Archive for October, 2012

Last suspect from summer 2010 drive-by shooting in Chehalis now accounted for

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Police aren’t looking any longer for Andrew Morales-Loberg, a 19-year-old wanted but never captured in connection with a Chehalis drive-by shooting two years ago.

The Chehalis resident is one of four gang members sentenced Monday to more than 100 years in prison for a quasi-drive-by shooting in Yakima County, according to authorities.

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Andrew Morales-Loberg

Jaime Lopez, now 20, is the name Andrew Morales-Loberg gave police when he was arrested, Yakima County Deputy Prosecutor Gary Hintze said yesterday.

He and three other men – all LVL members, according to Hintze – were convicted in what was described as a retaliatory shooting after the sister of one of their group was shot in Sunnyside early last year.

A few hours later, gunfire erupted outside a Norteno-related home in the nearby town of Outlook, Hintze said.

“They rolled up, stopped the car, got out and lined up outside and shot up the trailer, narrowly missing seven people sleeping,” Hintze said.

That was March 14, 2011 and the suspects were jailed shortly after, he said.

Morales-Loberg had been implicated in the summer of 2010 in a Chehalis incident in which someone in a red Chevrolet Blazer fired a round from a pistol that missed several people but struck a parked vehicle on Southwest William Street.

At first police said an unknown number of individuals were inside the Blazer, but soon filed charges against four local residents, claiming they were all in the SUV, including Morales-Loberg.

He was never apprehended.

Authorities here described the suspects as LVL members and the shooting as related to a debt owed to somebody called “Candy man”.

Witnesses implicated two different men as the shooter.

The alleged target Rolando Carrillo Cruz told a police detective he was certain it was Morales-Loberg; and Christina Palomares – at one point believed to be the driver – pointed to her husband as the shooter, according to court documents.

Drive-by shooting charges were subsequently dismissed against all three.

Palomares, a 24-year-old Tenino woman, pleaded guilty last summer to two counts of malicious prosecution. The deputy prosecutor said she lied about who was in the vehicle, and there was some question if she was even there.

Juan Valentino Vasquez was released three months earlier, because of insufficient evidence.

Charges against Ruben Alberto Palomares were dropped six months before that.

A $500,000 bench warrant remains for Morales-Loberg in the Chehalis case.

Chehalis police said they learned their wanted subject was locked up in Yakima and aren’t sure if he’ll be brought back to Lewis County.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said today he hasn’t decided if he’ll pursue it, given Morales-Loberg’s lengthy Yakima County sentence.

“He got life, that’s good news,” Meagher said.

Hintze said he doesn’t know a whole lot about Morales-Loberg, although he said he also goes by the street name “Loki”.

The Yakima Herald-Republic quotes the father of Morales-Loberg, also known as Jaime Morales, as telling the judge on Monday that God would judge his son and the others fairly.

He was given 160 year sentence for his role in the Outlook shooting. With three guns and seven victims, the first-degree assault charges, plus mandatory firearm enhancement time added up, according to Hintze.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012

THAT’S A FUNNY LOOKING BABY

• Two women were arrested after they were discovered with a small amount of stolen scrap metal tucked inside a baby stroller at the old Mickelsen Dairy Farm on the 200 block of Military Road in Winlock yesterday. A man staying at the property told a deputy he arrived to a pick up a tractor and saw one woman standing there who immediately got onto her cell phone, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He asked the other woman what was beneath the blanket in the stroller and she removed the blanket confessing she had taken the steel pipe, wire fence clips and a battery, according to the sheriff’s office. The women fled before a deputy arrived, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. One was locate hiding in brush behind Winlock High School and the other was found walking along the roadway, Brown said. Alicia J. Gullickson, 39, of Napavine and Tamar Adamson, 36, of Toledo, both had warrants and were booked into the Lewis County Jail for misdemeanor theft and trespassing, according to Brown. The scrap was valued at $20.

DOG SAVES WOMAN FROM ATTACKER

• Deputies were called to the 1400 block of Centralia-Alpha Road east of Chehalis about 5 p.m. yesterday where a man allegedly threatened to kill a 37-year-old woman and hit her in the face with a steel bar before her dog attacked him ending the assault.

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Mitchell W. Sinclair

The sheriff’s office is looking for Mitchell W. Sinclair, 44, of Chehalis. Deputies were told Sinclair was returning a van to her home when she told him her boyfriend didn’t want him on the property anymore. Sinclair allegedly got angry struck her, knocking her into some panes of glass propped against a car and struck her again as she was on the ground, according to the sheriff’s office. The Blue Heeler-Labrador-Dalmatian-mix canine intervened and Sinclair fled in the van, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. A 46-year-old woman driving the man struck a neighbor’s mailbox as they left, Brown said. Sinclair is wanted for first-degree assault and harassment. The sheriff’s office is asking anyone with information about the whereabouts of Sinclair or his girlfriend – Raelynn D. Gonzales – to call Lewis County Crime Stoppers.

ANGRY GIRLFRIEND BOOKED FOR BASEBALL BAT ASSAULT

• A 48-year-old woman was arrested yesterday after she allegedly went to the home of a woman she thought was “making moves on her boyfriend” and assaulted her with a baseball bat. A deputy called about 9 p.m. was told Kimberly A. Kaleta, of Chehalis, arrived at the residence on the 100 block of Katula Road west of Chehalis uninvited and shoved the 35-year-old woman against a wall, grabbed her hair and hit her with the bat, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Kaleta was contacted at her home on Beam Road and booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree assault, as well as misdemeanor theft for taking the bat, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

THREAT WITH KNIFE LANDS MAN IN JAIL

• A 22-year-old Centralia man was arrested yesterday afternoon after he allegedly threw a drinking glass at his younger sister and then threatened her and her boyfriend with a knife. Officers called about 3:30 p.m. to their home on the 1100 block of South Tower Avenue took Aaron R. Gange into custody and booked him into the Lewis County Jail for two counts of second-degree assault, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VEHICLE VANDALIZED

• Chehalis police were called about 9:35 a.m. yesterday to the 100 block of Northeast Division Street where a woman said someone tagged her 22-year-old son’s vehicle with blue paint and broke out its windows.

WOMAN TAKEN FOR $175 “REPAIR”

• A woman called Centralia police yesterday after she paid $175 to a stranger who approached her in the parking lot of of a grocery store and offered to repair a dent in her car. The man who said his name was Al “kind of scuffed the paint and then sprayed it with spray paint,”  Centralia Police Department Sgt. Kurt Reichert said. He had told the woman she only needed to later wipe off the “protective spray” but it was paint, according to Reichert.

CAR PROWL

• Chehalis police took a report just after 5 p.m. yesterday of a car prowl in the park and ride lot near Main Street and Interstate 5. A window was smashed out and a purse stolen, according to police. The victim later got a call from someone who said they found her credit card and driver’s permit in the area of Southwest McFadden Avenue and 10th Street, Officer Linda Bailey said.

OOPS

• Police were called about 5:15 p.m. yesterday to a business on the 400 block of North Market Boulevard after a 39-year-old woman horsing around with friends on the sidewalk stumbled and fell through the back window. They left but an officer contacted the woman at the hospital who had cut her arm and she agreed to pay for the window, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

FRAUD INVESTIGATION

• Chehalis police are attempting to contact an out-of-state man after his grandson called on Monday and said the grandfather had sent a Chehalis woman $21,000, worrying about a possible scam.

News brief: Car, semi wreck on U.S. Highway 12 near Mayfield Lake

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012

Updated at 10:12 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Two people were hospitalized after a car and big rig tangled on U.S. Highway 12 just east of Mayfield Lake yesterday afternoon leaving the roadway blocked for several hours.

Troopers called at 4 p.m. to the scene reported both vehicles were eastbound and when the car slowed for a left hand turn, a 2004 Peterbilt hauling two trailer tried to swerve around it.

The truck struck the right rear corner of the car, went into the ditch and rolled onto its side spilling the lumber it was hauling, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Both vehicles were totaled.

The driver of a 1996 Mercury Mystique, Kenneth Rittgarn, 69, of Randle, was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, as was one of his two passengers, Jessica M. Parker, 59, of Glenoma, according to the state patrol.

The truck driver, Johnny L. Persinger, 46, of Prosser, was reportedly uninjured.

The highway was closed with a detour in place until about 7 p.m., according to the state Department of Transportation.

A second passenger in the car declined treatment. The collision was blamed on the truck driver’s inattention.

CORRECTION: This news items has been updated to correctly reflect which man was driving which vehicle. The state patrol initially incorrectly identified Rittgarn as the the truck driver and reported Persinger was behind the wheel of the car.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012

UNRULY PEOPLE

• Centralia police say a 30-year-old man detained for allegedly violating a protection order lied about his name and slipped out of his handcuffs last night at the 300 block of South Tower Avenue. Ryan M. Strayer, a homeless person, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for obstructing, making a false statement and the original violation after contact with officers about 11:40 p.m., according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police arrested a 43-year-old woman about 11:20 a.m. yesterday for obstructing a public servant after she allegedly refused to identify herself to an officer and resisted being taken into custody, according to the Centralia Police Department. Lisa L. Hanson-Rosumny, of Tumwater, was contacted on the 500 block of Harrison Avenue when store employees said they saw her placing items in her purse, according to police. She was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

• A 41-year-old Centralia man was arrested for felony harassment and a warrant after contact with police just before 8 a.m. yesterday at the 200 block of North Buckner Street in Centralia. Joseph O. Bingham was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFT

• Centralia police took a report about 9:30 a.m. yesterday about the theft of change and a hat from an unlocked residence on the 1700 block of Providence Lane.

FIRE FIGURED OUT

• A blaze that destroyed two fifth-wheel trailers south of Chehalis on Sunday morning appeared to accidental, according to the fire investigator. The Oregon man who owns the recreational property on the 100 block of Elot Drive had been working on an ATV and left it parked beneath one of the trailers, according to Fire Investigator Jay Birley. Either the battery charger or the battery caught fire and spread to the fifth-wheel, then the ATV and then the other fifth-wheel parked next to it, Birley said.

DEATH AT MOUNT RANIER LOOKOUT RULED SUICIDE

• The woman whose body was found at the foot of a cliff in  the southern part of Mount Rainier National Park last week has been identified as a 52-year-old who resides at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, according to the Lewis County Coroner’s Office. Park officials located the body a week ago Monday below Ricksecker Point, a dramatic lookout between Longmire and Paradise. Her injuries were described as consistent with a fall from a great height. She’s the wife of an active duty military member and her death was determined to be suicide, Coroner Warren McLeod said.

News brief: Centralia College criminal justice professor to speak on international police training experiences

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Longtime Centralia College Criminal Justice Program instructor Greg Gilbertson is scheduled to share a synopsis of his experiences during 25 months as an international police trainer in Iraq and Afghanistan tomorrow as part of the college’s Lyceum Series.

Professor Gilbertson worked writing curriculum for the Baghdad Police College and served as deputy director of the United Kingdom’s Basrah Training College in 2005 and 2006 then later served as a senior mentor and NATO liaison to the Afghan National Police Academy, according to Centralia College.

The lecture is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 1:50 p.m. at Centralia College.

News brief: Two Oakville drivers collide on U.S. Highway 12

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Two passenger vehicles were totaled and a 54-year-old woman hospitalized after a 16-year-old driver pulled into traffic on U.S. Highway 12 at Anderson Road this morning.

Aid and troopers were called at 8 a.m. to the scene near the Thurston-Grays Harbor County line.

Jung A. Blake was eastbound on the highway in her SUV before it was struck by a Dylan Gleason-Wheeler, 16, according to the Washington State Patrol. Both are from Oakville.

Gleason-Wheeler was leaving a stop sign to turn west and pulled in front of her, according to the state patrol.

Blake was transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital with unspecified injuries. She was treated and has been released. The teen was reportedly unhurt.

News brief: Man survives vehicle plunge off Brooklyn Road

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 41-year-old Chehalis man was uninjured after he drove his car off an 800-foot embankment overnight off Brooklyn Road several miles west of Oakville.

It wasn’t clear to responders if the man was out of the vehicle before it landed at the bottom of the canyon.

Aid and deputies were called about 5:40 a.m. to the scene, on the 400 block of Brooklyn Road, including firefighters from Oakville and Centralia’s Riverside Fire Authority.

“There was a concern initially if his girlfriend was in the vehicle, he wasn’t quite sure,” Grays Harbor  County Sheriff’s Department Chief Criminal Deputy Steve Shumate said this morning. It turned out she was elsewhere.

“It does appear alcohol was a factor,” he said.

The roadway runs between Garrard Creek Road and the town of Brooklyn in Pacific County.

Grays Harbor County Fire District 1 Chief Buck Graham said the man had walked about three miles to the nearest house to get help.

“The story we finally ended up getting, we think it occurred around midnight,” Graham said. “We think he got out before it went to the bottom, that he bailed. We’re not really sure.”