Archive for February, 2012

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Saturday, February 25th, 2012

CRASH KNOCKS OUT TELEPHONE POLE

• Firefighters were called about 10:20 a.m. today to a single-vehicle accident south of Vader where a pickup truck rolled and took out a utility pole. It happened on the 100 block of West Side Highway, about a half mile south of state Route 506, according to Lewis County Medic One Paramedic Clayton Skinner. The lone occupant, a woman, was extricated and transported to Providence Centralia Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to Skinner.

VEHICLE THEFT

• A pickup truck stolen overnight from the 900 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia turned up in Chehalis, where two people bailed out and fled when spotted by police, according to the Centralia Police Department. A police dog attempted a track, but the subjects managed to slip away from officers, according to police. The Chevrolet S-10 pickup was returned to its owner.

• Police were called to the 100 block of South Pleasant Avenue in Centralia about 11:50 p.m. yesterday about a stolen vehicle. Missing is a green Windstar van, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THE PARTY’S OVER

• Centralia police broke up an underage drinking party last night on the 2800 block of Russell Road. Minta A. Harrington, 38, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for four counts of furnishing liquor to minors, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, February 24th, 2012

NEAR MISS OF POLICE CAR

• A police officer traveling north on Washington Avenue in Centralia yesterday morning woman ticketed a driver who blew a stop sign at Pine Street and nearly caused a wreck, with the officer’s patrol car, according to police. It happened just before 8:30 a.m. Carol L. Nelson, 45, of Centralia, told the officer she knew the stop sign was there but was in a hurry, Officer John Panco said. Nelson was cited for reckless driving, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFT OF BIBLE

• Police were called yesterday to a Christian book store at the Outlet Mall in Centralia about someone shoplifting a Bible. An officer who responded to the Tree of Life Christian store on the 1300 block of Lum Road was shown security video of a woman leaving the retailer with a $50 copy of the book on Saturday, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CARPORT BURGLARIES

• Fishing gear, gas cans and a mountain bike were among the items stolen from carports on the 100 block of Osprey Lane near the Cowlitz Trout Hatchery south of Ethel, according to a report taken yesterday by a sheriff’s deputy.

CREDIT CARD MISUSED FOR SAUDI AIRLINES

• A 34-year-old Centralia man called police yesterday after his bank informed him someone had used his credit card number to try to purchase three tickets on Saudi AIrlines. The bank, or credit union, said there had been other victims, according to police. Officer John Panco said the department would follow up as much as it could, but usually they let the financial institutions deal with that kind of fraud, as the culprit may be in another country.

INMATE ARRESTED FOR STEALING FELLOW INMATES PIN NUMBER

• A 25-year-old inmate at the Lewis County Jail was arrested for multiple violations of a no contact order as sheriff’s office employees were investigating another inmate allegedly using his personal identification number to make phone calls from the jail. Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning that during the investigation, it was found Travis J. Parude, from Lacey, had actually used the other inmate’s PIN number to make calls to a person he was order not to have contact with. Pardue was arrested for five counts of violating a no contact order, Brown said.

SCHOOL BUS REAR ENDED IN CHEHALIS

• Police were called about 4:25 p.m. yesterday to a rear end collision involving a Head Start school bus in Chehalis. There were no injuries and the damage was minor, according to Deputy Chief Randy Kaut. A Jeep Wrangler was behind the bus as both were headed west on Main Street just east of Interstate 5, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

News brief: Ex-cop gets prison for illegal gun show sales

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A former Bremerton police officer was sentenced today to two years in federal prison in a case that included undercover agents purchasing guns from him and others at gun shows in Centralia and Puyallup.

Roy Alloway, 56, pleaded guilty last fall to unlawful dealing in firearms and filing a false income tax return.

Alloway was warned twice in 2005, but continued to purchase and sell guns without a federal firearms license; much of his conduct occurred while he was an active police officer, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Washington.

He was one of four men charged last May following a lengthy undercover investigation into illegal sales at gun shows, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office.

The (Tacoma) News Tribune reports 77 of the firearms were seized in drug raids in which Alloway was either a participant or an insider with direct access to the weapons.

Some of the guns Alloway bought and sold later turned up at the scenes of a robbery, two assaults and in the hands of two felons, according to prosecutors.

“It was a breach of trust,” U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton said at sentencing. “It was not a technical violation; it was a total abdication of his responsibilities under the law.”

Alloway deposited cash, checks and money orders into his bank account totaling about $192,000 from the sale of firearms, according to the news release. However he failed to declare that income on his tax returns. As part of his plea agreement, he has agreed to pay all back taxes, according to the news release.

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Read a story with further details about Alloway from yesterday’s issue of The (Tacoma) News Tribune, here

News brief: Tenino man missing for more than a month

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Detectives are looking for information on the whereabouts of a 66-year-old Tenino-area man who hasn’t been seen since the middle of January.

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Victor Shumate

Victor Shumate has a home on the 17000 block of Mima Acres Drive Southeast, where he lives alone, although it’s not believed he actually stays there because of the condition of the property, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’ Office.

Shumate gets around by foot or bicycle and is known to travel as far as Centralia, Yelm and Olympia, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Brady.

He frequents the Tenino Timberland Library but hasn’t been seen there or by his neighbors since Jan. 13, the second day of a snow and ice storm, according to Brady.

Shumate is described as 6 feet tall and weighing 160 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.

The sheriff’s office asks anyone who has seen him or knows where he might be to call the sheriff’s office at 360-786-5500 or 360-704-2740 or Crime Stoppers at 360-493-2222. Brady asks that callers refer to the case number 12-969.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

Updated 12:34 p.m.

CAR VERSUS CHILD

• Police and aid were called to the 1100 block of South Gold Street in Centralia about 3:40 p.m. yesterday when an 8-year-old boy was hit by a car. The child was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with what police described as minor injuries. An officer concluded he ran out in front of the vehicle,  according to the Centralia Police Department.

STOLEN VEHICLES

• A man called deputies to his home on the 3000 block of Jackson Highway south of Chehalis early this morning because he thought his vehicle was stolen. However, he remembered he had left it at the Star Tavern and taken a cab home, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. But his girlfriend arrived before the deputy left and because she had an outstanding warrant, she was arrested, according to the sheriff’s office. Barbara A. Alefteras, 43, was booked into the Lewis County jail for failing to appear in court in connection with driving on a suspended license, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

• Police were called about 7:30 p.m. yesterday about a car stolen from Southwest Pacific Avenue in Chehalis. An acquaintance of its owner was found about two hours later with the vehicle at a motel on Lakeshore Drive  in Centralia, according to Chehalis police. Nicodya A. L. Maddux, 23, of Centralia was arrested for an outstanding warrant and the apparent car theft was referred to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office for a possible charge, Sgt. Gary Wilson said.

• A grayish black 1984 Mazda pickup was reported stolen from the 400 block of Centralia College Boulevard on Wednesday morning. It went missing overnight, according to the Centralia Police Department. Its license plate reads B48566C, according to police.

STATUE OF MARY MISSING FROM CHAPEL

• Somebody stole a ceramic statue from the prayer room at Providence Centralia Hospital, according to the Centralia Police Department. The theft was reported Tuesday morning. Officer John Panco said it was Mary with Baby Jesus, and the culprit had also tried to tear a statue of Joseph from its pedestal.

ARREST FOR MAKING UP BURGLARY REPORT

• Two people who reported a burglary in which a variety of medications were supposedly stolen from a home on the 1500 block of Pike Street in Centralia ended up getting arrested themselves on Tuesday. They said someone entered through a window, but an officer concluded there was no way that could have happened, according to Officer John Panco. Terry L. Olson, 56, and Merika G. Olson, 40, were arrested for attempting to file a false report, Panco said.

ATTEMPTED BREAK-IN

• Somebody apparently used splitting maul to break a window at a home on the 600 block of Davis Lake Road in Morton just as a resident there was getting into the shower. A deputy called about 12:30 a.m. yesterday found the window broken and was told by the woman she thought her dog scared the world-be intruder away, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

TP BURNED IN PARK RESTROOM

• Two girls, ages 12 and 14, were arrested after a discovery late yesterday afternoon someone had lit toilet paper on fire in the girls restroom at Penny Playground on Southwest 13th Street in Chehalis, according to police. The girls were arrested for reckless burning and then released, Sgt. Gary Wilson said. It’s a cinder block building and there was no significant damage, he said.

ARREST FOR NAUGHTY MESSAGES

• A 34-year-old Centralia man was arrested yesterday afternoon for allegedly sending sexually explicit text messages to a 16-year-old Centralia girl. Justin L. Hyde was booked into the Lewis County jail for communication with a minor for immoral purposes, according to the Centralia Police Department. Hyde was to be released without charges pending further investigation.

COLLISIONS

• An 18-year-old Rochester woman was taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia after a two-vehicle collision early Tuesday morning near Rochester in which her Honda car was totaled, according to the Washington State Patrol. Tawnie E. Lasby was traveling north on James Road and attempting a left turn onto Independence Road, according to the state patrol. A Ford pickup traveling east on Independence ran into her driver’s side door, the state patrol reported. The driver of the pickup truck, Jacob A. Shore, 26, of Rochester, was reportedly uninjured.

• A 50-year-old driver told deputies he swerved to miss four deer that ran out in front of him when his vehicle left the roadway and rolled just before 6 a.m. on Wednesday. It happened along the 400 block of Spencer Road between Toledo and Ethel, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The Kelso resident, who was delivering newspapers, sustained possible fractures and was taken to St. John Medical Center in Longview, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

• Firefighters were called just after 5 o’clock this morning to the 900 block of Big Hanaford Road outside Centralia when a car served to miss a coyote and rolled over. The two occupants declined to go to the hospital, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

• A 27-year-old truck driver from Utah was ticketed after the cab of a bulldozer he was hauling struck the overpass on northbound Interstate 5 in Chehalis yesterday afternoon. It happened just after 2 p.m. at the 13th street interchange, according to Trooper Ryan Tanner. It didn’t apparently cause significant structural damage to the overpass but a bridge crew from the state Department of Transportation were going to examine it, Tanner said. The oversize load was supposed to have a pilot car traveling in front, but the pilot car was behind the truck, Tanner said.

LANDSLIDE

• Some 50 feet of roadway was covered  from a land slide yesterday morning along the Highland Valley Road southwest of Morton according to Lewis County Emergency Management. Sheriff’s Sgt. Ross McDowell described the mess as about 300 yards of debris.

OLD CASE

• A detective with the Washington State Patrol is looking for the public’s help in identifying a man who may know something about a stolen car found abandoned near Oakville almost two years ago. The 1999 Saab went missing from Kent on March 23, 2010 and a month later, it turned up along U.S. Highway 12 near the Black River Bridge just west of the Thurston County line, according to detective Krista Hedstrom. The plates were switched, Hedstrom said, and the windows smashed out. Inside, troopers found receipts and bags from Wal-Mart in Chehalis, and a detective matched a purchase with images of a man from security cameras, according to Hedstrom. There’s nothing extraordinary about the incident, but Hedstrom transferred in the the department and wanted to follow up on what a previous detective began, she said. The man in the picture is not necessarily a suspect, she said. “They’re connected,” she said. “He might be guy hitchhiking, we don’t know. He could have been a passenger.”

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Wal-Mart security video

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Wal-Mart security video

Prosecutor: Man with fire bomb threatened to kill himself

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
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Matthew P. White speaks with defense attorney Bob Schroeter in court.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Yesterday’s 911 call to a Mossyrock-area home in which a molotov-cocktail type device exploded in a kitchen was about a man threatening to kill himself, according to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.

Matthew P. White’s divorce became final last week and he went there with a gas can and several incendiary devices, but his adult son and the son’s friend wrestled with him and dragged him out of the house, charging documents state.

His ex-wife and son live in the home, but were not there when he arrived.

White, 51, was in Lewis County Superior Court this afternoon where he was charged with arson and several other offenses.

Judge Nelson Hunt set his bail at $250,00.

White sported what appeared to be two reddish black eyes-in-the-making as he faced the judge. Defense attorney Bob Schroeter told Judge Hunt White had “zero” criminal history.

Charging documents and the sheriff’s office give the following account:

Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Tim English was dispatched about 12:25 p.m. to the 100 block of Koons Road about a man threatening to kill himself.

When Deputy English arrived, White was sitting on the ground with four males standing around him.

Twenty-three-year-old Kevin White told the deputy he and his friend Anthony Westmoreland had seen his father’s car on the side of Salmon Creek Road, stopped and reminded him he wasn’t supposed to be in the area or near the house.

The senior White drove off and his son followed.

The son said he watched his father carry a gas can and an incendiary device to the front door then kick in the door and go inside.

The young men followed and once inside, saw White light the device.

Kevin White told the deputy he was roughly eight feet away when his dad threw it at him. Kevin White kicked it away and it exploded causing a fire in the kitchen.

Westmoreland put it out with an extinguisher, and Kevin White wrestled with his father.

Kevin White got a cut on his hand when he grabbed a knife from his father’s pocket.

When the senior White then pulled a two-foot-long knife from the neck of his jacket, Westmoreland punched him, knocking him unconscious.

Kevin White then dragged his father outside.

The fire damage was apparently limited to “possible smoke damage.”

No serious injuries were reported, though the senior White had a cut on his right eye and blood on his head.

Lewis County Fire District 8 was called just after 1 p.m. to conduct a “patient check” at the sheriff’s office request, according to Fire Chief Duran McDaniel.

Deputy English collected three knives from the home that the young men said were taken from White.

English recovered three incendiary devices and four tupperware containers with wicks and gasoline from White’s vehicle.

Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said the devices were “molotov cocktail types”.

A sheriff’s office spokesperson said she was told they were made with styrofoam and gasoline. White told his son it was “Naplam”; he’d researched it on the Internet.

Also in the vehicle was an ice chest with styrofoam that was used in the mixture of the device, according to charging documents.

White hasn’t lived in the home since October. He is described as a Centralia resident.

On his way to jail, White told Deputy English he had been having thoughts of harming himself as well as killing his wife.

White is charged with first-degree assault of his son, first-degree arson,first-degree burglary and unlawful possession of an incendiary device

His arraignment is tomorrow.

Centralia woman gets 30 years for decapitating premature infant

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
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Laura Lynn Hickey looks back toward her family as she learns someone will address the judge on her behalf.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter


CHEHALIS – A judge gave Laura Lynn Hickey thirty years in prison today, for what her attorney said his client viewed as a mercy killing after her approximately 21-weeks-along fetus was unexpectedly delivered into a toilet.

Hickey, 25, admitted she cut off its head with a kitchen knife.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt said the case set a new low, but declined to hand down the 80 year sentence the prosecutor asked for.

“In my view, the defendant is only a threat to her own children, and her release will be past her further ability to bear children,” Hunt said.

The Centralia woman had pleaded guilty second-degree murder.

The standard sentencing range for the crime was between about 12 years to 20 years, although because the victim was particularly vulnerable, Hickey could have been locked up for life.

Hickey was about halfway through her pregnancy last March when she gave birth alone in her Centralia trailer home. She told detectives she grabbed the baby from the toilet, saw he was gurgling and trying to take a breath, according to charging documents.

“She indicated to police she couldn’t stand by and watch it suffer, and die,” defense attorney Ken Johnson told the judge this morning.

Johnson noted his client’s state of mind was impaired, and not only from drugs.

Attorneys disagreed if the infant boy was far enough along it could have survived outside the womb.

It weighed .85 pound and was less than 10-inches long, according to the lawyers involved.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said the baby “had taken a breath, at least one breath.” Johnson said Dr. William Brady was of the opinion the baby would not have survived.

More than 30 people sat in the Chehalis courtroom this morning, including Hickey’s mother, step-father and other family.

Her grandmother Nancy Wood asked the judge for some leniency.

“Laura’s never been in trouble,” Wood said. “She was a good mother, a good provider, until drugs came into the factor.”

The father of the child, Matthew Emery recommended she serve 10 years.

His written comments to the judge were read aloud; he sat with red-rimmed eyes next to a jail guard in the courtroom. What he is in custody for wasn’t mentioned.

Emery said said he still loves Hickey, but he doesn’t think he will ever understand what she did.

“I forgive you for what have done, and I don’t say this lightly,” Emery wrote.

Prosecutor Meyer said it was a crime so heinous, Hickey should lose the ability to “walk among us.” He described to the judge a variety of excuses by Hickey, saying she did not want the child.

Defense attorney Johnson asked for the low end of the standard sentencing range, saying she is a good candidate for rehabilitation and all he was asking was for a second chance.

Johnson acknowledged calling it a mercy killing is not a defense, but said it was an explanation, if there was an explanation.

“Laura realizes her explanations are totally inadequate,” Johnson said. “She made a mistake and must pay the consequences.”

Hickey addressed Judge Hunt, although she was told she didn’t have to.

She apologized, but said she would accept whatever sentence he gave her. She asked him to give her a second chance at life.

“I’m sorry for what I’ve done, I’m sorry for the baby I never gave a chance,” she said. “I’m sorry for my drug use.”

Then she laid her head down on the defense table, and appeared to cry.

Hickey will also get a mandatory extra two years because the plea agreement included a deadly weapon enhancement.

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The family of Laura Lynn Hickey sit behind her as she is sentenced.