Lewis County Sirens.com

THEFT

• A deputy was called about 2 o’clock this morning to the 2200 block of Seminary Hill Road outside Centralia where someone stole $900 out of an unlocked parked truck. Also missing was an Eclipse CD player and CDs, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• Morton police reported yesterday a purse was stolen from an unlocked vehicle on the 400 block of Second Street sometime before 3 p.m. on Dec. 27. The loss is estimated at $50.

• Tools and gasoline were stolen from a city of Toledo shop on the 1100 block of state Rout 505, according to a report made yesterday morning to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Also taken in the burglary that occurred sometime since Dec. 30 was a “Chicago” welder belonging to a city employee valued at $220, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

• Someone stole a $1,000 solar panel from a flashing a school zone speed sign in Boistfort, again, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday. It happened sometime between Thursday and Friday, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown, and happened before in mid-August.

VANDALISM

• Somebody shot two pellet holes into a window at the Onalaska School District Office on the 500 block of Carlisle Avenue sometime between Dec. 20 and yesterday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

DRUGS

• Centralia police arrested a 31-year-old man for possession of heroin after contact on the 500 block of Northeast Washington Avenue in Centralia about 7:30 p.m. yesterday. Eathon A. Wesen, no hometown noted, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SMOKE IN HOUSE, NEW FIRE CHIEF

• Lewis County Fire District 6 called about 7:45 a.m. today to a house on the 600 block of Logan Hill Road outside Chehalis found a malfunctioning heat pump that spread light smoke throughout the home, according to new Fire Chief Tim Kinder. Kinder, 49, said this morning he took on the new role in the middle of last month after 10 years as a firefighter-paramedic with the mostly volunteer department. Kinder has been a paramedic for 27 years.

TRIPLE-FATALITY: DRIVER INTOXICATED

• The Grays Harbor County Coroner said the driver in the New Year’s Eve day crash that left him and two others dead died from blunt force injuries, but alcohol intoxication as well as cardiovascular disease were significant conditions that contributed to Gregory D. Martin’s death. Martin, 49, was driving a small pickup truck along the 400 block of Brooklyn Road west of Oakville when it ran off the road into some trees. Dead at the scene were Martin, of Rochester; Travis W. Bennett, 26, and Jessica L. Brick, 22, both of Centralia. Passenger Colleen L. Stuart, 49, of Rochester, was flown to to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after the 5 p.m. wreck, but has been released. Coroner Dan Burns said he wouldn’t know the level of alcohol in Martin’s system until after toxicology reports come back.

Deputy Chris Fulton, right, and Ransom pose with cash and drugs found in a vehicle on Saturday in Ethel. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff's Office

DRUGS, DRUGS, DRUGS

• Eight thousand dollars cash wrapped with a rubber band and six and half ounces of suspected methamphetamine were seized after a 31-year-old Chehalis man was contacted by a deputy on Saturday afternoon at the 700 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Ethel, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. John D. Lopez was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession with intent to deliver and violations of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. Lopez was contacted during a traffic stop regarding a possible malicious mischief, Brown said. Deputy Chris Fulton and Ransom, the sheriffs office’s fairly new 2-year-old drug-detecting Shepherd-mix canine have only been working together a few weeks and Ransom “alerted” on the scent of drugs in the car which was subsequently searched. Lopez’s vehicle was also seized.

• A quarter pound of suspected methamphetamine was found after a 35-year-old Chehalis man was stopped for driving with a suspended license in Centralia last night, according to police. A drug dog called after the incident about 9:15 p.m. on the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue sniffed around and the four ounces of suspected drugs were discovered in a a backpack in the trunk, according to police Sgt. Carl Buster. Jose F. Lopez Jr. was booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession with intent to deliver, according to Centralia police.

• A 29-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday for allegedly stealing a large amount of narcotics from the Onalaska veterinary clinic where she worked. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said Melissa Jo Baier, employed at the Timberland Veterinary Clinic between October of 2010 and last month, stole more than 2,800 tablets of a drug called “Tussigon.” The Onalaska resident was arrested late Saturday afternoon for first-degree theft, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning. The value of the missing medications is estimated at more than $2,000, Brown said.

• Steven P. Kirby, 35, of Centralia, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and a small amount of marijuana when he was contacted by police about 9:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Sixth Street viaduct in Centralia, according to police. After a struggle, Kirby was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Centralia police.

• A 41-year-old driver was arrested for possession of methamphetamine following a traffic stop on the 100 block of Cope Road in Winlock about 11:30 p.m. on Friday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A small baggie of suspected meth was found on the vehicle’s transmission “hump”, according to the sheriff’s office. Kelly W. Benefield was booked into the Lewis County Jail, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. He is being released with no charges.

• A 28-year-old Rochester man was arrested for violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act after a traffic stop about 9:45 p.m. Friday at the 3700 block of Harrison Avenue outside Centralia. David L. Denton was found to have a baggie of prescription pills in his pocket, plus a small amount of marijuana, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

WRECKS

• A 31-year-old Randle man was arrested for eluding after an attempted traffic stop near the 900 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia about 12:20 a.m. on Sunday. Centralia police reported the driver sped through a parking lot, crashed his vehicle onto a sidewalk and then fled on foot, leaving his passengers behind. A police dog sniffed out a jacket Robert J. Spradlin reportedly dropped and followed its scent down the block to where Spradlin was walking “like nothing happened,” according to the Centralia Police Department. Police say he fought and resisted, fearing arrest because he was driving with a suspended license and was under the influence of drugs. Spradlin was booked into the Lewis County Jail for attempting to elude, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A pair of Puyallup residents escaped serious injuries when the GMC Yukon they were traveling in spun out on some ice, went over an embankment and struck a tree near Packwood on Saturday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy called just before 11 a.m. to the Butter Creek Bridge on the 400 block of Cannon Road found the vehicle sustained major damage but the 39-year-old driver and her 41-year-old passenger declined aid, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called just before 4:15 a.m. today about a stereo stolen out of a vehicle on the 1400 block of Lewis Street.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, NOW GET DOWN!

• Chehalis police were called just after midnight Sunday to a home on Southwest Fourth Street when four small children were seen playing on the roof. A warning was issued.

LOST AND FOUND

• Search and rescue personnel joined members of three fire departments when a 5-year-old girl was reported missing on Sunday afternoon from a trailer park on the 2900 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Silver Creek. The child was found about 45 minutes later hiding under a tarp in the park, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning.