Archive for April, 2013

News brief: Man brings home dynamite found in Ethel-area woods

Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff’s Office

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Washington State Patrol was to remove a crate of dynamite this morning discovered partially buried in the woods on a man’s property southwest of Ethel.

The man called the sheriff’s office last night after taking eight “bricks” home with him, of approximately 300 yellow bricks in a box marked U.S. Military, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown suggested it could have been part of a large supply of explosives hidden around the nearby farm of a 56-year-old man who was killed by an explosion in December of 1998.

The man worked in the explosives industry and was known to use dynamite to blow up stumps on his property on the 200 block of Classe Road, Brown stated in a news release.

“It was believed at the time of his death, he had placed the dynamite in the back of his tractor-trailer, and was traversing his property when the dynamite exploded,” Brown stated.

At the time, authorities searched for and disposed of several boxes of dynamite, but there was concern there could be more hidden, according to Brown.

Last night, a bomb technician responded to the 100 block of Spotted Doe Lane examine the new find and concluded the explosives were stable, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield in the news release indicated the outcome of this incident could have turned out bad, and served as a reminder for folks not to touch or transport items they find and suspect are explosives, but to instead call 911 immediately.

Dispute, gunshot draws law enforcement to state Route 6 intersection

Tuesday, April 16th, 2013
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Detectives, deputies and Chehalis police patrol vehicles gather at the north end of Highway 603 near Chehalis this morning.

Updated at 2:31 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Deputies are congregating around Highway 603 at state Route 6 west of Chehalis after an incident outside the 76 gas station there.

“I heard a ‘bang’,” clerk Chelsea Hamilton said.

Her co-worker said he walked outside when someone hollered for him to call 911 around 10:15 a.m.

Pete Holmstedt saw a small gray car like a Kia trying to get out of the ditch, and heard a lot of yelling before a gray Jeep sped south down Highway 603, he said.

Holmstedt said he didn’t see which way the small car went.

Lewis County Sheriff’s Office detective Bruce Kimsey said he was still trying to piece together what occurred. The call was for a dispute, Kimsey said.

Deputies were initially called about shots fired, but have no victim, according to a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.

Witnesses have said they saw someone throw a gun, and also saw someone flee on foot, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

A K-9 was brought out to conduct a track.

A guy who appeared to be hiding has been spotted by the river, Brown said about 2:15 p.m.

“There’s somebody running from us, we don’t know if it’s a suspect or a victim,” she said. Or possibly even a witness who is scared, she added.

Initial reports are that three vehicles were involved. Brown said a trooper and deputies stopped a gray Jeep Cherokee on state Route 6 at milepost 38, but the two men and one woman said they were not involved.

They said a shot was fired and they left to go home to South Bend, Brown said. The three were briefly detained and then let go, she said

 

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

THEFT

• A 47-year-old Wal-Mart employee was arrested last night for first-degree theft, for allegedly stealing iPods at her workplace. It was an internal investigation with suspected losses of about $3,000 in merchandise, Chehalis Police Department detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said. Theresa L. Carter, 47, of Salkum, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Wilson.

• Chehalis police were called yesterday morning by a Shelton resident who said they found their stolen boat offered on Craigslist, for sale in Chehalis. Officers are waiting for further information to determine if it the same boat and if it is actually in Chehalis, according to police.

•  Chehalis police were called about 4:40 p.m. to Wal-Mart for an individual who allegedly stole a Sonicare-type toothbrush and exchanged it for a gift card. Officers chased down a 23-year-old man  and discovered he had an outstanding warrant, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Fernando Aguilar, a homeless person from the Centralia area, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to detective Sgt. Gary WIlson. The toothbrush incident will be passed along to prosecutors for a possible charge of second-degree theft, Wilson said.

FIGHT

• Chehalis police were called last night to Green Hill school to take a report about multiple assaults between inmates. Further details are not readily available.

DRUGS

• A 27-year-old Centralia man was arrested for possession of heroin after his warrant arrest about 1:50 p.m. yesterday at West Cherry and South Pearl streets in Centralia. An officer saw a couple walking, knew the woman had an outstanding warrant, stopped and found David J. Lyon had a warrant as well, according to police. Lyon had a trace amount of suspected heroin on his person, Sgt. Kurt Reichert said. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department. Samantha H. Jackson, 21, also of Centralia, was booked for her warrant, according to police.

VANDALISM

• Police took a report about 11 a.m. yesterday from the 1300 block of Eckerson Road in Centralia that someone shot at a window with what appeared to have been a BB gun.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants; responses for family disturbance, suspicious circumstances; complaints of someone sleeping in an apartment complexes common area, loose dog chasing cars, vagrants walking between retail stores … and more.

News brief: Another Centralian wakes up to flames

Monday, April 15th, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A smoke detector may have saved the life of Centralia man who was alerted to a fire inside his home late yesterday afternoon, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

The single adult male occupant was sleeping – or maybe cat napping – when a fire broke out inside the older, single-wide mobile home he rents at the 1400 block of Harrison Avenue, Acting Capt. Jesse Berry said.

“I think he tried for a split second to extinguish it, and then got out,” Berry said.

Firefighters called just after 5 p.m. attacked the blaze through a side door and had it knocked down within 10 minutes, Berry said.

The man was not injured, but Red Cross was contacted to help him with a place to stay, according to Berry.

There was smoke damage throughout the home and fire damage in the kitchen, also extending into the living room, he said.

Berry said it helped that the call was just blocks from the fire station, so the response time was short, but said the importance of the working smoke detector was “phenomenal.”

The cause is under investigation.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, April 15th, 2013

Updated at 2:57 p.m.

DRUGS

• A 38-year-old Chehalis woman was arrested when police served a search warrant an apartment on Southwest Chehalis Avenue on Friday afternoon. Heather L. Smith was booked into the Lewis County Jail for delivery of drugs based on an ongoing investigation, according to Chehalis police. Officers found pills and suspected heroin they are getting tested, detective Sgt. Gary WIlson said. One 11-year-old child was taken into the custody of Child Protective Services and another female spotted in the area was arrested in an unrelated matter; for an outstanding warrant, Wilson said.

NAPAVINE BURGLARY ARREST

• Napavine police said today they arrested a suspect in last week’s Frosty’s Saloon and Grill burglary in which thousands of dollars were stolen. Lonzo W. Lawson III was arrested on Friday at a motel in Chehalis on Southwest Interstate Avenue, Napavine Officer Silas Elwood said. Elwood said they had some cooperating witnessing, tips, that led police right to him. Elwood described Lawson as a transient with no known connections to Frosty’s. However, Elwood said, it sounds like Lawson had information from someone who knew the building and its possible another arrest could follow. Lawson was booked into the Lewis County Jail for burglary, theft and trafficking in stolen property, Elwood said.

ATTEMPTED BREAK-INS

• Centralia police report the back door to a vacant residence was found kicked in yesterday at the 900 block of North Washington Avenue. Nothing appeared to b missing and no other damage was discovered, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called to to Southwest Fifth Street on Friday morning where it appeared someone tried to pry open a garage door, according to police.

WRECKS

• A 26-year-old Chehalis man ended up with several broken bones in his legs when he allegedly blew a stop sign and struck a pickup truck at Highway 603 and Harmon Road northwest of Napavine on Friday, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. The unnamed motorist was cited for driving recklessly and with a suspended license after the two-vehicle collision just before 2 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office. He was also flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with non-life threatening injuries, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Brown said his 25-year-old passenger from Morton was transported to Provide Centralia Hospital with a possible broken leg and two men in the 2001 Dodge pickup which was involved were taken to Providence to be checked out. The causing driver’s Honda Civic was described as totaled.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning a stuck accelerator is the cause of an 11 p.m. Thursday single-vehicle wreck in Onalaska in which a 26-year-old man ran into a utility pole. It happened at Leonard Road and Main Street, according to the sheriff’s office. The driver suffered scratches, bumps and bruises and totaled his Dodge pickup, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. He was cited for no insurance, according to Brown.

• Nobody was hospitalized but two vehicles sustained major damage  when they collided just before 11 a.m. on Friday at Jackson Highway and Bishop Road outside Chehalis. A 50-year-old motorist from Chehalis turned in front of a 38-year-old Chehalis motorist attempting to make a left turn, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

NOT A WRECK

• A 52-year-old Toledo man was jailed on Saturday evening when he was found passed out behind the steering wheel of his vehicle parked behind a gas station at the 400 block of state Route 506 in Toledo. A deputy arrested Keith F. Tabor at about 8 p.m. for being in physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, DUI; responses for non-injury collisions, people accidentally dialing 911; complaints of disorderly persons, complaints of noisy neighbors, complaints of people behaving strangely,  … and more.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Sunday, April 14th, 2013

PEDESTRIAN STRUCK BY VEHICLE ON U.S. HIGHWAY 12

• A 24-year-old Yakima man was hospitalized after he was hit by a car as he assisted a disabled motorist on U.S. Highway 12 near Packwood yesterday afternoon. The pedestrian, Jesse A. Stillwaugh, was struck by a westbound Subaru Outback that came around a curve and was unable to stop because of a hill and poor road conditions, according to the Washington State Patrol. A trooper called about 4:20 p.m. to the scene about 10 miles east of Packwood, noted that there was no shoulder where it happened. Stillwaugh was transported to a Yakima hospital, according to the state patrol. No citation was issued to the Subaru driver, a man from Tacoma, according to the investigating trooper.

THEFT

• Centralia police were called about 12:30 a.m. today to a burglary at the 1000 block of Mellen Street. An amplifier to a car stereo is missing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police reported yesterday an officer was called about the theft of pain medication from the 300 block of East Magnolia Street in Centralia the day before.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, DUIs, driving with suspended licenses, calls for misdemeanor assault, non-injury collision … and more.

News brief: Centralia household awakens to fire

Saturday, April 13th, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Firefighters called about 1:20 a.m. today to the 1800 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia found flames in the front of a house on the porch.

Two adults had seen a glow outside their bedroom window and evacuated four children after unsuccessfully attempting to douse the fire, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

A dozen firefighters extinguished the blaze, according to Capt. Scott Weinert.

“The fire was quickly knocked down, it looks like minimal extension into the house,” Weinert said.

The adult male said he’d disposed of debris from the fireplace into a garbage can on the porch; he believed it to be cool, Weinert said.

The damage is estimated at $32,000.