Archive for February, 2013

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Man held in 1985 slayings of Ethel couple now accused of child sex abuse from nearly 30 years ago

Friday, February 22nd, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said last month the case against accused double murderer Ricky Riffe is an unfolding case.

Riffe, 54, was charged last summer in the 1985 abduction and shooting of Ed and Wilhelmina Maurin, an elderly couple who lived in Ethel.

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Ricky Riffe

This morning, Riffe’s Seattle-based attorney was dealt a new twist.

“In an strange and surprising move, the prosecution has now chosen to charge Mr. Riffe, just 60 days before trial with charges of an alleged 1984 child rape which had been investigated at that time by the police,” John Crowley posted on his law firm’s website.

Riffe was already scheduled for a hearing this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court where attorneys have been regularly apprising the judge on their progress in the voluminous case.

Crowley said he doesn’t know many details of the new allegations, but said they were investigated by law officers in 1984 who did not recommend any criminal charges at the time.

“When CPS got involved, they did not remove the child from the home,” Crowley said.

The allegations involve a step-daughter, according to Crowley.

The former Lewis County resident has been held at the Lewis County Jail since his arrest in July at his home in Alaska.

Prosecutors contend Riffe and his since-deceased brother abducted the Maurins and forced them to withdraw money from their bank in Chehalis before shooting them and dumping their bodies near Adna back in December 1985. Ed Maurin was 81 and his wife was 83.

Crowley called the new charges a great development for his client.

“I think it’s a signal they’re trying to shore up a weak murder case,” he said.

Riffe’s hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. today in front of Judge Richard Brosey.

The trial is scheduled to start the week of May 6.
•••

For background, read “Maurin murders: Riffe’s defense includes an alibi” from Wednesday January 16, 2013, here

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News brief: Paratroopers retrieved from trees near Rainier

Friday, February 22nd, 2013
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Firefighter climbs to reach a paratrooper stuck 80 feet up a tree at JBLM near the town of Rainier. / Courtesy photo by Robert Scott

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Three members of the Rochester area fire department trained in special rescues responded about 3 p.m. yesterday after winds carried three paratroopers into the trees near the town of Rainier.

Nobody was injured but one of the paratroopers, and his parachute, was tangled up 80 feet off the ground, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Chief Robert Scott.

The two-hour rescue operation included 30 members of Thurston County’s special operations rescue team, comprised of members from six area fire departments, according to Scott. Among them are some skilled at climbing trees and setting up a lowering system to retrieve such subjects.

It happened at the south end of Joint Base Lewis-McChord off Rainier Acres Road, Scott said.

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Recently shot Highway 603 intruder appears in court, with additional charge

Thursday, February 21st, 2013
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Brian L. Creed waits to be escorted back to the jail after his bail is set in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The accused intruder didn’t look like a man who had been shot in the stomach less than two weeks ago when he appeared in Lewis County Superior Court this afternoon.

Fifty-one-year-old Brian L. Creed, handcuffed and clothed in orange jail garb, projected a voice that was strong and clear when asked by a judge if that was his correct name. He was just released from the hospital yesterday.

Creed is charged with first-degree burglary and second-degree criminal trespass for events that occurred near where he was either visiting, staying or living on Nix Road on February 10.

Deputies called about 4:45 a.m. that morning to the 400 block of Highway 603 west of Chehalis were told by the 24-year-old resident he awakened and found a stranger inside his home who charged him even after being told at gunpoint to get out.

The young man wrestled away from Creed and held him at gunpoint until law officers arrived, according to charging documents.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Shane O’Rourke today asked the judge to hold Creed on $25,000 bail.

“He doesn’t have an extensive (criminal) history, but we have to acknowledge the seriousness of the charge,” O’Rourke said.

Judge James Lawler set bail at $50,000 instead, noting the defendant is a violent threat because of the entry into someone else’s house.

Authorities admit they don’t know what Creed’s intentions were; he’s not accused of burglary in the sense of stealing, but of unlawfully entering a residence and once inside assaulting the resident. Sheriff Steve Mansfield has said Creed was high on methamphetamine.

He apparently came through an unlocked door.

Defense attorney Bob Schroeter told the judge his client was the unlucky one and asked for more reasonable bail of $10,000.

Creed qualified for a court appointed attorney, as his only income is $197 per month general assistance and food stamps, Schroeter told the judge.

Prosecutors initially charged Creed with first-degree burglary and fourth-degree assault, but changed the charges.

O’Rourke said the assault is an element of the burglary charge already.

He added a charge of second-degree trespass telling the court the state learned that about an hour and a half before the incident on Highway 603, Creed was seen rooting around on someone else’s property nearby, on the 100 block of Nix Road.

O’Rourke wrote in court documents he believes Creed was trolling the neighborhood to steal property and commit other criminal acts that night.

Creed’s arraignment was put on the calendar for Feb. 28.

•••

For background, read: “Wounded home intruder’s condition deteriorating, deputies relieved of guard duty to cut costs” from Friday February 15, 2013, here

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Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, February 21st, 2013

Updated at 3:23 p.m.

FIRE STRIKES OLD PACKWOOD CABIN

• Crews in Packwood spent about three hours last night battling a blaze that gutted a dwelling on the 500 block of Cannon Road. Lewis County Fire District 10 Chief Lonnie Goble said the wooden structure was an old Ohanepecosh cabin that had been relocated there from Mount Rainier National Park. He wasn’t sure if anyone was currently residing in the cabin, but nobody was present when firefighters arrived. Nobody was injured. “I don’t know what caused it,” Goble said. “A fire investigator is going to come out and check it today.” The structure is probably a total loss, Goble said.

CHIMNEY FIRE CAUSES MINIMAL DAMAGE

• Firefighters were called about 9:15 p.m. yesterday for a chimney fire at the 600 block of North Washington in Centralia. They cleaned out the firebox, checked for any extension into the walls and ceiling; and finding none, advised the resident not to use the chimney again until it is cleaned and inspected, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

THEFT IN CENTRALIA

• Police were called about 2:30 p.m. yesterday regarding a break-in to  storage building on the 1400 block of South Gold Street. An individual had recently moved out of their home and put their belongings there, according to police. It was immediately clear what all might have been stolen, according to Sgt. Carl Buster.

• Police took a report about 2 p.m. yesterday of the theft of a Wii game system from the 700 block of South Pearl Street in Centralia.

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR ASSAULTING BOYFRIEND

• A 43-year-old Centralia woman was arrested yesterday for allegedly grabbing her boyfriend by the hair and “throwing him around” as well as obstructing a law enforcement officer because she reportedly struggled with police when they tried to question her. Officers called just after 10 a.m. to the 1100 block of Long Road in Centralia turned off the ignition to Polly A. McQuigg’s vehicle to prevent her from leaving but she grabbed the keys and wouldn’t get out, according to police. They took her out of the car, Sgt. Carl Buster said. She was booked into the Lewis County Jail for fourth-degree assault and obstructing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SNIFFING FOR GRAFFITI

• Police were called abut 10:40 p.m. yesterday when the owner of a laundry business walked outside, smelled the scent of fresh aerosol paint and saw a pair of individuals walking away. A small spot of black paint was found on the building on the 500 block of North Pearl Street but the two people who were contacted didn’t appear to have anything to do with it, according to the Centralia Police Department. The police department is offering up to $250 for tips that help them catch anyone posting graffiti.

FORMER COURT ASSISTANT SAYS BAD JUDGEMENT LED TO ALLOWING MARIJUANA ON HER PROPERTY

• The former Thurston County Superior Court judicial assistant charged with growing marijuana appeared briefly in court today where lawyers pushed her trial into the future while deputies continue to look for a key witness. Debbie Requa, 60, has pleaded not guilty to manufacturing marijuana. Because of conflicts, Lewis County Chief Criminal Prosecutor Brad Meagher was appointed a special deputy to prosecute the case and Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler is hearing it. Lawler was told today by both Meagher and defense attorney Saxon Rodgers they need to postpone the trial because the man hasn’t been found. Outside the courtroom, Rodgers said it is an individual who rented his client’s garage who said he had papers authorizing him to cultivate medical marijuana. Requa said she’s not guilty, except for a “stupid, stupid, error in judgement” that caused her to lose her job. She said she rented the space for $500 a month because she needed the money and thought what he was doing was above board. “I never went into the garage, even when the police were there,” she said. The trial is now scheduled for May 20, although it’s not clear if it might take place in Thurston or Lewis county.

AND

• And other calls such as possible runaway juveniles, arrest for violation of no-contact order and suspicious activity: Looks like a drug deal, looks like a drunk driver, looks like a man laying on his back on the ground and more …

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News brief: Intruder from Highway 603 healed from gunshot, to appear in court today

Thursday, February 21st, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The 51-year-old man expected to be hospitalized for as long as a month with a gunshot injury from when he walked into a stranger’s home has made a “miraculous” recovery and was brought back to Lewis County yesterday to face criminal charges for the incident.

Brian L. Creed has been at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where he initially was listed in critical condition.

Creed was shot once in the abdomen when he confronted a resident at the 400 block of Highway 603 west of Chehalis on Feb. 10. The sheriff said he was high on meth. Creed was charged three days later with burglary and misdemeanor assault.

The sheriff’s office last week released Creed from its custody, to avoid being responsible for paying the bills for his medical treatment and planned surgery.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer told county commissioners yesterday that Creed’s condition then suddenly improved. Meyer said he estimated the county saved $500,000 by cutting him loose when they did.

Creed is scheduled to go before a judge today at 4:15 p.m. in Lewis County Superior Court.

Both the sheriff and the prosecutor have said it appeared the 24-year-old resident acted appropriately to protect himself and his wife.
•••

For background, read: “Wounded home intruder’s condition deteriorating, deputies relieved of guard duty to cut costs” from Friday February 15, 2013, here

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Breaking news: Dog missing after horrendous freeway wreck found in Chehalis

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013

 

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Bret Bryan carries Steeler out from the briars where he was found this afternoon. / Courtesy photo by Harry Oakes

Updated at 7:08 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Steeler, the champion show dog who escaped his owners when their motor home crashed yesterday on the freeway through Chehalis, has been found.

“He was nervous, I think kind of like, what’s gonna happen now, but not frightened,” said Cathy Spears who slipped a collar around his neck this afternoon.

The whippet was tracked down in the brush behind Darigold off Main Street in Chehalis about 2 p.m.

The canine was located by search dogs.

Yesterday morning, Steeler was riding up front with Donald and Patricia Rodgers, of Shelton, as they returned home from a series of dog shows in California, according to Spears.

Donald Rodgers is a professional handler; the couple and their young assistant had as many as nine show dogs belonging to others crated up in the rear of their 1999 Freightliner motor home, she said.

But Steeler, a retired show dog, is their personal pet, she said.

It was just before 11 a.m. when their vehicle collided with the rear of semi truck on northbound Interstate 5 near milepost 78, leaving their cab crushed and all three injured. It was one of several wrecks in the same stretch that slowed freeway traffic for hours.

Steeler fled onto the freeway and vanished.

Spears, a Centralia woman, has known the Rodgers’ some 20 years, she said. She met up with fellow show dog handlers at the Chehalis Starbuck’s this morning to organize a search. They hired professional searcher Harry Oakes from Longview.

Oakes said it took only about 30 minutes, once they figured out where to start looking.

They learned one of the Chehalis firefighters had seen the dog running near Main Street when crews responded to the accident, Oakes said.

They used a blanket Steeler had slept on to give Oakes’ two Border Collies a scent to work with, he said. They found some tracks. A local man and his yellow lab helped lure Steeler out, according to Spears.

Bret Bryan works for the steam train and his dog is just a pet dog, not trained for such work, she said.

Oakes said he and Bryan spotted the whippet cowering in a briar patch about a half mile off Main Street.

“It took some time to calm him down and get him to come to us,” Oakes said.

The dog appeared to have just superficial cuts and minor bruising, Spears said.

Spears took him to her veterinarian, where he is expected to stay overnight for observation.

The other dogs traveling with the couple were uninjured, she said.

Donald Rodgers and 18-year-old Debra A. Carter of Lacey have been released from the hospital, according to Spears. Patricia J. Rodgers remains at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with a crushed hip and knee, she said.

Ironically, Spears endured a similar experience herself about 20 years ago.

She was part of a 16-car pileup on Interstate 5 near Mellon Street in Centralia in which a 16-year-old boy died, she said. She was traveling with three show dogs and two of them ran off, she said.

“We found one the next morning and the other two days later,” she said.

But that’s not what motivated her, Penny King of Vader and Rachel Morris of Adna, to look for the Rodgers’ pet, she said.

“That’s what kept us going, but these are friends of ours,” Spears said.

•••

For background, read: “Multiple wrecks on I-5 tangle traffic around Chehalis, Centralia, show dog escapes onto freeway” from Tuesday February 19, 2013, here

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Steeler is crated up for a ride to the veterinarian after being rescued. / Courtesy photo by Harry Oakes

•••

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The Rodgers’ 1999 Freightliner motor home after Tuesday’s collision on Interstate 5. / Courtesy photo by Nathan Hays

KOMOnews.com caught video of when Steeler was located, see it here

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Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013

Updated at 12:32 p.m.

FUEL THEFTS

• Centralia police took a report yesterday afternoon that someone has been stealing gasoline from vans parked behind Safeway on the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue. The case is under investigation.

• Police were called about 6:30 p.m. yesterday to a service station on the 500 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia where a female pumped $37 worth of fuel and left without paying for it.

MISSING GENERATOR

• A Honda generator was reported stolen from the 800 block of Main Avenue in  Morton, according to a report made to police on Sunday.

DRUGS

• Police were called to Morton Junior-Senior High School on Thursday regarding a student allegedly in possession of marijuana. The case was referred to the Lewis County juvenile prosecutor for possible charging, according to the Morton Police Department.

VANDALISM

• An officer was called about 10:45 a.m. yesterday to look at graffiti left on rental property at the 1400 block of Oxford Avenue in Centralia.

• Morton police arrested a 20-year-old resident after getting a call about 11 p.m. on Sunday someone had driven into a neighbor’s yard causing damage to the yard, according to the Morton Police Department. Mathew S. Collett was subsequently arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for hit and run as well as obstructing a police officer, according to police.

• The owner of a dog accused Thursday afternoon of tipping over garbage cans in the area of the 100 block of Pleasant View Drive in Morton was warned to keep their pet contained. The following day, police were called about a block away regarding animals knocking over cans and spreading trash around, according to the Morton Police Department. A responding officer didn’t locate the suspect animal, according to police.

WRECK

• Police and aid were called about 8:35 a.m. yesterday when the driver of a van left the roadway and struck a chain link fence and tree off Mellen Street near Military Road. It was an older gentleman who was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

WIRING ISSUE MAY HAVE SPARKED ADNA BLAZE

• A Monday night house fire in Adna that displaced a family appears to have started because of an electrical problem in the laundry room, Fire Investigator Jay Birley said this morning. Nobody was hurt but the interior of the home on Shannon Lane was severely damaged, according to Lewis County Fire District 6. Birley said the issue is possibly related to wiring on the hot water tank or maybe even security lighting.

ALSO …

• Also, fender benders, shoplifts, a couple of guys who look like zombies are prowling around at night looking for cigarette butts, someone without a placard is parked in a handicapped spot, request for Chehalis police to investigate a fourth-degree assault between two residents at Green Hill school for boys, question about why three unmarked helicopters are circling over Wal-Mart and more …

Chehalis Police Department detective Sgt. Gary Wilson: Nine times out of 10 if it’s a group of helicopters flying over Chehalis, it’s military training. We have an airport right there and they use it, he said.

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