Archive for June, 2013

Read about new study confirms sharp rise in heroin use …

Thursday, June 13th, 2013

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Associated Press reports heroin use and related deaths have increased significantly across Washington in the past decade, especially among people younger than 30, according to a study released yesterday.

News reporter Donna Gordon Blankinship writes the largest increases were outside metropolitan areas, where drug treatment and awareness are lowest.

Read about it here

“State heroin use, deaths up, especially in youth” from The Yakima Herald-Republic on Wednesday June 12, 2013

Lawyers: Who broke into the safe at Frosty’s tavern?

Wednesday, June 12th, 2013
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Lonzo W. Lawson II, left, listens to a deputy prosecutor accuse him of making off with thousands of dollars in a nighttime burglary.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office argued to a jury yesterday that the nearly $15,000 cash stolen in a break-in to a Napavine tavern earlier this spring was taken by a 37-year-old homeless man who pedaled seven miles on a bicycle to commit the burglary.

Lonzo W. Lawson II is charged with multiple offenses in connection with the April 9 hit on Frosty’s Saloon and Grill on West Front Street.

Jurors heard testimony the building had no alarm system and that the safe’s combination was written on a shelf near it.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Shane O’Rourke said Lawson learned from a cell mate in the Lewis County Jail, a Frosty’s employee, what an easy target the business would be.

O’Rourke contended Lawson told two buddies what he was going to do and returned with wads of cash which they spent on partying.

“A quick and easy pay day fell into Mr. Lawson’s lap, and he took it, O’Rourke said.

Lawson was arrested on April 12 at a Chehalis motel room, three days after the burglary. His trial in Lewis County Superior Court could last until early next week. Judge James Lawler is presiding.

O’Rourke told jurors the “cherry on top” of his case is the DNA found on a hat at the scene that matches the defendant.

The owner Gina Allen testified she did her usual bookwork on a Sunday, making sure to leave enough cash on hand for her next two days off, and also was getting ready to pay the property taxes.

Defense attorney Don Blair addressed the jury yesterday afternoon as well, suggesting there may be reason to think someone else was the culprit.

Blair told jurors they would learn a phone call the evening before asking what time the bar closed came from one of the buddy’s phones. And that friend is a drug dealer, a burglar, a thief and an informant, who wanted to get back at his client, Blair said.

“Some of what the state told you, we don’t disagree with,” Blair said.

He went on to repeat that the Frosty’s employee did talk while at the jail about how simple it would be to burglarize his workplace, but the conversations involved several inmates, he said.

“Frosty’s was an easy mark,” Blair said. “So it was a group over time he was talking to. He wasn’t just talking to Mr. Lawson.”

Lawson is charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree theft and possession of heroin and meth as well as two counts of trafficking in stolen property for allegedly sharing some of the loot with his friends.

Allen has since installed a security system at her business.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, June 12th, 2013

TWO ARRESTED IN WINLOCK AFTER RAMBLING 911 CALL

• A 911 caller who said people were watching him, people were coming at him with weapons and made mention of seeing a bomb drew law enforcement officers to a home on the 500 block of Southwest First Street in Winlock overnight. When police and deputies arrived about 2:40 a.m., the subject had locked himself in a bedroom, according to the Winlock Police Department. Police Chief Terry Williams said he wasn’t sure what the man wanted, because he wasn’t making a lot of sense. The subject, Michael S. Dziubak, 32, of Pacific Beach, was subsequently taken into custody and booked into the Lewis County Jail for a warrant, according to Williams. Because law enforcement observed a plastic baggie with suspected methamphetamine inside it and a pipe in the bedroom, another resident, Monty E. Hall, 58, was arrested and booked for a violation of the uniform controlled substances act. Hall was to be released without charges pending further investigation.

FRAUD

• Chehalis police are investigating after a  48-year-old Rochester man discovered a bank card from his lost wallet was used to make a $212 purchase at the Safeway grocery store on the 1100 block of South Market Boulevard. The victim said he believed his wallet disappeared last Wednesday at another Chehalis business and when he contacted his bank, he learned it had been used within the hour of going missing, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

FUNNY MONEY

• Chehalis police responded to the Lewis County Treasurer’s Office on Northwest North Street about 10:40 a.m. yesterday about a man paying a bill with what turned out to be a counterfeit $20 bill. He said he’d received it from another local business, according to police. The bill was taken into evidence, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

THEFT OF WIRING

• A 26-year-old Morton resident was arrested for burglary yesterday in connection with a Monday call about suspicious circumstances at the 700 block of Davis Lake Road near Morton. An arriving deputy contacted two men coming from the backyard of a vacant residence who said they had been walking and were resting, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. One of them however dropped a backpack and ran, according to the sheriff’ office. Inside the pack were wire cutting tools and wiring which matched with wiring missing from an outbuilding, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. Michael D. Kent, 26, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail yesterday, according to Brown. The case involving the other man – believed to be a 29-year-old Morton resident – will be referred to possible charges of burglary, obstruction and possession of stolen property, according to Brown.

DRUGS

• A deputy was called to White Pass High School yesterday afternoon after the acting principal found marijuana in the locker of a 14-year-old student. The teen reportedly said he stole it from his grandfather a month earlier, hid it in his bedroom and then moved it to his locker, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The case will be referred to juvenile prosecutors for a possible charge of misdemeanor possession of marijuana, according to the sheriff’s office.

VANDALISM

• Chehalis police were called afternoon yesterday to the 600 block of Southeast Dobson Court about two slashed tires on a car.

FIRE UNDER HOUSE

• Firefighters were called to a north Centralia home about 10:10 p.m. yesterday after the smell of smoke awakened the occupants. They found a small electrical fire beneath the modular home, according to Riverside Fire Authority. A main connection had shorted out and dropped onto the plastic vapor barrier, Capt. Tim Adolphsen said. It burned through a plastic water line which extinguished the flames, Adolphsen said. The damage was very minor, he said.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, violation of protection orders, misdemeanor assault; responses for misdemeanor theft, alarm … and more.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, June 11th, 2013

Updated

ANOTHER CENTRALIA MAN SNOOZES THROUGH BREAK-IN

• For the second night in a row, someone broke into a Centralia home during the night while its occupant was sleeping. Police were called about 7:45 a.m. yesterday to the 3500 block of Rodcin Avenue when a 72-year-old man discovered his television and laptop computer were gone, according to the Centralia Police Department. Officer John Panco said the man apparently slept right through it when someone came through a door he’d left unlocked.  The case is under investigation. The night before, deputies responded to the 3000 block of Mount Vista Road in Centralia and arrested a nephew of two men who live there. Those residents didn’t wake up until a deputy came inside their home, according to the sheriff’s office.

GUN THEFT

• Two firearms were stolen in a burglary at the 100 block of Salkum Road in Salkum yesterday between noon and 6 p.m. Someone broke a garage window to get inside and took the 90-year-old owner’s Smith and Wesson 38 caliber revolver (model 19) and his Colt 22 caliber semi-automatic handgun with its magazine, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

CASH THEFT

• Centralia police took a report about 8 a.m. yesterday at the 2800 block of Russell Road in Centralia that someone stole $500 out of a female’s wallet and stole her cell phone.

CANINE FIGHT

• A 36-year-old Winlock area man was cited yesterday after his two dogs attacked someone else’s dog in its kennel area in its yard. Chief CIvil Deputy Stacy Brown said the canines ran off from their home on the 100 block of Shiloh Road and traveled to the 100 block of Kakela Road early in the morning where they went onto the fenced property. The victim animal suffered multiple bite wounds, according to Brown.

CAR PROWL

• Chehalis police took a report about 9:50 a.m. yesterday of a vehicle prowl on Northeast Adams Avenue.

• An officer was called yesterday to Northeast Jefferson Avenue in Chehalis regarding a vehicle prowl the day before.

CAR GRAFFITI

• Police took reports from the 1300 block of Windsor Avenue in Centralia yesterday regarding several cars that were tagged with spray paint overnight.

DRUGS

• Centralia police arrested a 27-year-old man for possession of methamphetamine yesterday evening. Charles G. Cheney,  Centralia, resident, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Kiela D. Current, a 22-year-old Centralia resident was booked into the Lewis County Jail following an arrest around noon yesterday for possession of methamphetamine in connection with the 300 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.

KIDS CROSSING

• Officer John Panco reminds motorists that although summer session has begun for some schools, that won’t happen in Centralia until June 14.  Panco urges drivers to pay attention to kids on sidewalks and walking down streets. It’s unlawful not to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, and also unlawful not to stop when someone is standing at the edge of the crosswalk waiting to cross a street, according to Panco.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrant, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, parking lot fender bender, requests to pick up found hypodermic needles, stolen bicycle and other misdemeanor theft … and more.

•••

CORRECTION: This news item has been updated to reflect that schools in Centralia begin the summer session on June 14. An incorrect date was published initially based on information disseminated by the Centralia Police Department.

Seven charged for dealing meth in Randle

Tuesday, June 11th, 2013
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Leah D. Williams, 24, listens to defense attorney Bob Schroeter as she is charged in Lewis County Superior Court with delivery of methamphetamine.

Updated at 8:28 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Seven Randle residents went before a judge yesterday accused of selling methamphetamine to police informants at various times in the two months before last week’s roundup by more than two dozen law enforcement officers.

Among them was 24-year-old Leah D. Williams, whose worst crime before now was a ticket for littering in 2009.

Williams shares a home on Kiona Road with a 42-year-old construction worker. He was also arrested.

“She got caught up in the wrong crowd, let’s hope this is a wake up call,” her father Danny Williams said.

Danny Williams arranged for his daughter to move in with him in Morton if she was released from jail, since he anticipated she and her boyfriend would be prohibited from having contact with each other pending the outcome of their cases.

Leah D. Williams lives on $290 a month in financial support, plus food stamps, and has three young children, Chehalis attorney Bob Schroeter told the judge yesterday afternoon. She is charged with two counts of delivery of meth.

According to charging documents, on one occasion a confidential informant said they could purchase the drug from her boyfriend  Byron O. Daily and on another occasion said they could get it from her or her boyfriend.

Each time, the informant wanted more, but was only able to get a “quarter” for $20, according to the allegations.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey allowed Leah Williams released on a $5,000 signature bond, meaning she does not have to post bail money but will owe the court that amount if she fails to appear for any proceedings.

Friday’s arrests, dubbed Operation Big Bottom Bust for the Big Bottom Valley in which they took place some 50 miles east of Interstate 5, were coordinated by the Lewis County Regional Drug Task Force.

Ten individuals were arrested in the sweep, according to the sheriff’s office, but one was only for a warrant and two men were released without charges pending further investigation. The two are Chris Edward Green, 58, and Jason A Green, 24.

The defendants were all represented during yesterday afternoon’s hearing by Schroeter who negotiated bail and helped schedule arraignment dates.

The defendants ranged from as young as Williams to as old as 57-year-old Jack Wayne Mullins.

Mullins, a lifetime Lewis County resident who owns the property where he lives on Falls Road, was charged along with 52-year-old Diane L. Allison for the three times an informant allegedly came to their home and bought $40 worth of meth.

Allison has several prior drug convictions, according to prosecutors. Mullins has none, although he did get in trouble for driving under the influence in 2011, according to Schroeter.

All of the defendants were charged with either two counts or three counts of delivery of methamphetamine. None were charged with possession of the drug, although police said they conducted search warrants on Friday at at least three locations.

Law enforcement officers confiscated one vehicle, some cash and some methamphetamine – mostly “street level” amounts like $25 bags, according to Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Chief Criminal Deputy Gene Seiber.

Beginning at daybreak, the sheriff’s office and its SWAT team with assistance from three other police agencies hit five places in an hour and a half, Seiber said. The operation came after 14 undercover buys, he said.

It’s not like the community of Randle is some kind of large hub for supplying users in comparison to the rest of the county, according to the sheriff’s office.

“Meth is everywhere. Everywhere,” Seiber said. “It just happens we got in with this particular bunch.”

According to charging documents, the police-observed “buys” all took place at the defendant’s homes, except in the case of Robert D. LaChance Sr. who allegedly made his deals in a Randle parking lot and alongside U.S. Highway 12 in Glenoma. He lives with his parents on Ridge View Drive.

LaChance, 50, allegedly sold $160 worth of meth in one of his two transactions and $120 in the other.

LaChance’s legitimate income amounts to a $710 monthly payment from SSI, and like some of the others he has previous drug convictions.

The most recent undercover deals involved 42-year-old Keith Allen Sanders at his home on Morris Road where he’s lived for 30 years.

On June 3, sheriff’s detective Jeff Humphrey spoke with an informant who said he or she could purchase $40 worth of meth from Sanders, according to charging documents.

After the informant and their vehicle were searched, Humphrey provided the “pre-recorded” buy funds and then observed as the informant went to Sander’s home, charging documents relate. About 15 minutes later, the informant returned with a small baggie with a small amount of meth inside, according to the documents.

The same process was repeated the next day.

The highest bail any of them faced was $25,000 for Marty Joe Mullins, 48.

On one of the two visits informants made to Marty Mullins’ Kiona Road residence, they were made to wait while he retrieved the drugs from a neighbor’s place, according to charging documents.

Seiber said today they took 11 people into custody, and they are looking for number 12. It’s not clear who the 11th person was as the sheriff’s office announced only 10 arrests on Friday.

Morton police did arrest a 29-year-old woman for delivery of methamphetamine on Friday night after an officer was informed by someone they’d just witnessed a drug deal at an apartment on Westlake Avenue and provided a license plate numbers for a vehicle which left.

Twenty-seven-year-old Paul Leggett, of Glenoma, was subsequently located and arrested for possession of a small baggie of suspected meth.

Police arrested Bobbie E. Escontrias, 29, for delivery of a $20 amount of meth but found no drugs when the apartment was searched, according to charging documents in that case. On her person however, was found residue on a glass pipe, a baggie and a cotton ball, according to the documents.

Escontrias was charged yesterday with delivery, but with no criminal history, was allowed release on a $10,000 signature bond.

All of those charged will get a chance to make their pleas on Thursday or a week from Thursday in Lewis County Superior Court.
•••

RANDLE: THE ARRESTS, THE CHARGES AND BAIL

• Marty J. Mullins, 48. Charge: Delivery of meth. Bail $25,000

• Diane L. Allison, 52. Charge: Delivery of meth. Bail $10,000
• Jack W. Mullins, 57. Charge: Delivery of meth. Bail $10,000 unsecured.

• Byron O. Daily, 42. Charge: Delivery of meth. Bail $10,000 unsecured.
• Leah D. Williams, 24. Charge: Delivery of meth. Bail $5,000 unsecured.

• Robert D. LaChance Sr., 50. Charge: Delivery of meth. Bail $10,000.

• Keith A. Sanders, 42. Charge: Delivery of meth. Bail $20,000.

• Chris E. Green, 58. Arrested for delivery of meth, but released without charges pending further investigation.

• Jason A Green, 24. Arrested for delivery and possession of meth,  but released without charges pending further investigation

• Robert M. Church, 48. Arrested for felony warrant
•••

For background, read “Breaking news: Drug dealing investigation nets multiple arrests in Randle” from Friday June 7, 2013 at 10:20 a.m., here

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, June 10th, 2013

Updated at 7:44 p.m.

CENTRALIA MEN SLUMBER THROUGH HOME BURGLARY

• Deputies called about 3:30 a.m. yesterday to a report of suspicious circumstances at the 3000 block of Mount Vista Road in Centralia arrested a 32-year-old man who allegedly burglarized his relatives’ home and garage while they were sleeping. A neighbor saw a flashlight shining in the brush outside the house and when deputies arrived, they found suspected stolen property next to a vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office. When deputies went inside to check the residence, they woke up two men in their 60s who were unaware of any break-in, detective Sgt. Dusty Breen said. Joshua D. Graham was located coming from the back of the garage and said his uncles were out of town and he had permission to be there, Breen said. Among the items taken were an air conditioner, a battery charger and tools, Breen said. Graham was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for residential burglary, according to the sheriff’s office.

BUSINESS BREAK-IN

• Deputies responding to an alarm at a business on the 100 block of U.S. Highway 12 south of Chehalis about 2 a.m. today found damage to a wall inside but nothing appeared to be missing, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A K-9 search was conducted but no suspect located, according to the sheriff’s office.

VEHICLE PROWL

• A deputy was called about 4 a.m. yesterday regarding a a vehicle prowl in which a revolver was taken at the 200 block of Mineral Road South, in Mineral. It occurred sometime since 4 p.m. the day before, according to the sheriff’ office. The vehicle had ben left unsecured, detective Sgt. Dusty Breen said.

• Centralia police were called to 1000 block of South Tower Avenue just after 2 p.m. yesterday where an individual said someone got inside their car and stole a Kindle and a wallet.

• Chehalis police were called about 7:45 a.m. yesterday to a residence on Pennsylvania Avenue when an individual said he spotted a female in his carport rummaging through hi vehicle. She took off in a car and a check of the license plate the victim observed revealed it was stolen out of Bellevue, detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said. Police suspect another vehicle prowl nearby on Northwest Duffy Street is related, Wilson said.

• Police took a report about 11:30 a.m. yesterday of two vehicle prowls on Northeast Glen Road in Chehalis in which sports equipment and other items were stolen.

THEFT AND DRUGS

• Police called about 4:40 a.m. on Sunday regarding a suspected shoplift from Wal-Mart located two individuals hiding behind a dumpster and recovered about $300 worth of razors. Randy E. Leonard, 22, of Longview, was arrested for third-degree theft and then released, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Police found a “tiny” amount of suspected methamphetamine as well as an implement for “hot-knifing heroin” on his pregnant female companion, according to police. Her case will be referred for possible charges pending lab tests on the material, detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said. She was not arrested or booked at the time because of the potential liability and expense of keeping a pregnant woman in jail, WIlson said.

NO BOMB

• Police were called to the Goodwill store on Harrison Avenue in Centralia late yesterday afternoon after someone discovered what appeared to a bomb threat scrawled on a wall. Officer walked through the building and found nothing suspicious and the business decided to close early as a precaution, according to the Centralia Police Department.

NO FIGHT

• Police called about 1:40 a.m. on Sunday to a report several subjects were fighting in the are of the 300 block of Northwest Chehalis Avenue found no victims, no suspects, no injuries and nobody willing to talk about what they might have been involved in, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

WRECK

• A rear-end collision on U.S. Highway 12 near Interstate 5 yesterday that knocked a Honda Accord onto its top sent one person to the hospital, according to the Washington State Patrol. A trooper called about 12:45 p.m. to the scene south of Chehalis found both vehicles were totaled and cited the 75-year-old driver of a Dodge Ram pickup for following too closely and inattention, according to the state patrol. Lyle Zeller, 75, of Ethel, was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital where he was treated and has been released, according to authorities. The 22-year-old driver of the Honda, Jerry Birdwell, of Chechal, was reportedly uninjured.

• Two women who were injured early Saturday morning in a rollover wreck northwest of Olympia remain hospitalized, one of them facing potential charges for driving under the influence and vehicular assault. Troopers called about 3:30 a.m. to U.S. Highway 101 near state Route 8 found a 1994 Honda Accord on its top. The driver, Amanda Mojica, 19, of Centralia, is in good condition today at  Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia. Her passenger, Aracelie Hernandez, 20, of Aberdeen, was listed in serious condition in the intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle this morning.

• A Freightliner truck blew a tire and ran off the freeway into the brush this afternoon on southbound Interstate 5 south of Napavine. The Washington State Patrol reports the vehicle was totaled in the approximately 1 p.m. incident near milepost 66. The driver, a 42-year-old man from Vancouver, was however uninjured, according to the state patrol.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with  suspended license, driving under the influence; responses for alarms, minor collisions, disorderly subjects, suspicious activity, shoplifting, and other misdemeanor theft; complaints about graffiti, barking dogs, noisy neighbors … and more.

News brief: Toledo resident, two others hurt in overnight crash

Sunday, June 9th, 2013

Updated at 5 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Toledo driver and his two passengers were hospitalized after an early morning wreck when their car ran into a tree in Pierce County.

Troopers called about 3:45 a.m. to state Route 507 three miles north of Roy found a 1994 Honda Civic was totaled, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Joshua Brake, 22, of Toledo, was traveling northbound at a high rate of speed when his vehicle left the roadway to the right and collided with a tree, according to the state patrol. He was transported to Madigan, according to the state patrol.

Passenger Anthony Hill, 22, of Olympia, was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center and a third male who was unidentified was taken to Tacoma General Hospital, the investigating trooper reported.

Only the driver was wearing a seat belt; speed and alcohol are blamed. Charges are pending.

Update: The previously unidentified occupant is Beau A. Dawson, 26, of Seattle, and he passed away at St. Joseph Medical Center, according to the state patrol.