year 2000 in Okanogan County.
Hayes said Sanders was convicted of felony harassment in 2003, failing to register as a sex offender four times and for fourth-degree assault, domestic violence in 2005. He also pleaded guilty last month in Chehalis Municipal Court to telephone harassment, for making phone calls of a sexual nature, Hayes told the judge.
Judge James Lawler agreed with Hayes’ concerns about “escalating behavior,” given the allegation the suspect was in the victim’s bedroom, when he decided on the bail amount.
Sanders was charged yesterday with voyeurism and residential burglary with a sexual motivation.
Charging documents in his case give the following account, which is somewhat different than Centralia police reported yesterday.
The woman was asleep with her child and when she woke up, a man sitting on her bed reached toward her head with one hand while holding her lingerie (top and panties) in the other hand.
She grabbed her child, stood up and walked toward the front door, telling the man to follow her.
They exchanged a few words and she closed the door after the man walked outside and then she called her aunt and then 911.
As she escorted him outside, the man looked confused and said, “I was bringing you a pack of cigarettes.”
The woman had asked him how he got inside and he said, “I came in because I heard you say come in.”
Police said they think he came in a window. She told police she had seen the man earlier in the evening sitting at her neighbor’s porch and had given him a couple cigarettes.
Officers initially suspected another man, her neighbor’s son, and the woman identified a picture of that man as the man who came into her house.
Later Thursday, Officer Gary Byrnes showed the woman two photo montages: one with the neighbor’s son and another with Sanders. She pointed out Sanders and said she didn’t know how she could have gotten them mixed up.
Byrnes went to Sanders home, was invited into the kitchen, and arrested him.
Sanders remains in the Lewis County Jail.
Join us
Commentary: The Ronda Reynolds case is now a book
Monday, October 11th, 2010By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Ronda Reynolds’ mother is accompanying true crime writer Ann Rule on a book signing tour as the hardcover edition of Rule’s take on the 1998 death of the former trooper in Toledo is released.
"In the Still of the Night" by Ann Rule
The two women will be in San Antonio, Texas tomorrow and then on Saturday at a book signing in Spokane, Barb Thompson’s hometown.
“In the Still of the Night” opens in the Chehalis courtroom this past November and travels back more than a decade to the days before Christmas in 1998 when Reynolds was found with a bullet in her head on the floor of a walk-in closet inside her home.
I wish I could write a review, but I haven’t read the book yet.
Thompson has read it and says Rule told her daughter’s story very, very well.
“I would rate it as one of the best she has written – not because it is about my daughter but it is a very heartfelt, very compelling story and she told it so eloquently,” Thompson said in a note to me late last month.
She also wrote that Rule told more about her than she would have preferred, but said it was a small price to pay to get the story out there.
Ronda Reynolds
Thompson said she expects Rule will have a book signing at Centralia College “at some point” and perhaps another local bookstore, but no dates had yet been set.
In the meantime, it looks like it can be ordered online now, from the publisher, Simon & Schuster, from Amazon.com and others.
The curious can read parts of it online on both those web sites including the lengthy “foreword” and what looks like the entire first chapter.
I am very much looking forward to reading it as I’ve followed the case since I began working at The Chronicle almost a decade ago. It’s a story I’m very proud of.
Not long after I was hired to cover crime at the newspaper, executive editor Michael Wagar – who was fairly new there at the time – told me, there’s something I want you to look at.
This woman, he said and I’m paraphrasing, said her daughter was killed and it was labeled a suicide and she couldn’t get the newspaper’s previous editor to write about it.
I began going through the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports – at least one binder Thompson had gotten through a public disclosure request – and saw an incredibly interesting story there to be told.
Apparently the prevailing thinking had been, “we don’t write about suicides.” Well sure, I thought, the fact that an individual has committed suicide in and of itself is not necessarily newsworthy.
But at that time, in mid-2001, the sheriff’s office had reopened the case, asking outsiders to review it, and had gotten the Lewis County coroner to change the death certificate from suicide to undetermined. Of course it was newsworthy, whether or not it was currently being examined by a team of specialists at the state Attorney General’s Office.
But here’s what followed. Then-Sheriff John McCroskey, maybe the most charming and most popular elected official in the county, put some amount of pressure on my editor not to report and write the story. At least, McCroskey asked, just wait and write what happens after the Attorney General’s Office decides what they think about it.
We didn’t wait.
We published the story in early 2002 and continued to cover it over the years as Thompson eventually got the courts to allow an unprecedented judicial review of a corners decision.
My news reporting relationship with McCroskey’s office never did get very comfortable or easy. But an important story got told.
I’m thrilled that Rule, probably best known for her book “The Stranger Beside Me” about serial killer Ted Bundy, chose to write about the case. Even more people now will get some insight into the back story of the way that law enforcement and a coroner, at least in one community, at one time, worked together.
Speaking of which, most of you know that after almost 30 years, elected Lewis County Coroner Terry Wilson will retire from that position.
Even though a judge, after last November’s judicial review ordered Wilson to change the death certificate and remove the “suicide” label, it’s doubtful Wilson will do so before the end of his term. He’s appealed the order.
However, there are two men running in November to be the next Lewis County coroner.
Warren McLeod and Micheal Hurley said publicly last week at a candidates forum in Adna what they plan to do about the Reynolds’ case if they are elected.
Both said they will change the manner of death to undetermined.
•••
Read my story about the five days in court last November after which “Jury finds coroner erred in ruling former troopers death a suicide” here
Barb Thompson put together a web site called “Justice for Ronda” where you can read her story about the case and see some excerpts from case reports and my very first news story on Jan. 10, 2002. She also added updates over the years to a site called “Real Crimes” which has a message board on it with reader comments.
If you are a subscriber to The (Centralia) Chronicle, you can read stories beginning in mid-2002 on the case by searching their archives.
Tags:By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
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