Lewis County Sirens.com

“GRANDPARENT” SCAM

• Chehalis police were called after a Chehalis resident took a phone call from a female who said she was her granddaughter and needed money on Wednesday. Deputy Chief Randy Kaut said he didn’t have further details on this incident, but said officers have gotten a few similar reports. The state Attorney General’s Office just this week distributed a caution for what they call the “grandparent scam” and other similar ruses to convince someone they need money wired immediately. Kaut said usually the calls are from Canada and the caller is claiming to have been in an accident. The state Attorney General’s Office urges citizens to warn the seniors in their lives and offers a list of red flags to watch out for.

METH SALES ARRESTS AT CHEHALIS APARTMENTS

• A pair of Chehalis residents were arrested for delivery of methamphetamine and their apartment searched after a 6:30 a.m. visit by police yesterday. About a dozen officers converged on the Chehalis Avenue Apartments, at Third Street and Southwest Chehalis Avenue, to serve a search warrant, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The arrests are the result of an ongoing investigation into drug sales, according to police. Jeffrey W. Hixon, 39, was booked for three counts and Marjorie P. Turvey, 27, was booked for two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, police stated in a news release. Hixon’s 15-year-old son was in the apartment at the time and police made a referral to Child Protective Services, police said. Deputy Chief Randy Kaut said he wasn’t sure yet if any drugs were discovered in the home, but said officers did find a set of scales.

THEFTS IN CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police took a report yesterday of the theft of expensive items from outside a business on the 1100 block of State Avenue. Among the items stolen were A steel cable choker, metal plates and something called a percolator valued at about $5,000, according to Deputy Chief Randy Kaut.

• Chehalis police were called to Southwest Ninth Street yesterday about the theft of video games and an iPod from a home.

• A 2003 Toyota MR2 reported stolen Wednesday morning from Northeast Coal Creek Road in Chehalis was found later the same day on the side of a road in Thurston County, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Another vehicle at the same Chehalis location had been prowled, police said.

OUTLET STORE WORKER ARRESTED FOR TAPING VIDEO IN DRESSING ROOM

• Centralia police say they plan to get a warrant to examine a cell phone after an Outlet store employee was allegedly caught taking a video of a woman trying on bras in a dressing room. Demetrius S. Alford, 20, was arrested at his Centralia home on Wednesday after the incident at the VF Outlet on West High Street, according to police. Police Sgt. Stacy Denham said officers were shown the video and are checking to see if it’s not the first time he’s done it. The Olympia woman, in her 40s, told police the employee showed her to a dressing room and then lingered. Then she spotted him pointing a camera in her direction through the louvered dressing room door and saw his head, according to Denham. The woman yelled for her daughter and subsequently the store manager and police were contacted, he said. Alford was booked into the Lewis County Jail for voyeurism, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFTS IN CENTRALIA

• A Centralia city parks department vehicle was stolen from the 900 block of Johnson Road in Centralia on Wednesday, according to police. The dark blue 1993 Buick Lasabre went missing sometime between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. It has city emblems on the doors and a license plate that reads 19486D, according to police.

• The case of an 18-year-old Centralia man was referred for potential charges of first-degree burglary yesterday after he allegedly broke into an ex-girlfriend’s Centralia apartment and took several unspecified items, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police arrested Noelle I. Straggi, a 43-year-old Chehalis woman, for identity theft after taking a report Wednesday she used another name and address to fraudulently order cellular phones.  She was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

• Centralia police took a report on Wednesday at the 1100 block of Johnson Road that a male came into the store and signed a false name when purchasing items on a charge account.

DRUGS

• Centralia police during a traffic stop last night found and confiscated an item suspected to be illegal drugs but will have to have it lab tested to confirm that, according to the Centralia Police Department. Police Sgt. Stacy Denham said what the officer found was a liquid, but he didn’t have further details about its packaging or quantity. Other items at the scene such as marijuana led to the officer’s suspicions, he said. Nobody was arrested. The traffic stop came about 9 p.m. on M and West First streets, according to police.

• A 23-year-old Napavine man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and a warrant after contact with a Centralia police officer yesterday evening at the 1200 block of Alder Street. Edward E. Jerns was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

TEENAGER THREATENED OTHER TEENS WITH RIFLE, SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said this morning a 16-year-old Chehalis boy may be charged with second-degree assault after a report he pulled a rifle from the cab of his truck and pointed it at three high school students. The incident occurred on Jan. 8 at the Chevron station on the 1100 block of state Route 6 following an unspecified verbal exchange, according to the sheriff’s office. A deputy was called yesterday to take a report about it at W.F. West High School, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. All involved are from Chehalis, according to Brown.

VIDEO GAME PLAYING TURNS UGLY IN RANDLE

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office yesterday arrested a 19-year-old Randle resident they say got so angry when repeatedly losing at a video game, he allegedly choked, hit and bit his opponent, as well as held a survival knife to his throat. Deputies were called about 8:20 p.m. on Sunday about the attack on the 100 block of Cispus Road but couldn’t respond because of flooding in the area, according to the the sheriff’s office. The 19-year-old’s grandmother said the two had been separated into their different homes, Chief Stacy Brown said this morning. Yesterday, deputies arrested Jeffrey T. Peddie, 19, of Randle, for second-degree assault, Brown said. Peddie reportedly got upset because the 17-year-old kept winning and also allegedly also threatened the 17-year-old boy with a box cutter, leaving the victim with bruises on his face, as well as bite marks and punctures on his back, arms and fingers, Brown said.

STORAGE UNIT BUSINESS DISCOVERS MASSIVE THEFT

• Somebody pried open a roll up garage door to a storage unit in Grand Mound and managed to break through walls and ceilings to burglarize six different storage spaces of about $10,000 in valuables over the weekend. The theft at the Grand Mound Mini-storage on the 20,600 block of Grand Mound Way was discovered on Sunday, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. Two individuals who rented the six spaces lost items such as aluminum semi-truck wheels, a specialty torque wrench, auto supplies and other tools, Lt. Greg Elwin said this morning.

TRIO OF BURGLARIES IN ROCHESTER NEIGHBORHOOD

• The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office took reports of three break-ins that all occurred on the same night near 178th Avenue Southwest and Applegate Street in Rochester. Lt Greg Elwin said said the thefts happened between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Friday. Somebody went into a vehicle inside a garage and took items like binoculars and sunglasses and someone went into another garage and stole power and electric tools, he said. Somebody also prowled a pickup truck parked in a driveway, Elwin said. He indicated it seemed likely given the time frame and proximity the victims were all targeted by the same individual.

CAR THEFT IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called to the Mellen Street park and ride just before 5 p.m. yesterday after a motorist discovered their purple 1994 Acura left there in the morning was gone. The car has a license plate of 823 MBQ.

CAR PROWLS

• Police were called about 4:30 p.m. yesterday about a car prowl on Lum Road. A laptop was taken from an unlocked vehicle, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police also yesterday took a report of a car prowl from South Pearl and West Main streets in which a backpack was stolen from a vehicle. It occurred about a week and a half ago, police reported.

VEHICLE VERSUS PEDESTRIAN

• Centralia police reported this morning an officer responded to a vehicle versus pedestrian accident on North Schueber Road at about 8:45 p.m. last night. The injuries were minor, according to the Centralia Police Department.