Archive for June, 2011

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

THEFT

• Centralia police were called yesterday to the 300 block of Rose Street about a  vehicle prowl in which a side window was broken out. It happened between 3 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., according to the Centralia Police Department. Among the missing items were a red, gray and yellow Craftsman tool box and tools, many of which have the initials “HC” or “HRC” engraved on them, according to police.

• Chehalis police were called yesterday morning about a theft of fishing gear and power tools from a vehicle which had been parked at a business on the 1000 block of Northwest State Street since last Wednesday.

• Centralia police took a report yesterday of a counterfeit money order a woman asked a woman friend to cash at a bank on the 100 block of South Pearl Street. Sgt. Kurt Reichert said it’s not clear who the suspect is and he believed the amount was less than $1,000.

• Chehalis police were called to Starbucks on the 1500 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue after they discovered they had received a a counterfeit $50 bill. Detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said officers would have taken the bad bill and will send it to the U.S. Secret Service.

• Lewis County Crime Stoppers is looking for information about an incident in Morton in which several storage units were burglarized and ransacked. It was discovered on May 20 at the business on the 700 block of Airport Way. Crime Stoppers pays for information leading to the clearance of crimes and takes tips anonymously at 1-800-748-6422 or online at www.lewsicountycrimestoppers.org

News brief: Deputy who shot Napavine man is four-year-employee of LCSO

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said this morning the deputy involved in yesterday’s early morning fatal shooting of a Napavine man is Deputy Matt McKnight, a four-plus year employee of the sheriff’s office.

McKnight, 27, remains on administrative leave as is standard protocol for deputies involved in shootings, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said in a news release.

The sheriff’s office says the 33-year-old Napavine man refused to take his hands out of his pockets and then charged McKnight around 2 a.m. when deputies responded to assist with a call about an individual who left stab holes in the door of a Napavine home trying to get inside.

An autopsy was set for today on the deceased, whose name is expected to be released later by the Lewis County Coroner’s Office.

News brief: Onalaska murder trial begins

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
010.0620.brady.jury.selection_2

Participants stand as potential jurors arrive in Lewis County Superior Court. Left to right: Sheriff's detective Bruce Kimsey, deputy prosecutors Shane O'Rourke and Colin Hayes, defense attorney Don Blair and defendant Ronald Brady.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Lawyers spent half a day yesterday questioning potential jurors to hear the first-degree murder trial of Onalaska resident Ronald A. Brady.

Brady, 60, is charged in the April 2010 shooting death of 56-year-old Thomas McKenzie of Morton and first-degree assault for allegedly firing at McKenzie’s estranged wife Joanna McKenzie as she fled his property on the 2100 block of state Route 508.

He told sheriff’s detectives he was staying overnight at his unoccupied house in case burglars from earlier in the day returned.

Some 70 prospective jurors were whittled down to six women, six men and two alternates by 5 p.m. yesterday.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt is hearing the case.

The attorneys are scheduled to begin with their opening statements at 9:30 a.m. today.
•••

Read most recent story here

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, June 20th, 2011

MAN THREATENS CLERKS WITH SWORD IN CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police said today they are looking for a male who robbed a convenience store by threatening two clerks with a sword on Saturday night. Officers were called about 10:35 p.m. to the Market Street Market on 13th Street. Detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said the weapon appeared to be about two feet long. “He pointed it at the two employees, told them to stay back and give him the money; they complied,” McNamara said. Nobody was hurt. The amount taken was not yet added up, he said. He was in and out very quickly, he said. The robber was described as possibly in his mid-20s, but it was hard to tell because he was wearing a bandana over his face, McNamara said. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and estimated to be 5-feet 8-inches to 5-feet 10-inches tall, and perhaps weighing between 160 to 170 pounds, McNamara said.

BOYS LIGHT UP PUBLIC BATHROOM

• A pair of 12-year-old boys were caught allegedly setting paper towels on fire inside the bathroom at Penny Playground in Chehalis on Saturday. Chehalis police detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said an officer was called just after 1 p.m. and found a lot of smoke but not much damage. The case is being referred to the Lewis County Prosecutors Office for possible charges of second-degree arson, McNamara said. The children were released to their parents.

THEFT

• A resident of the 900 block of H Street in Centralia told police on Saturday morning that sometime during the night somebody entered his bedroom and took his car keys and a credit card. He found them laying in the yard near his house, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police took a report on Friday morning of a 1999 Mercury Mystic stolen during the night from the 1000 block of Gold Street in Centralia. Its owner later found it in a parking lot several blocks away, according to Centralia police.

• Somebody stole a .38 caliber chrome semi-automatic handgun, a metal detector and DVD movies when they broke into an RV on the 200 block of Centralia-Alpha Road, according to a report made to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office on Friday.

• A deputy was called just before 7 a.m. yesterday to a burglary at the 600 block of Pleasant Valley Road in Mineral. A man who was watching property for a relative said he found bolt cutters, an old fire extinguisher, three bars for a chainsaw and other items piled up in the driveway, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A 25-year-old Elbe resident, Catrina M. Peters, was subsequently arrested for second-degree burglary and booked into the Lewis County Jail, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

• Somebody stole outdoor solar lawn lights from a residence on the 200 block of Ahlers Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police Friday.

BAD BILLS

• Centralia police were called to two different places on Saturday about a woman passing counterfeit $100 bills. The first was at the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue a about 1:40 p.m. and a few minutes later they were called to the 1300 block of Lum Road, according to the Centralia Police Department. Police described her only as a black female wearing a red coat.

• Chehalis police were called about a counterfeit $20 bill being passed at a gas station on the 1000 block of Southwest Interstate Avenue on Friday

PAINTBALL ATTACK

• Centralia police were called about 9:30 a.m. on Saturday to a house on the 1600 block of Military Road which was struck by paintballs.

WRECK

• A 17-year-old Centralia girl was hospitalized with two possibly broken arms after a single-vehicle rollover accident on Saturday on the 300 block of Independence Road near Rochester, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies called just before 2 p.m. were told by the 16-year-old driver he felt something on his leg, looked down to swat a bug away and found his tires off the road. He over-corrected and the vehicle went into the brush onto its top and slid approximately 40 feet, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said today. Another passenger, a16-year-old Centralia boy was taken also to Providence Centralia Hospital with neck and stomach pain, Brown said. A third passenger, a Rochester boy sustained bruises from his seatbelt, she said. The driver, from Rochester, a reportedly uninjured. He was cited for driving too fast for conditions.

News brief: Drug court survives

Monday, June 20th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The three Lewis County commissioners voted unanimously today to approve a one-tenth of one cent local sales tax to fund drug court and other related programs.

County Commissioner Bill Schulte said public testimony given today was running two to one in favor of the measure.

He estimated about 30 people gave their opinions during the public hearing that just about filled the commissioner’s meeting room.

“What happens is we pay one way or the other,” Schulte said. “What happens is unfortunately, it costs more and we get poorer results if we do mental health through the jail.”

The proceeds can only be spent on what are called therapeutic courts – such as drug court and mental health court – and certain other measures to reduce substance abuse and help keep mentally ill individuals stable.

Consumers will likely see the change in October and it will take a couple of months before the county actually begins to see money coming into their account, according to the commissioners.

Supporters have said the increase would amount to about $20 per household per year.

The commissioners next will set up an advisory board to guide them in allocating the receipts, expected to amount to about $900,000 next year.
•••

Read background here

News brief: Chehalis chooses new municipal court judge

Monday, June 20th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Attorney Dale McBeth has been appointed the new judge for Chehalis Municipal Court, the city manager announced today.

McBeth, who has practiced law locally for some 35 years, has been serving as the city’s acting judge since Judge Steven Buzzard retired at the end of last month.

He has sat in as the pro tem judge for the past few years, according to City Manager Merlin MacReynold.

“His long experience in Lewis County and experience as our pro tem judge made him the best fit for the position and we look forward to his permanently stepping into the position July 1st,” MacReynold wrote in his announcement to the city council today.

McBeth was chosen from among four applicants, and his new job won’t be finalized until after he and the proposed contract are confirmed by the council. MacReynold will be seeking that confirmation at the June 27 meeting.

The Chehalis-based lawyer was just honored last month by Lewis County Bar Legal Aid for taking on the most pro bono cases last year locally.

Buzzard’s retirement led to a new municipal court judge in Centralia as well; his son James M.B. Buzzard was selected to fill that position the week before last.

Breaking news: Deputy shoots, kills burglary suspect in Napavine

Monday, June 20th, 2011

2010.0620.deputy.shoots.napavine.second_2

Law enforcement officers examine the scene of the shooting this morning at the intersection of West Vine Street and Second Avenue in Napavine.

This news story was updated at 10:45 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

NAPAVINE – A Lewis County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man early this morning in Napavine.

Deputies were assisting the Napavine Police Department with a call to a burglary in progress, in which a man reportedly armed with a knife was trying to break into a home, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The deputy observed a suspect a short time later; the suspect refused to take his hands out of his pockets and then charged the deputy, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

The deputy shot the man who was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. It happened at 2:12 a.m., according to Brown.

The deceased is a 33-year-old Napavine resident, according to Brown.

The burglary call was on Fifth Avenue Northwest; the deputy was situated “on containment” on Third Avenue Northwest, according to the news release.

A team of outside investigators were on the scene this morning.

The Regional Shooting Response Team is made up of law enforcement officers from the counties of Thurston, Mason, Pacific, Grays Harbor and Lewis, according to Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield.

The investigation into today’s shooting doesn’t include a member from Lewis County, Mansfield said.

The incident began with a call to a house where the man left stab marks through the door and several stab marks on a vehicle; it was some kind of dispute, the sheriff’s office said this morning.

“So somebody’s acting pretty violently,” Chief Brown said.

Napavine Police Department Officer-in-charge Silas Elwood said the house wasn’t randomly chosen; there was a relation between the resident and the man.

Napavine Officer Noel Shields responded to the 911 call, as well at at least two deputies, according to authorities.

The name of the dead man has not been released. His body lay this morning in the street at the intersection of West Vine Street and Second Avenue, several blocks from the targeted house.

Inside yellow police tape were a large white crime investigation van belonging to the regional response team and numerous law enforcement officers.

Nearby neighbor Don Webster said he heard shots in the night, but didn’t think a lot of it.

“I heard gunshots, four, rapid,” Webster said.

He thought it might be someone shooting at animals, like raccoons and didn’t hear more afterward, he said.

The deputy was not injured. His name has not been released.

He has been placed on administrative leave as is standard procedure, according to Mansfield.

The sheriff said it appears the deputy followed protocol, but “that’s why we’re doing the investigation.”

The last time a Lewis County sheriff’s deputy fatally shot someone was in 2002, when Deputy Hal Sprouse shot a man as the two struggled in a ground fight in the Rochester area, according to Brown.

2011.0620.nap.deputy.shoots_2

Law enforcement officers examine the scene of the shooting this morning at the intersection of West Vine Street and Second Avenue in Napavine.