Archive for August, 2013

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, August 21st, 2013

LOCAL FIREFIGHTERS HEAD TO LEAVENWORTH

• Crews from Mossyrock and Toledo were dispatched last night to a wildfire east of the mountains which has grown to about 1,500 acres since yesterday morning. The Eagle Fire is burning timber, brush and grass about five miles northeast of Leavenworth. Fire Districts in Tenino and Rochester each sent personnel as well. “We’ve been there before on fires, it’s very steep terrain, and challenging,” West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Robert Scott said. Authorities requested 10 wildland strike teams last night. Some mandatory evacuations from residences were ordered this morning, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. More than 300 personnel are assigned to the fire which is labeled with a growth potential of high. Mossyrock’s Lewis County Fire District 3 sent two people and Toledo’s District 2 sent three, as did the two south Thurston County departments. Follow the fire news here.

DRUGS

• A 20-year-old Rochester woman was arrested early this morning for a misdemeanor warrant as well as possession of heroin, methamphetamine and also a firearm, something she is prohibited from having, according to the Centralia Police Department. Kyrstin R. Lane was booked into the Lewis County jail after contact with an officer about 4:30 a.m. in the area of South Pearl and West Pear streets in Centralia, according to police.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took a report about 10:30 a.m. yesterday regarding graffiti spray painted on a wall at the 600 block of West Sixth Street.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license, violation of protection order, driving under the influence; responses for parking lot collisions, suspicious circumstances,  receiving a bad check … and more.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, August 20th, 2013

POLICE SEEKING MAN MISSING FROM CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police are looking for a 24-year-old man reported missing who was staying at a house on West Main Street operated by Cascade Mental Health. Robert Springer has significant medical needs as in his medication, which he left behind, according to the Chehalis Police Department. He is described as 5-feet 9-inches tall, weighing 180 pounds with hazel eyes and brown hair, according to police. Detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said Springer is of Korean descent, does not drive and has no cell phone. Police had an unconfirmed report of him in the Toledo area, he said. Wilson said Springer has a past history of becoming violent without his medication. His mother called police yesterday and said she had not spoken with him since Friday morning. Police don’t know when he left or what he was wearing, Wilson said.

CHILD ASSAULT

• A 22-year-old Chehalis man was arrested for third-degree assault of a child following a visit  by Child Protective Services and a police officer to a home on the 400 block of Northwest Division Street in Chehalis yesterday afternoon. The 5-year-old son of his girlfriend was found with significant bruises on his buttocks and face, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Jonathan D. Greyeagle was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police. Detective Sgt. Gary WIlson said he didn’t know for sure when it occurred as the bruises had begun to heal.

ATTEMPTED BURGLARY

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning that a deputy responded on Friday night to an apparent attempted break-in to a home while it’s occupants were getting ready to go to bed. A 74-year-old man at the 200 block of Howe Road called 911 about 9:20 p.m. to say the couple had heard a loud bang and discovered someone tried to break in through a back door.

VANDALISM

• A woman called police about 12:40 p.m. yesterday when she heard what sounded like a rock hit a window at the 500 block of West Cherry Avenue in Centralia. A BB-sized hole was found in the glass, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police were called yesterday to take a report that someone spray painted green on a headstone at the 1800 block of Greenwood Cemetery on Van Wormer Street. Sgt. Stacy Denham said it may be related to an incident that occurred a month or so ago.

• Centralia police took a report yesterday morning of graffiti painted on a garage door at the 500 block of West Hanson Street.

HIT AND RUN

• Centralia police called about 12:40 p.m. yesterday regarding a hit and run in a parking lot subsequently arrested Allen D. Miller, 56, for driving under the influence, in the area of the 1100 block of Belmont Avenue. Miller, a Centralia resident, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license; responses for collisions, hit and run, misdemeanor thefts, belligerent customers, whimpering dog observed alone in a parked van, person imagining things, person hollering things … and more.

News brief: Passenger seriously hurt in hit and run wreck in Chehalis

Tuesday, August 20th, 2013

Updated at 1:10 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Deputies are looking for the driver of a Sport Utility Vehicle who fled on foot from the scene of a serious injury accident last night in Chehalis.

Firefighters and police called about 7:15 p.m. to the intersection of Bishop and Maurin roads found an eastbound Chevrolet Tahoe had run a red light and struck the side of a southbound Nissan Altima.

Responders had to use the Jaws of Life on the smaller car to extricate the passenger.

“She was the one we Life Flighted from Chehalis Middle School,” Lewis County Fire District 6 Firefighter Mike Goodwillie said. “(Her injuries) were serious enough, we wanted the helicopter as close as possible.”

The 24-year-old woman from Tacoma was going to be flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, but was taken instead to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, according to responders.

The car’s driver, a 19-year-old woman from Chehalis, was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital with less serious injuries, according to Goodwillie.

Troopers, deputies and police from Chehalis and Centralia searched the area and later located a passenger from the SUV, a 21-year-old man from Kent.

He was taken into custody by Chehalis police for a warrants and cited for  third-degree theft in connection with an iPhone stolen from Radio Shack at the Twin City Town Center which occurred just before 7:10 p.m.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Rob Snaza said the SUV’s driver is believed to be a 20-year-old Tacoma man who was driving with a suspended license.

Not crime, just fun from the fair to share

Monday, August 19th, 2013

Southwest Washington Fair, 2013

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Katie Crabtree and Derek Malarz’s 10-month-old son Taven Malarz sampling fair food. / Photo by Katie Crabtree

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Rose Eitemiller-Holmes, 2, of Chehalis, conferring with goats at the Southwest Washington Fair. / Photo by Rebecca Eitemiller

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Five-year-old Jorge Hernandez from Mossyrock offers a nose petting in the horse barn. / Photo by Tasha Hernandez

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, August 19th, 2013

INDUSTRIAL PARK BREAK-IN

• Four individuals were arrested after a deputy responded to a silent burglary alarm about 2 a.m. on Sunday at a building in the Chehalis Industrial Park. Three people seen running from the area at the 100 block of McBride Court were detained and then arrested for burglary, as was an individual contacted down the road, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Stolen were several gas cans and gas cards and other items, according to the sheriff’s office. Booked into the Lewis County Jail were Brent J. Nason, 24, and Edwin A. Castillo, both from Seattle, as well as Cameron D. Wynn, 22, of Bonney Lake, according to the sheriff’s office. A 17-year-old girl was also booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center, according to Sgt. Rob Snaza. Their vehicle turned out to be stolen from Seattle, Snaza said. The investigation is continuing.

FAILED SHOPLIFT

• Chehalis police found a 22-year-old suspect hiding in the bushes near Wendy’s restaurant after being called to Wal-Mart for a person who ran out of the store with a shopping cart full of merchandise at about 12:08 a.m. on Saturday. Mary K. Tauro, a homeless person from DesMoines, was arrested for second-degree theft and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department. She allegedly tried to steal $816 worth of clothing, jewelry and other items, according to police.

STOLEN 27-SPEED BIKE

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning that a $1,000 Trek bicycle with a rifle rack on its handle bars was reported stolen on Thursday from a residence in the 3000 block of Prill Road in Centralia. The 27-speed bike was taken sometime between Aug. 1 and Aug. 13, according to the sheriff’s office. Sgt. Rob Snaza said the case is under investigation.

SERIOUS DISPUTE

• A 30-year-old Tumwater man was arrested on Saturday evening for allegedly threatening to kill a 25-year-old, with whom there was a no contact order, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Police called about 5:45 p.m. to the 300 block of Southwest Third Street in Chehalis arrested Jonah M. Johnson for felony harassment and booked him into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

CAR DUNKED

• A deputy was called last night to the 600 block of Mineral Hill Road in Mineral after a 20-year-old Eatonville woman discovered someone had pushed her car into a nearby pond. It happened sometime between 8:20 p.m. and 9 p.m. while she was at a residence looking for a friend, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. She said she didn’t know who would do that to her Saturn station wagon, Sgt. Rob Snaza said. The case is under investigation.

DRUGS

• A 29-year-old Rochester man arrested about 1 a.m. today at the 1200 block of Borthwick Street in Centralia for an outstanding warrant was also arrested for possession of methamphetamine, according to the Centralia Police Department. Michael D. Snyder was booked into the Lewis County, according to police.

• A 27-year-old Chehalis man was arrested for a drug violation after a “couple of pills that might by Oxycontin” were found on him during a traffic stop yesterday afternoon in Chehalis. An officer followed an erratically driven motorcycle about 3:20 p.m. to an alley near Southwest Wilson Avenue and 13th Street where Derek W. Burke was detained for allegedly driving under the influence, according to the Chehalis Police Department. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

• A 55-year-old Centralia man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine  when contacted about a warrant from the state Department of Corrections at about 9:15 a.m. on Saturday at the Twin City Town Center in Chehalis. A small plastic baggie containing a crystal substance was found on the ground near him, according to police. Daryl A. Ball was booked into the Lewis County, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• A deputy was called about noon on Sunday to the 400 block of Independence Road west of Chehalis where someone had prowled through vehicles belonging to five people overnight which were parked in a field during a large wedding the day before. Among the missing valuables were musical instruments, cash, credit cards, tools, and cell phones totaling about $4,000, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It happened between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., Sgt. Rob Snaza said.

VANDALISM

• Police were called about 9 a.m. on Saturday regarding someone keying a profane message onto a 23-year-old woman’s BMW parked on Southeast Adams Avenue.

• A 47-year-old Centralia man was arrested for breaking a fence during a dispute at the 1100 block of F Street in Centralia early this morning. Harvey C. Maddux was booked into the Lewis County jail for third-degree malicious mischief, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license, intoxicated underage person, falling asleep and driving into ditch; responses for alarms, disturbances, hit and run, misdemeanor theft, graffiti to a residence, child custody issues, suspicious circumstances, lost stuff, found stuff; complaints of loud party … and more.

News brief: Off-duty Centralia police officer runs stop sign, causes wreck

Sunday, August 18th, 2013
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A crowd gathers as law enforcement officer investigate a two-vehicle wreck at Summa Street and South Tower Avenue in Centralia. / Courtesy photo by Kelli Taylor

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 16-year-old boy was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital after a two-vehicle collision yesterday evening when an off-duty police officer ran a stop sign in a south Centralia neighborhood.

Police and aid called just before 7 p.m. found Angie Humphrey’s 2004 Acura Sport Utility Vehicle had been westbound on Summa Street and T-boned a southbound Honda-type car with four occupants at South Tower Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Humphrey, 43, works for the Centralia Police Department, but was with her 13-year-old daughter on their way to the fair.

She said the sun blinded her after she crossed the railroad tracks and she took her foot off the accelerator, but “then all the sudden there was the Honda.”

Riverside Fire Authority said they saw five possible patients, four of whom declined to go to the hospital.

Centralia police Sgt. Stacy Denham called it a fairly minor-injury collision, considering the way it happened, and said one youngster had shoulder pain and was transported. His name was not released.

Denham said two individuals from the car left before police arrived. He described the car as totaled.

Humphrey was ticketed for failing to stop at a stop sign and openly admitted it was her fault, Denham said. There were no indications of high speed or gross negligence, he said.

The car’s driver, an 18-year-old from Chehalis, was ticketed for not having a valid license, he said.

Humphrey said she felt horrid.

“I got a ticket just like anybody else would, it was my fault,” she said. “I’m not perfect. It is what it is.”

Grandma victim of nighttime robbery at Rochester medical marijuana-growing home

Sunday, August 18th, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A grandmother was tied up with duct tape in a home invasion robbery north of Rochester early this morning while she was babysitting her grandchildren.

Deputies were called to the 15000 block of Case Road after the approximately 2 a.m. incident in which two safes were stolen, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

“They break down the front door, both armed with guns and they demand to know where the money is,” sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said this afternoon.

The 8-year-old girl woke up while the subjects were inside and they basically told her to stay in her room, Elwin said. The 3-year-old was sleeping, he said.

The older child helped untie her 64-year-old grandma and they called 911, he said.

“The twist on this whole thing is these people are involved in a co-op, they grow medial marijuana on the property,” Elwin said.

Elwin said it appears the home was targeted by someone who knew the owners were out of town. The parents were in Portland and returned home right away, he said.

Deputies don’t have a good description, as both males had their faces covered, he said.

Detectives conducted their scene investigation today and will be interviewing the residents tomorrow to learn more about what was taken, he said. The robbers dropped some jewelry and electronics on the way out, he said.

“We’re still trying to figure out what was in the safes,” he said. “Probably cash and product.”

He said the couple are operating a legal operation and supplying product to dispensaries.