Archive for January, 2013

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, January 10th, 2013

MAN, GIRLFRIEND ARRESTED AT HIS WIFE’S HOUSE

• A 21-year-old woman told deputies her boyfriend choked her when she went to see him at his estranged wife’s house in rural Chehalis and the wife wouldn’t let her in. Margarita C. Massey, 21, reportedly admitted she stiff-armed the door and shoved the wife – because she would not let her talk to her boyfriend – on Tuesday afternoon at the 1300 block of Highway 603, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. That’s when Brent T. Dawkins, 41, allegedly choked Massey until she couldn’t breathe, according to the sheriff’s office. Dawkins was arrested for second-degree assault and Massey was arrested for fourth-degree assault, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Brown said the arrested pair had been drinking earlier in the day. Both were booked into the Lewis County Jail.

BREAK-IN CENTRALIA

• Police were called about 5:20 p.m. yesterday to the 700 block of G Street in Centralia about a burglary. The victim said someone got into his apartment through a window and stole hats and other items, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AUTO THEFT

• Police took a report yesterday of a silver 2001 Honda CRV stolen from the 300 block of East Pine Street in Centralia. The car, which vanished two days earlier, has a license late of 126 EEA, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Someone broke into a locked vehicle on the 200 block of South Diamond Street and took its stereo, according to a report made to police yesterday.

MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND POLICE

• Centralia police took a report yesterday from Centralia Middle School that a student “shouldered” a teachers aid as he passed her. No injury, no arrest, just documented at the request of the vice principal, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police are investigating an issue related to a student at Chehalis Middle School and possible prescription drugs, police said yesterday.

OOPS

• Chehalis police were called to the Denny’s restaurant on Southwest Interstate Avenue just after 5 p.m. on Tuesday after a customer left their marijuana there and they did not want it there. Officer Linda Bailey said it would have been picked up and destroyed, not placed in the lost and found.

RANDLE FIRE INVESTIGATION AT DEAD END

• The cause of a Randle fire that destroyed a 95-year-old man’s home last week couldn’t be found, since there was virtually nothing left, according the fire investigator. It was a 1960s single-wide mobile home that had been added onto that burned the afternoon of Jan. 2 on Kiona Road. Fire Investigator Ted McCarty said yesterday wiring is always suspect in older homes, and the resident did have space heaters throughout, but the cause will be listed as undetermined.

Defendant in Koralynn Fister death pleads guilty

Wednesday, January 9th, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A deal was struck today that means there will be no trial for James M. Reeder but he will go to prison for many years and possibly the rest of his life.

The 26-year-old, accused of rape, torture and the death of his girlfriend’s toddler, pleaded guilty today, but didn’t admit guilt.

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James M. Reeder

He made a so-called Alford plea in which he acknowledged a jury hearing the evidence would likely find him guilty, but acknowledged no wrongdoing.

“We got the maximum of life, which is the best we could get at trial, and we don’t have to deal with appeals,” Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said this afternoon.

Koralynn Fister, 2, died May 24 in Centralia. Reeder claimed he stepped away to get a towel while giving her a bath and returned to find her face down in the tub. She died from head trauma and drowning, but authorities said they also found evidence of sexual assault.

The unemployed man who previously worked as a floor installer was separated from his wife when he moved in with Koralynn’s mother in Centralia roughly two months before the death.

According to a report in his court file, he attempted suicide in the jail, trying to drown himself in the sink.

Reeder pleaded guilty today in Lewis County Superior Court to homicide by abuse, second-degree assault, two counts of first-degree rape of a child and possession of methamphetamine.

His sentencing will probably occur around the first part of February, according to Meyer.

The rape conviction means he will be sentenced to an indeterminate length of time with a maximum of life, according to Meyer. A board, like the former parole board, will be responsible for deciding when and if he gets released after he’s served the minimum number of years.

Reeder has no felony criminal history.

Meyer said he will recommend to the judge the minimum stay be 37 and a half years. Reeder’s attorney will be free to recommend 28 years, he said.

Those numbers come from the offense that has the highest standard range among the five counts to which Reeder pleaded guilty; homicide by abuse. It has a standard sentencing range of roughly 28 to 37 and a half years.

Defense attorney David Arcuri didn’t return a phone call this afternoon seeking comment.

As part of the deal, Reeder gave up his right to appeal in any way, according to Meyer.

Secondarily, Meyer said, this avoids the trauma of a trial for all involved.

“Police officers, doctors, jurors, other witnesses; jurors would have to see things they’ve never seen before,” he said of the graphic evidence.

Meyer also this afternoon spoke of his gratitude to the professionalism of members of the fire and police departments.

“They saw things and dealt with things they never should have,” he said.

Reeder will make a brief appearance in court on Jan. 17 to set a date for sentencing. They will have to wait for a pre-sentencing review to be conducted by the state Department of Corrections.
•••

For background, read “Breaking news: Mother’s boyfriend held for investigation of rape, murder of Centralia child” from Friday May 25, 2012 at 5 p.m., here

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, January 9th, 2013

ATTEMPTED JEWELRY THEFT NEAR COLLEGE

• Police were contacted about 7:15 p.m. yesterday by a female Centralia College student who said she was attacked by a stranger who tried to steal her necklace. It happened at the 600 block of Centralia College Boulevard, according to police. The victim said she was able to fend off the male and get in her car and lock the doors, according to the Centralia Police Department. Police are investigating.

DRUGS

• A 32-year-old who allegedly gave some marijuana to an espresso stand employee was arrested yesterday morning for delivery of marijuana. Police were called to the 400 block of South Tower Avenue about a man exhibiting strange behavior – he had a shovel and was trying to remove water from the espresso stand parking lot while it was raining, according to Sgt. Stacy Denham. He was warned about his behavior and later when police were told he had given away some marijuana the day before, he was arrested, Denham said. The person who got the marijuana was under 21, but either way it was not legal, Denham said. Carey R. Cosgrove, a Centralia resident, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS

• Police called around 11:45 p.m. yesterday about a disorderly subject at the shelter on the 400 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia ended up arresting a 21-year-old man for possession of the synthetic marijuana known as Spice. Jacob M. Mielitz, a Centralia resident, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MORE DRUGS

• A 40-year-old Centralia man was arrested about 8:45 a.m. yesterday for possession of methamphetamine and a warrant. Michael A. Kauer was booked into the Lewis County Jail after contact with an officer on the 600 block of Harrison Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFT

• A vacuum cleaner, a mirror and a blue bicycle were stolen from a home on the 2000 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia as the residents were moving out, according to a report made to police late yesterday evening.

VEHICLE PROWL

• An officer as called just after noon yesterday about a ca prowl on the 600 block of South Diamond Street. Someone rummaged through a van but didn’t take anything of value, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called twice to tires slashings yesterday, first at the 300 block of West Pine Street and later at the 600 block of South Diamond Street.

Breaking news: Man killed by train in Centralia

Wednesday, January 9th, 2013

Updated at 9:43 a.m. and 11:06 a.m. and 11:43 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 58-year-old man was struck and killed by a train in Centralia overnight.

Centralia police say witnesses told them he was standing on the tracks when he was hit by a northbound freight train.

It happened about 12:30 a.m. in the area near Chestnut Street and South Tower Avenue, where there are no pedestrian crossings, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Sgt. Stacy Denham said officers spoke to the train’s engineer and conductor and learned the man turned and looked at the train before impact. He didn’t move after repeated blasting of the train’s horn, according to police.

Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod says he has concluded it was an accident.

The victim, Michael T. Patton, lives in rural Chehalis, according to McLeod.

Police detective Rick Hughes said Patton had an unopened pack of cigarettes and an unscratched lottery ticket on him. He appears to have had some mental issues – specifically what, Hughes said he did not know – that may have caused him not to react quickly.

Hughes said he is not sure why Patton was in Centralia so late at night.

BNSF spokesperson Gus Melonas said it is the second fatality on train tracks in Washington this year. The tracks were shut down for two hours.

“We can’t encourage the public enough to be aware that trains move on any track, at any time, in any direction,” Melonas said.

The stretch of tracks through Centralia is the busiest route in the state, with an average of 60 trains each day, according to Melonas.

News brief: Chimney may be to blame for Toledo house fire

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013
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Crews work to put out a fire at a home on Lone Yew Road. / Courtesy photo by Clayton Skinner

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A couple who has lived in their Toledo area home some 50 years returned home today to find firefighters extinguishing a blaze that virtually destroyed their house.

Lewis County Fire District 2 was called just before noon to the residence on the 200 block of Lone Yew Road, about two miles southeast of town. A passing motorist called it in, according to Fire Chief Grant Wiltbank.

Wiltbank said the flames got into the attic and multiple “void spaces” making it difficult to put out. Responders came also from fire departments in Winlock, Napavine, Vader-Ryderwood and Lewis County Medic One.

Crews managed to save a lot of their personal belongings, including several large boxes with generations of family photos, according to Wiltbank.

The single-story wood frame house is still standing, but will probably have to be bull dozed, he said.

Nobody was injured.

The preliminary cause appears to be a chimney failure, according to the chief.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

• A 60-year-old motorist led Centralia police on a slow-speed chase overnight beginning on a a street on the west side of Interstate 5 and ending with his arrest in north Centralia on Sirkka Avenue. Police say Edward A. Guntrum was intoxicated and nearly struck an officer as he left the 1300 block of View Avenue at about 1:30 a.m. Guntrum was driving on a suspended license and without the required alcohol interlock device in his vehicle, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail for eluding and faces possible other charges, according to police.

BURGLARY AT TACOMA POWER

• A deputy was called about 3:50 p.m. yesterday to a break-in at a storage facility owned by Tacoma Power in Mossyrock. Nothing appeared to be missing from inside the fenced area or the commercial structure at the 100 block of Onion Rock Lane, but all high-dollar items had previously been moved elsewhere, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A window was found broken out of a utility vehicle however, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Centralia police took a report about 6 p.m. yesterday that someone broke into a car on the 700 block of North Tower Avenue and stole a stereo.

DRUGS CENTRALIA

• Two people were arrested for drug violations when Centralia police went to a home on the 1100 block of North Tower Avenue about 10:30 a.m. yesterday to serve a warrant. An officer observed suspected drugs on a coffee table and a subsequent search turned up more, according to Sgt. Stacy Denham. Booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of heroin and methamphetamine were Amy D. Buerk, 31, and Alan D. Shehan, 28, both Centralia residents, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS CHEHALIS

• Several baggies of suspected methamphetamine as well as $1,200 cash were seized when police visited a Chehalis residence and arrested three. Officers had four times since early October worked with two informants who purchased small amounts of meth from David D. Raymor, 55, who lives in a garage on Southwest Seventh Street near Market Boulevard, according to charging documents. Raymor was charged yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court following Friday afternoon’s search warrant served at his home. Raymor reportedly told police he had about 10 grams of the drug, and that’s what officers saw thrown out a window when they arrived. Also arrested was Laura E. Raymor, 54, for possession after a small bindle as found inside a comb case in her purse on a bed, according to charging documents. Thomas L. Creech, a 45-year-old Centralia man who was present, gave up a clear bindle of suspected meth from inside a flashlight and what he said were hydrocodone pills, according to charging documents.

• Eric K. Dollarhyde was booked into the Lewis County Jail yesterday and charged today in Lewis County Superior Court for delivery of methamphetamine and also forgery in connection with a Chehalis Police Department case. The alleged drug sale occurred previously. The forgery was related to a counterfeit $10 bill that may have been given to him, defense attorney Bob Schroeter told a judge this afternoon. His bail was set at $5,000.

SHUSH

• Morton police responded just before 11 a.m. on Jan. 1 to a report of people possibly fighting on the 100 block of First Street. The noise was determined to be children playing in the area, according to police.

UNWANTED REPTILES

• And, Chehalis police were called about 7 p.m. yesterday to the Vintage apartments on the 1500 block of North National Avenue where a resident said someone was dropping snakes from upstairs which were coming through her microwave. Nobody was arrested for anything. No report was written.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, January 7th, 2013

Updated at 6:46 p.m.

DRUGS AND FAKE DRUGS

• A Centralia woman who allegedly tried to pass off salt as methamphetamine called police just after 5 a.m. yesterday when her unsatisfied customers returned and were kicking at her door threatening to assault her. “They were upset,” Centralia Police Department Sgt. Stacy Denham said. Officers arriving to the 1400 block of Johnson Road ended up arresting the woman, 31-year-old Melisa F. Akers. Officers discovered three teenage boys at the home who had consumed marijuana and arrested Akers for delivery of marijuana to minors, according to police. Akers, who is five months pregnant, was booked into the Lewis County Jail but released over the weekend because she had to be hospitalized for complications. She was charged today in Lewis County Superior Court with that crime, as well as possession of methamphetamine and also delivery of a counterfeit controlled substance. Sgt. Denham said whether the man and woman who purchased salt and allegedly threatened the woman might be in trouble wasn’t yet decided. “They didn’t want to talk much,” he said. Hear the 911 call and see Kirotv.com video.

• A search warrant on Friday afternoon at the 100 block of Southwest Seventh Street in Chehalis led to the arrest of Laura E. Raymor, 54, of Chehalis, for possession of methamphetamine, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

HOUSE FIRE AVERTED NEAR WINLOCK

• A neighbor and a passerby used a fire extinguisher and a garden hose to put out a fire discovered on the back deck of a Winlock-area home this morning. Lewis County Fire District 15 called about 10:15 a.m. to the 100 block of Wirta Road discovered a heat lamp caused a pet house to ignite, Assistant Chief Kevin Anderson said. No one was home when it happened, according to Anderson. The siding of the home was scorched and all the pets – four cats and several dogs – were accounted for, Anderson said.

TOLEDO MOBILE HOME GOES UP IN SMOKE

• Toledo area firefighters responded about 4:15 p.m. on Saturday to a call about a burning double wide mobile home on the Fulton Road. When the fire department arrived, the roughly 30-year-old unoccupied mobile was probably 75 percent consumed and there was just  small flame left, according to Lewis County Fire District 2. Fire Chief Grant Wiltbank said a nearby pile of burning rubbish apparently ignited the structure. A man had been gutting and salvaging metal from it in preparation for his mother’s property sale and said he left for a time and when he returned, he heard the fire engine sirens, according to Wiltbank.

FATHER BOOKED FOR ALLEGED ASSAULT OF SON

• A 36-year-old man Glenoma man was arrested on Friday for allegedly choking his teenage son until he blacked out. Jason L. Bolinske, who was contacted about the Wednesday incident, admitted there was a fight but denied putting his hands around his son’s neck, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Bolinske was booked into the Lewis County Jail on for second-degree assault, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

VEHICLE THEFT

• A deputy was called just before 6 a.m. yesterday about a stolen $8,000 snow machine from the Mount Tahoma Snow Park in Ashford. A representative of the owner – Mount Tahoma Trail Association – said two males were seen driving it away according to the Lewis County Sheriff’ Office. The machine, actually a snow mobile, was subsequently found down an approximately 250 foot ravine, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

• A white 1990 Honda CRX was reported stolen from the 2100 block of Earl Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 7:50 p.m. on Saturday. The car has a license plate of 695 ZUN, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FRAUD

• Chehalis police arrested a 56-year-old Chehalis woman on Friday afternoon for identity theft in connection with a location on the 400 block of Northeast Washington Avenue. Darlina A. Fox was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree theft and second-degree identity theft, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• Police responded on Friday afternoon to a complaint by a Chehalis woman about identity theft. The 53-year-old woman said she suspected someone had used her social security number because she was contacted by the state Department of Employment Security about being overpaid for unemployment benefits. The woman said it was related to places she had never worked, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Chehalis police were called about 12:45 a.m. on Sunday to the 400 block of North Market Boulevard regarding someone breaking seven different wall-mounted mailboxes.

CAR PROWL

• Someone broke into a vehicle at the 1000 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia and made off with an Alpine stereo and assorted hand tools, according to a report made to police yesterday morning.

• Police were called to the 1200 block of Alder Street in Centralia just after 9 a.m. yesterday where someone had cut the soft top of a Jeep. Nothing appeared to be missing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A pack of cigarettes were stolen in a vehicle prowl on the 400 block of South Buckner Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police just after 7 a.m. yesterday.

OOPS

• Police were called about 3:20 p.m. on Friday to the 600 block of North National Avenue in Chehalis regarding a vehicle running into the glass front door of a Chinese restaurant. Further details were not readily available.

• A 1994 Toyota Tercel was totaled when it was struck in a hit and run accident on the 500 block of Tucker Road near Toledo about 11:30 a.m. on Friday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said today the red van that left the scene will have significant front end damage.

OTHER STUFF

• As well as various arrests for warrants, driving on suspended licenses, misdemeanor assault and responses to non injury and minor injury wrecks.