Archive for July, 2012

Breaking news: Suspect from 2007 sexual assault of girl arrested

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

Updated at 5:03 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Detectives today arrested a 24-year-old Winlock man for a 2007 sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl in a Mossyrock-area campground.

Reginald L. Juntunen was identified through DNA, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

He was in Lewis County Superior Court today on an unrelated matter when he was taken into custody.

The sheriff’s office says the girl was riding her bicycle in the campground when she was approached by a man who said he wanted her to come look at something.

When she came close, he told he had a knife and forced her into a public restroom and assaulted her, according to a news release from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He left on foot, the sheriff’s office says.

The report was taken when deputies were called on Sept. 22, 2007 to the campground on the 200 block of Ajlune Road.

Evidence from the scene was sent to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab and earlier this month the sheriff’s office received notification they identified a suspect through CODIS – the Combined DNA Index System, according to the news release.

Juntunen was booked into the Lewis County Jail for multiple counts related to the incident, including first-degree rape, first-degree rape of a child, first-degree child molestation, first-degree kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and second-degree assault, according to the sheriff’s office.

“This is an excellent example of the technology that exists today and how we are utilizing it to solve crimes, make arrests and send people to prison,” Sheriff Steve Mansfield stated in the news release. “Without the CODIS System this arrest would not have been possible.”

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

Updated at 5:57 p.m.

HARD LIQUOR HEIST

• A 16-year-old boy allegedly ran out of Wal-Mart last night with a gallon of gin, a gallon of rum and a fifth of tequila. Police called about 10:50 p.m. to the store on the 1600 block of Louisiana Avenue found their suspect hiding in a dumpster across the street and arrested him for third-degree theft. He was not booked.

IMAGINARY FIGHT WITH REAL KNIVES

• Chehalis police called about 3:30 p.m. yesterday about a possible dispute in the area behind Kit Carson restaurant on Southwest State Avenue subsequently found five kids and three illegal knives. At least one of them was as long as six inches with a blade on both sides of it, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Sgt. Gwen Carrell said she thought they may have been horsing around, but the knives were still seized. The cases involving three of the youngsters – ages 11, 13, and 15 – were referred to the prosecutor for possible charges of possession of a dangerous weapon. One was on probation so was taken to the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center, according to Carrell.

TINY TRAINS STOLEN

• Somebody stole three model trains and several boxes of train parts from a storage unit at the 600 block of Jorgensen Road near Onalaska, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy called there yesterday morning learned the theft occurred sometime in the previous few months. There was no sign of forced entry, Cmdr. Steve Aust said.

DRUGS

• A 29-year-old woman was arrested yesterday for possession of heroin after a search of her vehicle, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Misty R. Braun is the registered owner and was a passenger in the vehicle that police said nearly ran down Sgt. Gwen Carrell on Monday, according to police. The car was impounded and searched, according to Carrell. Braun was booked into the Lewis County Jail but is to be released without charges pending further investigation.

• Pamela A. Clark was arrested yesterday for possession of methamphetamine and marijuana after her impounded car was searched, according to the Chehalis Police Department. She is to be released without charges pending further investigation.

• Kari L. Johnston was arrested last night for two counts of delivery of methamphetamine, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took another report of graffiti on a fence yesterday on Rainier Avenue.

• Chehalis police were called yesterday morning about graffiti on the side of a building on South Market Boulevard.

ANOTHER SCAM

• Morton police took a report on Tuesday from a resident about a phone scam involving someone claiming they were sending a supplementary Medicaid card, the police chief said this morning. An individual with an accent asked the woman a few questions, such as where did she do her banking and then claimed they needed to verify her account number, Chief Dan Mortensen said. She refused to give her number and called police instead, he said.

WRECK

• A Chehalis truck driver was reportedly uninjured when his Freightliner was hit by a Honda Civic last night on Interstate 5 in Woodland. The 33-year-old Vancouver woman driving the Honda subsequently died, according to the Washington State Patrol. Troopers were called about 7:45 p.m. to the southbound lanes noted the driver of the car lost control for unknown reasons and struck the rear corner of another car and then the big rig. Both cars were totaled and the Freightliner driven by James M. Foulke, 36, sustained an estimated $2,000 damage, according to the state patrol. Melissa M. Kelso, 33, of Vancouver, was taken to  at PeaceHealth Southwest Washington Medical Center where she died, according to the state patrol.

TOLEDO TEENAGER PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO ASSAULTING DAD

• The 16-year-old Toledo boy charged in adult court for allegedly striking his father in the head with a baseball bat pleaded not guilty today in Lewis County Superior Court. The teenager is represented by court-appointed attorney Chris Baum, who asked the judge today to reduce bail to an unsecured bond, noting the boy has two grown brothers who could take him in, one who works at the Cowlitz County Jail and another who works at Green Hill School for boys. Judge Richard Brosey said no. Bail remains at $75,000. The Toledo High School student is charged with first-degree assault, a class A felony with a maximum penalty of life in prison but a standard sentencing range of somewhere around 93 to 113 months, according to Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Shane O’Rourke.  A trial date will be selected next week.

Read about Rochester educator dies hiking near Mount Rainier …

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Olympian reports an educational assistant from Grand Mound Elementary School died on Tuesday while hiking near Mount Rainier.

News reporter Lisa Pemerton writes that Jenny Craig may have had a heart-related incident.

Read more here

Suspect in 1985 slayings booked into Lewis County Jail

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Updated

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Ricky Allen Riffe is back in Lewis County.

Riffe, 53, was arrested at his home in Alaska on July 8 for the 1985 slayings of Edward and Wilhelmina “Minnie” Maurin of Ethel.

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Rick Riffe

He has been brought back to face charges of two counts each of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree robbery, as well as one count of burglary.

Riffe was booked into the Lewis County Jail abut 9:45 p.m. tonight, according to the jail roster.

He will go before a judge at 4 p.m. tomorrow.

Prosecutors believe Riffe and his now-deceased brother John Gregory Riffe got into the couple’s home, uncovered bank records and forced the couple to go with them to the bank and withdraw $8,500 before shooting them in the backs with a shotgun inside their car, according to charging documents.

The Maurin’s bodies were found days later on Christmas Eve 1985 off a logging road west of Adna.

Ed Maurin was 81 years old, his wife 83.
•••

See video from Kirotv.com of Riffe’s arrival at the jail, here

For back ground, read:

• “Breaking news: Sheriff: Cold case solved in 1985 shooting death of elderly Ethel couple” from Monday July 9, 2012 at 9:13 a.m., here

• “Sheriff: It’s safe for further witnesses to come forward following arrest in deaths of Ethel couple” from Monday July 9, 2012 at 5:14 p.m., here

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Updated 1:37 p.m.

ESCAPE PLAN FOILED AT GREEN HILL

• A pair of inmates at Green Hill School for boys are in trouble after they reportedly crawled out a window of an education building there yesterday. The instructor told them to stop, but they continued and were stopped by security outside the building, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The 16-year-old boys had homemade ropes fashioned from laundry bags and pillow cases tied around their waists and were dressed in multiple layers of clothing, police Sgt. Gwen Carrell said. The extra clothes could have been for wherever they thought they were going, or maybe as an attempt at protection for climbing over the razor wire fence, according to Carrell. “It doesn’t sound like they got very far,” Carrell said. The case will be referred to prosecutors for a possible charge of attempted escape, according to police.

BIKE HITS CAR THEN FLEES SCENE

• Centralia police responded to a bicycle versus vehicle accident about 4:25 p.m. yesterday at the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue. In this case, a bicyclist ran into a vehicle which was stopped for traffic and then the individual got back on their bike and fled, according to the Centralia Police Department. A 51-year-old woman said she was traveling eastbound and had to stop for traffic when a male on a westbound bicycle tried to cut between her Volvo and the vehicle in front of her, according to police. “He crashes and falls onto the hood of her car, she rolls down her window and asks if he’s alright,” Sgt. Carl Buster said. The male who could have been in his early 20s, wearing a white tank top and a dark hat, got up and drove off without giving his name, Buster said.

VEHICLE VERSUS BICYCLE

• Police and aid were called about 4:10 p.m. yesterday to an accident involving a vehicle and an 18-year-old man on a bicycle at the 700 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia. The injury to the bicyclist was minor and he was able to ride on his way, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

THEFT OF AUTO PARTS

• A deputy was called early yesterday morning to a burglary at a business on the 100 block of Barnes Drive near Toledo. Sometime between 5 p.m. on Monday and 5:30 a.m. yesterday, somebody forced their way inside and left with a radiator, two alternator cores and miscellaneous wire,  according to the Lewis County Sherif’s Office.

THEFT OF GARDENING EQUIPMENT

• Someone stole a hedge trimmer, a leaf blower and a two-gallon gas can from a garage on the 500 block of Northeast Adams Avenue in Chehalis, according to a report made to police about 3 p.m. yesterday.

PRESCRIPTION MEDS MISSING

• Centralia police were called about 10:10 a.m. yesterday to the 600 block of Gold Street about stolen medications. Missing were Oxycodone, Opana and Xanax, according to police.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Sometime between 4 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. yesterday, someone broke into a vehicle parked at the 100 block of Highway 603 west of Chehalis and stole a wallet, clothing and makeup. This is near the trail head for the Rails to Trails trail, a place the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office cautions is a magnet area for car prowlers.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took two reports of graffiti to fences yesterday, one at the 1300 block of Delaware Avenue and another at Rainier Avenue and J Street.

LOST AND FOUND

• Morton police reported on Monday someone brought them a found wallet on July 10. It can be identified and claimed at the police department.

Toledo teen charged in adult court for allegedly taking bat to father’s head

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012
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Defense attorney Bob Schroeter converses with his 16-year-old client in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Toledo High School student arrested for allegedly assaulting his father early Thursday morning had come into the room where his parents were arguing about the father’s extramarital affairs when he hit his father in the head with a baseball bat, according to lawyers and charging documents in the case.

The 55-year-old father was described in critical condition when he was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He has been upgraded to satisfactory condition.

Th 16-year-old was charged today in Lewis County Superior Court with first-degree assault, domestic violence; a crime with a maximum penalty of life in prison.

He appeared before Judge Richard Brosey.

Lawyers said although he’s a juvenile, because he’s charged with a serious violent offense and is at least 16, he is automatically subject to adult jurisdiction.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher told the judge the teenager observed his parents arguing, came up behind his father and struck him with the bat.

Temporary defense attorney Bob Schroeter argued for low bail, noting the boy is a good student and the father is recovering quickly.

“I think you’ll see the argument caused (him) to act out,” Schroeter told the judge. “Though I’m not going to get into the facts of the case.”

Schroeter said the father is about to be released from Harborview and transferred to a Longview hospital and has conversed with family members.

“He’s doing phenomenal,” Schroeter said.

The lawyer proposed the teen has two adult brothers – one in Chehalis and one in Kelso – willing to take him in, since there will be a no-contact order in place between the boy and his dad.

Judge Brosey disregarded Schroeter’s request and set bail at $75,000.

“The mere fact that he was struck in the back of his head, that’s the kind of injury that easily could have been fatal,” Brosey said.

Charging documents describe the police call to the home on Oak Street where Leslie Bagley was laying in the middle of the living room floor with a large pool of blood.

Police stated the mother Tena Bagley had been drinking and appeared intoxicated.

“Tena Bagley, Leslie’s wife, reported she and Leslie were talking about Leslie’s extramarital affairs when (their son) came into the room and hit his father in the head with a metal baseball bat,” charging documents state.

Afterwards, he apparently took a beer and left the residence, charging documents state.

The teenager was arrested later in the morning, when police returned to the home and found him hiding under a bed, according to charging documents.

He was taken to the  Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center but has been transferred to the Lewis County Jail.

Chehalis attorney Chris Baum is appointed to represent him.

The arraignment is set for Thursday morning.

News brief: Log truck tips over at I-5, state Route 508 interchange

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012
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Workers check out log truck at exit 71. / Courtey photo by Lewis County Fire District 5

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A log truck driver was apparently uninjured when the loaded truck tipped over at a ramp to Interstate 5 south of Chehalis this afternoon.

Lewis County Fire District 5 called about 3:50 p.m. to the exit 71 interchange found the logs spilled but not blocking the roadway, according to Fire Lt. Laura Hanson.

The driver did not need to be transported to the hospital, Hanson said.

The Washington State Patrol was investigating why it occurred, she said.

The truck was up-righted and appeared to possibly be fixable, according to Hanson.