Lewis County Sirens.com

LAUGHING WOMAN ARRESTED

A 42-year-old Centralia woman was arrested yesterday after allegedly twice running into another vehicle at East Summa Street and Tower Avenue and driving away. Police were called just after 2 p.m. by a man who said a driver got right on his rear end, flashing her lights and honking, according to the Centralia Police Department. When he asked her what she was doing, she just laughed, according to police. As the woman pulled away, she struck the vehicle of a passerby who stopped because of the commotion, backed up, hit the vehicle a second time and then drove off. “She was laughing the whole time,” Buster said. Mary E. Carver later went into the police department to make a report about neighbors’ babies crying and was arrested for second-degree assault when police recognized hers as the suspect vehicle, Buster said.

STRANGER IN BUSHES GRABS WOMAN

• Police were called about 8:40 p.m. yesterday to a Centralia neighborhood after a 24-year-old woman said she and her boyfriend were walking when a hand reached out from some bushes and grabbed her arm. The two fled but saw a person in dark clothing running the other way, according to police. It happened near South Rock and West Cherry streets. A police dog was brought out to sniff around but didn’t find a suspect, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUNKEN MAN BEATEN IN CENTRALIA

• A 26-year-old Centralia man went to the police department yesterday to report that a week ago Saturday he was walking home drunk when someone assaulted him breaking bones in his face. “All he remembers is getting hit in the head and then waking up,” police Sgt. Carl Buster said. The victim at some point went to a hospital and learned how serious his injury was, according to police. Buster said he doesn’t know why the man waited to call police.

THEFT

• Police were called about 12:50 p.m. yesterday to a residence on the 1400 block of Johnson Road in Centralia about stolen rings. The case is under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Generators were stolen from a business on the 300 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday morning.

• A computer was reported stolen from a motel room on Westlake Avenue in Morton the Tuesday before last. The case is under investigation, according to the Morton Police Department.

• A woman who called police yesterday afternoon after seeing someone take down some political campaign signs from the hillside near North National Avenue and Chamber of Commerce Way in Chehalis was told they were not being stolen, apparently just removed because the property owner hadn’t been asked in advance for permission, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

THEFT OF WOOD

• Morton police are investigating after a report subjects stole lumber from the Northwest Home Center, carrying it to U.S. Highway 12 where they loaded it into a vehicle, according to the Morton Police Department. It happened the Tuesday before last in the morning, according to police.

• A 26-year-old man was arrested after Morton police received a report of campers cutting down trees for firewood in Gus Backstrom Park on Sept. 1, according to police. David R. Boulet, of Graham, was picked up for theft, obstruction, malicious mischief and a warrant and turned over to the Pierce County law enforcement, according to the Morton Police Department.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Centralia police took a report yesterday afternoon of a car prowl on the 1100 block of F Street. A CD player and wallet were missing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called yesterday morning to take a report that sometime during the past month, somebody removed the registration and insurance information from the glove box of a vehicle parked on Southwest Fourth Street near Market Boulevard.

HARASSMENT

• A 52-year-old Morton man was in trouble with police after allegedly calling and texting a female more than 100 times in just a few hour period. William S. Rakes was arrested for telephone harassment on Thursday, according to the Morton Police Department.

DRUGS

• A 22-year-old Centralia woman was arrested for a warrant and possession of methamphetamine this morning after contact with an officer about 7:10 a.m. at the 800 block of Harrison Avenue. Katrina D. Miller was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department,

• A 17-year-old boy faces a possible misdemeanor charge for allegedly smoking marijuana on school property in Morton on Wednesday morning. Police found a pipe and a small amount of residue and referred the case to Lewis County prosecutors, according to the Morton Police Department.

WRECK

• The city of Winlock’s “welcome” sign and planter box were damaged yesterday when a semi truck driver attempted a U-turn at the 2700 block of Highway 603 and his trailer tires dropped into a ditch, causing damage to his truck as well, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loaded semi had to be towed following the approximately 11:30 a.m. incident, according to the sheriff’s office. The driver, who said he missed his turn, was cited for making an improper U-turn, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

• An 11-year-old girl complained of shoulder pain and her older brother, the driver, of stomach pain after a two-car collision this morning at the 1100 block of Reynolds Avenue in Centralia. Both were taken to Providence Centralia Hospital following the wreck which occurred just before 8 o’clock this morning, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

FIRES

• Firefighters were called about 8:30 p.m. yesterday to the Capitol Forest west of Little Rock when wires which fell after a small pickup truck ran into a power pole sparked a wildfire. On one side of the downed lines, an off-duty firefighter from Grays Harbor County treated the driver for minor injuries and on the other side, personnel from West Thurston Regional Fire Authority battled a blaze that spread onto a slope in the heavily-wooded area, according to Fire Lt. Lanette Dyer. It happened at the end of Bordeaux Road near what’s known as the “E Line”. The fire was contained to an area approximately 100 feet by 200 feet by 9:30 p.m., according to Dyer. The location is about three miles south of an incident early on on Saturday morning in which 37-year-old man from Puyallup fell from atop the cab of a Chevrolet Silverado and was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to the fire department.

• Firefighters called about 7:15 p.m. yesterday about a small grass fire in the front yard of a home on Taylor Street in Centralia found a resident had put it out with a garden hose. It appeared someone tossed a cigarette and missed the intended container, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

Updated at 6:31 p.m.

OOPS

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office says a 20-year-old Vader resident was arrested after he got inside someone else’s semi-truck near Centralia and tried to drive away. A deputy called about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday was told John J. Crear IV was “highly intoxicated” and thought he was in Rochester and trying to drive home, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. Employees at the business on the 3000 block of Foron Road escorted Crear off the property, Brown said, but he was later located in the area and booked into the Lewis County Jail for attempted vehicle theft. Prosecutors are sending the case to Lewis County District Court where misdemeanors are handled.

ROAD RAGE IN CENTRALIA

• A 72-year-old Chehalis man was arrested for allegedly waving around a gun at outside a convenience store on the 1000 block of Belmont Avenue in Centralia about 5 o’clock this morning. Police said Alvin Fitzgerald told them he was angry at a Centralia driver he thought was intentionally tailgating him and shining his bright headlights causing a glare in Fitzgerald’s rearview mirror. When the Centralia man pulled into a parking lot, Fitzgerald followed him and they got out and “exchanged words,” Officer John Panco said. Both motorist went to their vehicles and Fitzgerald returned with a handgun, Panco said. Police confiscated the gun and arrested him for unlawful display of a weapon, according to police. He was then released.

IMPERSONATION UNDER INVESTIGATION

• Deputies are investigating a suspected identity theft after a 42-year-old Onalaska woman said she learned someone was using her social security number to work. When the victim applied for unemployment benefits, she was asked if she had ever worked in an orchard in Eastern Washington, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The first unemployment check she received was short because it was garnished for child support owed by the person who used her social security number, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. The sheriff’s office is working with the state Department of Social and Health Services to investigate the situation which was reported last Thursday, according to Brown.

RACE OVER

• Two Centralia residents were arrested after a police officer heard the “roar” of an engine and observed a pair of vehicles racing on Harrison Avenue and West Reynolds Avenue about 10:40 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Centralia Police Department. Both Dustyn J. Lawrence, 18, and Justin L. Stutman, 25,were cited and then released, according to police.

COPPER WIRE THEFT

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning a deputy took a report from the 2200 block of Highway 603 near Winlock about more than 750 feet of copper wire stolen. It happened sometime between Thursday and Friday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is listed as more than $3,000.

DRUGS

• Bail was set at $25,000 today for a man arrested early Saturday morning in Winlock for possession of methamphetamine and a violation of a protection order regarding his wife. Michael W. Reddick allegedly was found with four baggies of suspected meth, defense attorney Bob Schroeter said in court this afternoon. The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office asked for $10,000 bail because of the no-contact order offense, and Schroeter requested $5,000 but Lewis County Superior Court Commissioner Tracy Mitchell who normally handles family court said her court takes those violations very seriously and made it $25,000.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police took a report about 5 p.m. yesterday from the 900 block of Marion Street where someone broke out a vehicle’s window and stole an iPod.

FAKE BILL PASSED IN CENTRALIA

• Police were called about 2:50 p.m. on Saturday about a counterfeit $20 received at a business on the 800 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia.

VANDALISM

• Chehalis police were called yesterday afternoon by a woman who said someone punctured a sidewall of the tire of her vehicle while it was parked at Wal-Mart. There are no suspects, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

WRECKS

• A 31-year-old Chehalis resident was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with a broken leg after a collision on state Route 6 when he drove into the side of a truck that ran a stop sign at Highway 603 west of Chehalis just before 11 p.m. on on Saturday night, according to the Washington State Patrol. James M. Rada’s 1997 Honda was totaled, the state patrol reported. The driver of the Ford Explorer, Hewitt M. Duncan, 77, and his 74-year-old female passenger were unhurt, according to the patrol. Duncan was cited for failing to yield, the investigating trooper reported.

• Two people had possible injuries after a three-vehicle wreck when a Morton motorist reportedly failed to stop at a stop sign north of Mossyrock on Saturday evening. Angela L. Page, 41, of Morton, was given a citation after troopers were called about 6:40 p.m. to the intersection of state Route 122 and Larson Road, according to the Washington State Patrol. A Honda Accord carrying a Bremerton man was totaled but he was not injured, according to the state patrol. His passenger however, a 48-year-old Gig Harbor woman had a possible shoulder injury, the state patrol reported. A 2010 Ford F-150 driven by 27-year-old Matthew A. Cournyer of Mossyrock sustained an estimated $4,000 damage, according to the investigating trooper. Page was taken to Morton General Hospital with possible neck and back injuries, the trooper noted.

FOREST FIRE EXTINGUISHED IN PACKWOOD

• Firefighters on Friday afternoon were called to an area behind the High Valley park in Packwood when fire broke out on former clear cut property now populated by 30- to 40-foot tall trees. Crews from Randle joined Lewis County Fire District 10 about 2 p.m. and were on the scene three and a half to four hours and then personnel from the state Department of Natural Resources stayed on until later in the night, District 10 Chief Lonnie Goble said. “Neighbors called it in real quick, as soon as it started,” Goble said. The burned area comprised an estimated 300 feet by as much as 100 feet, according to the chief. The closest home was about 150 feet away, he said.

BUSTED CORONA BOTTLE ATTACK SUSPECT BACK IN LEWIS COUNTY

• A former Centralia man who allegedly slashed at a man with a broken beer bottle at a South Pearl Street apartment eight years ago was ordered held today on $75,000 bail. Refugio Jose Vazquez-Tellez, 38, was jailed on Friday on a warrant for first-degree assault in connection with the June 26, 2004 incident. Vazquez-Tellez, known to police by his street name Marlboro, fled after he and another man allegedly initiated a fight over getting “ratted out” over a stolen bicycle, according to charging documents. The boyfriend of the mother of the individual they went to see sustained numerous deep cuts to his face, chest and abdomen when he tried to break up the brawl, charging documents state. The following day, Vazquez-Tellez called in sick to his job at Hub City Recycling with a cut hand, police told prosecutors. He never showed up for court after he was charged, Lewis County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said this afternoon. Vazquez-Tellez lives and works in Yakima picking apples and his income is such is he qualified for a court-appointed defense attorney Bob Schroeter said. Immigration authorities have placed a hold on him, according to Schroeter. His arraignment was scheduled for Thursday.