Lewis County Sirens.com

Todd Phelps listens to his attorney Don Blair after his sentence is imposed in Lewis County Superior Court.

Updated at 5:37 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Calling the case a meeting of a perfect predator and the perfect victim, Judge Nelson Hunt sentenced former Pe Ell girls’ softball coach Todd Phelps to the maximum prison time possible for the rape of a 16-year-old team member.

“It took you more than four months, but you got what you wanted Mr. Phelps,” Hunt said as he pronounced the sentence today. “I’m glad to see you have the support of family and friends, because you’re going to need it.”

Phelps, 52, was given two days shy of six years in prison.

Cuffed and clad in green and white striped jail garb, the former log truck driver looked back only once at his wife and two daughters seated behind him, and that was as he was led out of the Lewis County Superior Court room.

Phelps was convicted by a jury at the end of April of third-degree rape and second-degree sexual misconduct.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead today asked for the maximum sentence. Centralia defense attorney Don Blair asked for 10 months.

In a trial that extended into eight days, prosecutors described how Phelps gradually seduced a girl already troubled with low self esteem and depression and ultimately had sex with her that was clearly against her wishes. The jury took only a little more than four hours to find him guilty as charged.

The victim and her mother both addressed the court today before Phelps’ sentence was imposed.

The victim’s mother blasted Phelps, calling him sick, twisted and out of control for persuading her and her husband to trust them yet robbing their child of her innocence.

“You told our daughter she would be worth going to jail for,” she said. “Well, you got your wish. How do you feel now?”

The now 17-year-old girl described how she trusted him like a kind of super hero, who had her convinced her parents didn’t love her and then left her feeling like less than dirt.

“I never understood the word alone until I was balled up on the floor at Melody and Ben’s house, knowing I could never tell a soul,” she said.

Though her voice broke and she stifled sobs, the teenager continued, telling how she finally stood up and told, “before you could suck the life from me, like a spider to a smaller helpless bug.”

Phelps was forced to quit his job coaching the Pe Ell High School girls softball team in April of last year as he was investigated for violating school boundary policies, including texting the girl who was a team member, being alone with her and a kiss he said was on the forehead.

He was arrested in October in connection with an early April incident in which he had the teen to come by his house and asked her to take off her pants so he could see self-inflicted cuts on her legs.

A month later a charge of third-degree rape was added in connection with a July encounter with the girl at his brother’s Pe Ell home.

Deputy Prosecutor Halstead today reminded the judge the jury found aggravating factors, that Phelps used his position of trust with a particularly vulnerable victim, meaning he could be sentenced above the standard sentencing range.

“Clearly (the victim) has lost something she can never get back,” Halstead said. “And the community of Pe Ell has been torn apart.”

“He’s not safe in the community and not of an age he can be rehabilitated,” Halstead told the judge.

Defense attorney Blair said he understood the jury found the aggravating factors, but the standard range for the crime is six to 12 months.

He asked the judge to keep in mind the testimonials from supporters which had been placed in the court file.

“Todd is 52 years old and has never (before) been charged with a crime,” Blair said.

Phelps chose not to address the court.

For the second-degree sexual misconduct with a minor, a gross misdemeanor, Phelps was given the maximum of 364 days.

For the third-degree rape, a felony, he was given four years plus 364 days. The judge allowed one day for community supervision.

The judge said the two sentences should be served consecutively.

After he announced the sentence, Judge Hunt explained that when a maximum sentence is requested, he asks himself if it is the worst he’s seen of the particular crime in question.

“The answer is a resounding yes,” Hunt said.

The judge signed the orders, including Phelps’ notice of intent to appeal.

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For background, read:

• “Former Pe Ell coach faces charge of third-degree rape of teenage student” from Tuesday November 29,  2011, here

• “Pe Ell coach rape trial set for next week, judge denies request to dismiss charges” from Wednesday March 21, 2012, here

• “Trial opens for former Pe Ell coach accused of sex crimes with teen” from Wednesday April 18, 2012, here

• “Pe Ell rape trial: Girl tells of kissing” from Friday April 20, 2012, here

• “Pe Ell rape trial: Teen testifies about alleged rape” from Saturday April 21, 2012, here

• “Pe Ell rape trial: Teen answers questions from defense attorney” from Tuesday April 24, 2012, here

• “Pe Ell rape trial: Family provides alibis for former coach” from Thursday April 26, 2012, here

• “Pe Ell rape trial: Guilty as charged” from Friday April 27, 2012, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Fire claimed an Onalaska home yesterday, the same residence where 58-year-old Terry Vance was slain in early March.

Nobody was injured and no one was home at the time, but the single-wide mobile home is a total loss, according to Lewis County FIre District 1 Chief Mark Conner.

Crews called to the 400 block of Pennel Avenue at about 4 p.m. found the interior fully involved and flames beginning to breach the roof, Conner said.

While they arrived within four minutes of the call, it was a challenge to put out because of a separate roof built above the structure, according to Fire Investigator Derrick Paul.

Members of Lewis County Fire Districts 6 and 5 assisted in battling the blaze.

The family had been gone for a few hours and returned home to see smoke, Paul said. They tried to open a door to get inside to rescue their pets, but were unable to do so because of the heat and smoke, he said.

Bonnie Vance raised her family at the home across from the ball field. Her 11-year-old grandson lived with her, and her grown son resided in a trailer parked on the property. It was not damaged, according to Conner.

Until March 7, another grown son Terry Vance and his 25-year-old son resided there as well. That’s when deputies called to the mobile home found the father dead from multiple knife wounds and arrested Joshua Vance for murder.

Joshua Vance remains in the Lewis County Jail, awaiting an October trial.

Conner said four dogs and a cat perished in yesterday’s fire.

The Red Cross was summoned to help the family with clothing and a place to stay, he said.

Investigator Paul said he narrowed the origin of the blaze to a hallway and is returning today to look at all the possible heat sources.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Centralia man accused of torture and rape in the death of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter was scheduled to make his plea in court today, but at the last minute his lawyer asked for a postponement.

James M. Reeder

Centralia attorney David Arcuri did not say why, when he and his client James M. Reeder appeared in Lewis County Superior Court this morning.

Arcuri told the judge that based on his interaction with Reeder “just now”, he wanted to request the hearing be set over one week.

“And because the defense may have other requests,” Arcuri said.

Reeder, 25, is charged with homicide by abuse and related charges, including possession of methamphetamine, following the May 24 death in Centralia of Koralynn Fister.

The toddler was pronounced dead at the hospital after he carried her to a home across the street, saying he stepped out from her bath briefly and returned to find her face down in the tub. Authorities said they found numerous injuries, including signs of rape.

Koralynn Fister

Reeder remains held in the Lewis County Jail on $5 million bail.

Elected Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer, who is handling the case for his office, asked the judge to sign an order allowing the child’s body to be released from the coroner.

Arcuri would only say after the brief hearing there are some important tasks an attorney needs to do before an arraignment can place.

For example, making sure the client understands the charges and is competent to stand trial, Arcuri said, noting those were only generic examples.

Arcuri is a court appointed attorney; he said Reeder has been unemployed for the past year.

Judge James Lawler agreed they would return to the courtroom next Thursday morning for arraignment and setting a trial date.

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For background, read “Father of Centralia toddler who died speaks out” from Saturday June 2, 2012, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – An attorney representing the family of a 33-year-old Napavine man fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy last year filed a claim for as much as $10 million saying despite the fact backup was mere seconds away, the deputy made a reckless decision to engage in an unnecessary confrontation.

Steven V. Petersen

“Steven V. Petersen was unarmed, standing in the middle of an intersection when he was gunned down by Lewis County Sheriff’s Officer Matthew McKnight,” Tacoma lawyer John R. Connelly Jr. wrote. “McKnight’s ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ approach to law enforcement that night, had devastating consequences for the decedent and his family.”

Connelly called it a clear cut civil rights case, noting his intent to file a complaint in federal court.

It happened on June 20 in Napavine, when police and deputies responded to an approximately 2 a.m. call that Petersen left stab holes in the door of his ex-girlfriend’s mobile home while trying to get inside and then left on foot.

Deputy McKnight found Petersen a few blocks away, and after Petersen refused to take his hand out of his pocket and began to charge McKnight, the deputy fired four shots, according to the account given by local authorities. The dead man had no knife.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer concluded McKnight’s use of deadly force was justified, based on an investigation conducted by outside law enforcement officers. McKnight was also cleared by an internal review at the sheriff’s office.

The Tacoma attorney’s tort claim against the county was rejected last week by the group that provides Lewis County with liability insurance, Washington Counties Risk Pool.

Sarah S. Mack, the attorney representing the risk pool and the county, said the deputy’s use of force was reasonable, in her May 31 denial letter to Connelly.

“Indeed, there is no doubt that Deputy McKnight made the decision to use lethal force out of an objective fear for his own safety and the safety of those around him,” Mack wrote.

The tort claim was filed with the county in early April, offering to discuss a resolution, but noting the intent was to file a lawsuit in U.S. District Court at the end of a 60-day period imposed by statute.

One of the four lawyers representing the Petersen family said yesterday they intend to file within a couple of weeks.

The attorneys represent Petersen’s father, Steven O. Petersen and his 10-year-old son Lars V. Petersen. The senior Petersen and his wife now have legal guardianship of the boy. The younger Petersen’s wife died just weeks before he did.

The attorney, Julie Kays who works with Connelly, said the child struggles daily with the loss of a dad he dearly loved.

He was a good dad, she said, always there at his son’s games.

“I can tell you this, when grandpa reached out, his objective on behalf of himself, Steven and his young grandson is to make sure the truth comes out,” Kays said yesterday. “Our firm is committed to conducting a thorough investigation of this matter.”

Kays said the facts that have so far been made public are based on “the word of one officer, the one who shot and killed an unarmed man from a distance away.”

The firm, Connelly Law Offices in Tacoma, is working the case with Chehalis attorneys Dave Jones and J. Vander Stoep, of Vander Stoep, Remund, Blinks and Jones.

They’ve retained a retired King County Sheriff’s Department major crimes detective who spent the majority of 28 years investigating homicides, including officer-involved shootings, Kays said.

In the narrative in the tort claim, the Petersens’ attorney writes that back up units were each roughly 30 seconds to one minute away from McKnight’s location at the intersection of West Vine Street and Second Avenue, but McKnight did not wait for them.

West Vine Street and Second Avenue, Napavine

McKnight had turned his patrol car around and driven toward Petersen who was walking in the middle of a deserted street,” he wrote. “Steven did not run or hide.”

“Officer McKnight immediately got out of his car, stood in the “V” of the open door, pulled out his firearm and pointed it directly at Steven.

“McKnight made no request for backup, and made absolutely no effort to calmly interact with Steven.

“Instead he pointed a firearm at Steven and within less than 30 second(s) shot and killed him.”

The Petersens’ attorney claims Petersen was standing well over 20 feet away. The county’s attorney states Petersen was less than 20 feet away.

Mack, the county’s attorney, includes that when the deputy ordered Petersen to the ground, Petersen responded with something to the effect of, “It ain’t gonna happen buddy.”

“Deputy McKnight then saw Mr. Petersen’s body posture change, saw him flex his shoulders and come forward, beginning to advance on the deputy,” Mack wrote in her response.

The Petersens’ claim summarizes that it was a  confrontation with an unarmed man who posed no threat and was recklessly created by the deputy.

“Officer McKnight’s poor decision making, inexperience, lack of training and lack of sound judgement  resulted in his unlawful use of excessive force against Steven,” Connelly wrote.

McKnight, 27, had been with the sheriff’s office a little more than four years. Sheriff Steve Mansfield said at the time he was one of the younger officers they’d hired, and he thought it was McKnight’s first law enforcement job.

Kays said the people of Lewis County have a stake in law enforcement officers having proper training, proper supervision and making appropriate decision in the field when using deadly force.

“That’s what our investigation is going to focus on and review,” she said.

She just finished a trial last week in federal court in which their firm won a $1 million jury verdict in a case about excessive police force.

The case was Ostling v. the city of Bainbridge Island, and the jury found the city failed to train officers how to deal with mentally ill individuals, she said.

The county is represented by the Seattle law firm of Patterson, Buchanan, Fobes, Leitch and Kalzer.

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For background, read “Details emerge in Napavine officer-involved shooting” from Saturday July 2, 2011, here