Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated at 7:57 p.m.

CENTRALIA WOMAN STRUCK WITH BAT

• A 54-year-old Centralia woman making her regular check upon a neighbor yesterday was met at his doorway and hit in the head with a baseball bat, according to the Centralia Police Department. Officers called just after 1 p.m. to the 300 block of West Magnolia arrested Craig A. Olson, 51, according to police. The assault came out of nowhere, according to Sgt. Kurt Reichert, who said there was no prior conflict between the two. It appears Olson has “issues,” Reichert said. The victim was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with a cut to her head, he said. Olson was booked into the Lewis County Jail for for second-degree assault.

MISBEHAVING TEENS

• A 14-year-old boy at the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center allegedly kicked a staff member causing her to fall down and spit on others yesterday morning because he didn’t want to go back to his room, according to police. A Chehalis police officer is referring the case to juvenile prosecutors for possible charges of assault, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• A Chehalis police officer was summoned to the principal’s office at W.F. West High School in Chehalis yesterday morning regarding a complaint from a 15-year-old girl that she was inappropriately touched by a 14-year-old boy. The case is being referred to juvenile prosecutors for a possible charge of simple assault, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

GONE CAMPING

• Centralia police were called to the 1000 block of Airport Road yesterday afternoon after a 28-foot travel trailer was discovered missing. A witness had seen a red Dodge pickup towing the white Kit trailer away around 2 p.m., according to the Centralia Police Department. The camping trailer has a license of 1581RV, according to police.

BREAK-IN AT CEMETERY

• Gas cans, fuel, tools and other items were discovered missing from a storage shed at the Mineral Creek Cemetery sometime between April 7 and Tuesday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

JOY RIDE THWARTED

• A 43-year-old woman pulled over on her moped on Interstate 5 in Chehalis because she was swerving as she used one hand to eat from a bag of Doritoes ended up in the Lewis County Jail yesterday evening. A deputy noticed the scooter had no license plate and its ignition wires were taped together, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Kristina M. Andrews, of Vancouver, Wash., said she had just purchased the moped from a friend and was heading to Seattle, the sheriff’s office reported. It turned out the vehicle had been reported stolen in Portland, so Andrews was arrested for first-degree possession of stolen property, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• A pair of teenage cousins from the Tacoma area who allegedly stole at gunpoint some marijuana they showed up to buy from a Centralia man in December – and then found their car being shot up as they fled East Van Buren Street – won’t be going to trial. Eighteen-year-old Yahdriel E. Jones was in court today, where attorneys told a judge he intends to change his plea to guilty. Howard E. Ross 19, had already “pleaded out” and agreed to testify, Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Kjell Warner said. A 28-year-old Centralia man who had placed an ad online on Craigslist that he had “extra quality meds” up for donation, of $125 per ounce, found himself struck in the face by a pistol on Dec. 15 when he got inside their car in front of his house to conduct business, according to charging documents. Jones will return to a courtroom on Tuesday to change his plea.

• A pair of brothers arrested in January after a marijuana growing operation was discovered in their Seminary Hill Road home have accepted a plea offer and will return to court May 15 for further proceedings. Zeshawn H. Hasnani, 27, and Sohail Hasnani, 24, allegedly sold their product to medical marijuana dispensaries and have been jailed since their Jan. 10 arrest by Centralia police. Attorneys told a judge today the men will change their pleas.

BONUS QUOTE OF THE DAY

• “I’m not going to hold her on $35,000, this is totally ridiculous.” –  Judge Richard Brosey remarking upon a bail request after being informed Rachelle L. Braaten, 24, was charged with burglary because she went inside her Centralia home, in violation of a no contact order regarding her child. The Centralia mother was initially charged, and ordered to stay away from her toddler, after allegedly giving the little one a hit off a bong.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with a suspended license, misdemeanor assault, responses for non-injury collision, possible fraud, disturbances, suspicious circumstances, suicide attempt, dog fight … and more.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• Prosecutors yesterday filed charges against the Chehalis father accused of taking money from W.F. West High School’s senior class fund. Robert N. Downs Jr., 43, has been summonsed to appear in Lewis County Superior Court to face one count of first-degree theft and 14 counts of forgery, according to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office. Police began investigating in January following a complaint the account had less money in it than students’ parents thought there would be. Police last month said they discovered the husband of a woman in charge of the money signed his wife’s name to 14 checks from the account he wrote out to himself, totaling $8,200. The wife replaced the money back into the account after she learned of the losses, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The fund comes from a tradition of parents collectively starting fundraising during their children’s freshman year to pay for graduation-related activities. Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said he believes more than $8,000 was stolen.

THEFT

• A chainsaw was stolen from a shop building on the 2400 block of Seward Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday morning.

• Police were called about 10:15 a.m. yesterday to the 1000 block of West Main Street in Centralia about the theft of a business check which was subsequently used to purchase more than $600 of merchandise in  Longview. Police have a suspect in mind and are investigating, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called yesterday morning about a counterfeit $20 bill received by an employee at a business on the 1400 block of Louisiana Avenue. Officer Linda Bailey said an officer would have taken the currency for evidence and run its information through a U.S. Secret Service database to see if it a “known” counterfeit. When police have no local leads, they send fake bills off to the Secret Service, she said.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took a report of graffiti on no parking signs at the 2200 block of North Tower Avenue at about 8:45 p.m. yesterday. Earlier in the afternoon, an officer was contacted a person’s fence on the 100 block of East Roanoke Street being tagged with spray paint.

• An officer was called about 9 a.m. yesterday to the 1300 block of Windsor Avenue in Centralia where a female said someone spray painted her car during the night.

VEHICLE VERSUS ELK

• Toledo area firefighters were called about 3:15 a.m. today when a driver on his way to work encountered a herd of elk crossing state Route 505 near Layton Road. Fire Chief Grant Wiltbank said the vehicle’s airbag deployed and the motorist was uninjured. One female elk was severely injured, according to Wiltbank.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for driving with a suspended license; reports of misdemeanor assaults, shoplifting; complaints of panhandlers near businesses, a person sleeping outside an apartment building who wouldn’t leave … and more.

Vehicle after encountering elk on state Route 505 / Courtesy photo by Grant Wiltbank