• Police arrested a 34-year-old Centralia man last night for allegedly threatening two men with an AK47 rifle. Officers were called about 8 p.m. to the home of Al R. Ensminger on the 2400 block of Seward Avenue where Ensminger said he thought “two guys were trying to steal his stuff,” Officer John Panco said. The men, ages 30 and 50, were in or near Ensminger’s yard when Ensminger allegedly came at one of them with the gun and they started fighting, Panco said. The victims told police Ensminger fired one round into the ground to scare them, Panco said, but Ensminger told officers it discharged accidentally. Ensminger was booked into the Lewis County jail for first-degree assault. He was initially booked for being a felon in possession of a firearm, but police this morning concluded Ensminger is not a felon, Panco said. Panco said an AK47 is normally a fully automatic rifle and not something the general public is allowed to possess. However, he said he did not know if this particular weapon was fully or only semi-automatic.
• Chehalis police are looking for a man in his 40s driving a red Jeep who reportedly attacked a pedestrian last night near the Kit Carson restaurant on Southwest Interstate Avenue. Police were called about 9 p.m. about a fight behind the restaurant and adjacent motel and eventually found a 46-year-old Toledo man who said he’d been attacked by a motorist. The 46-year-old Toledo man said the driver yelled at him and when he approached the Jeep, the driver attacked him. Someone with the victim intervened and the Jeep drove away. The driver was described as a man in his 40s with brown hair, about 6 feet tall and 200 pounds. The Toledo man was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital.
• A 40-year-old Centralia man was arrested last night for second-degree assault after allegedly hitting a female with a large stick. Officers called about 10:20 p.m. to the 100 block of West Summa Street booked Michael T. Hildesheim in to the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
DRUGS
• Centralia police arrested a 26-year-old woman for possession of methamphetamine and a warrant early yesterday morning. Natasha A. Moore, of Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail following her contact with an officer at the 500 block of North Pearl Street just before 1 a.m., according to the Centralia Police Department.
• A 25-year-old Centralia man was arrested for possession of heroin in Centralia on Tuesday night. Carl P. Magyar was booked into the Lewis County Jail following his contact with an officer on the 1800 block of Collision Street in Centralia, according to police.
• A 27-year-old Centralia woman was arrested for possession of methamphetamine Tuesday afternoon after contact with an officer at North Pearl Street and Tacoma Avenue. Courtney S. Smith was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• Centralia police arrested two individuals for possession of methamphetamine and heroin late Tuesday afternoon at the 100 block of Virginia Drive in Centralia. Booked into the Lewis County Jail were Jodi A. Hamer, 40, and Donald L. Peters, 47, both of Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department. Hamer was also booked for unlawful possession of a firearm, according to police.
THEFT
• Centralia police took a report of a theft from a storage unit on the 1000 block of North Pearl Street on Tuesday afternoon.
VANDALISM
• Centralia police were called Tuesday afternoon to the 400 block of East Main Street in centralia where someone had dumped a bucket of paint on the victim’s sidewalk and painted graffiti on a barn and garage door, , according to the Centralia Police Department.
PHANTOM EXPLOSION
• Firefighters were called about 2:15 p.m. yesterday to a vacant lot on the 900 block of Dexter Avenue in Winlock to the report of an explosion and white smoke. Lewis County Fire District 15 Firefighter Kevin Anderson said he heard it from the station and when they arrived, neighbors had gathered. They searched through the area but found no burnt grass, no shrapnel nor any kind of depression in the ground, Anderson said.
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