Archive for September, 2013

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, September 25th, 2013

Updated at 2 p.m.

THEFT OF FUNDS

• Chehalis police were called to a business yesterday evening on the 1700 block of North National Avenue regarding possibly thousands of dollars missing over a period of time. The case is under investigation, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

BURGLARY

• Someone broke into a metal storage container at the 2200 block of state Route 6 west of Chehalis and  stole a Stihl chainsaw, clothing, glassware, fishing gear and other items, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The victim who reported it yesterday believed it occurred sometime since the day before, according to the sheriff’s office. The loss is more than $1,000, Sgt. Rob Snaza said.

• A deputy called last night to the 1100 block of Garrard Creek Road northwest of Centralia about a residential burglary found someone forced their way through a back door and left with a large television valued at about $1,900, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The break-in occurred between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office.

OTHER THEFT

• Centralia police took a report yesterday from the 1000 block of Eckerson Road regarding the theft of a debit card. The case is under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DISORDERLY PERSON

• Centralia police were called about 5:15 p.m. yesterday to a restaurant on the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue where an intoxicated person was reported to be acting belligerent to staff an customers. When officers contacted 33-year-old Giovanni L. Revetria, they discovered he was wanted on a warrant, according to the Centralia Police Department. Revetria, a homeless person, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

CAR PROWL

• Police were called about 8:25 a.m. yesterday about a vehicle prowl at the 800 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia. A tool box was taken out of a work truck during the night, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS

• A 29-year-old Centralia resident was arrested for possession of methamphetamine after contact with an officer last night about midnight at the 100 block of North Barner Drive in Centralia. Saul A. Paguaga was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department. The case is also being referred for a possible charge of domestic misdemeanor assault, according to police. Further details were not readily available.

VANDALISM

• Someone threw a rock through the window of a vehicle at the 400 block of South Diamond Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 11:35 a.m. yesterday.

COLLISIONS

• A 25-year-old Centralia woman was reportedly unhurt when she lost control of her vehicle and ended up in a ditch along the 300 block of Big Hanaford Road outside Centralia yesterday morning. Rachel L. Meyers was booked into the Lewis County Jail for driving under the influence of alcohol after the 11 a.m. wreck, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• A high speed pursuit and wreck on Interstate 5 through Chehalis yesterday ended with the 14-year-old driver and 16-year-old passenger in custody, according to the Washington State Patrol. A trooper ran the plate about 6:30 p.m. and it came back with a flag about a missing and possibly suicidal teen from California, according to the state patrol. Trooper Will Finn said the chase began in Cowlitz County and ended just north of the Chamber of Commerce Way interchange when the driver ran off the side of the road taking out a sign and a fence. Two occupants fled on foot but were detained, Finn said. The teens were unhurt and were taken to the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center, according to Finn.

RESIDENTIAL FIRE

• A fire investigator was called to Mineral last night to look into the cause of a blaze that destroyed a fifth wheel trailer in which man was residing. The fire occurred about 9 p.m. at the 200 block of Mineral Creek Road South. Nobody was hurt as the resident wasn’t there when it happened, Fire Investigator Jay Birley said.

BONUS CAUTIONARY TALE

• The Seattle Times published a story yesterday about a family that sustained only minor injuries while on a drive when a six-point buck flew through one side of their mini van and out the other. Read about it here

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault, driving with suspended license, shoplifting; responses for alarm, protection order violation, minor collisions, hit and run, suspicious circumstances, other crimes or arrests for which information is not readily available from law enforcement, lots of aid calls; complaint of a woman in a post office screaming at people … and more.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013

ASSAULTS

• Chehalis police received a call from Providence Centralia Hospital yesterday regarding a man who said he was assaulted over the weekend in Chehalis. He was transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle before an officer got a chance to talk with him, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said he didn’t yet have any other details.

• One man was arrested for misdemeanor assault, two for outstanding warrants and a fourth person for possession of drugs when officers responded about 10:45 a.m. yesterday to a dispute at a motel on the 1300 block of Belmont Avenue in Centralia. Booked into the Lewis County Jail for allegedly having heroin and methamphetamine was Ryan A. Enlow, 26; and booked for fourth-degree assault was John L. Lininger, according to the Centralia Police Department. Enlow and Lininger also had warrants, according to police. All are Centralia residents.

THEFT

• A deputy was called about 2 p.m. yesterday to the 700 block of Meskill Road west of Chehalis after the discovery someone had broken into a shop building. Missing was a Stihl chainsaw, a Dewalt drill and a newer gas can, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The 33-year-old victim said the burglary occurred sometime after 7 p.m. on Sunday, according to the sheriff’s office.

• Police responded about 7 p.m. on Sunday regarding a burglary at the 200 block of Williams Street in Mossyrock in which computers and other items were taken, according to the Morton Police Department.

• Morton police reported yesterday they arrested a 54-year-old man who allegedly took $216 cash from a person’s wallet that lay on a table between the two in a waiting room at a business on the 500 block of Adams Avenue. Keith A. Indish, of Morton, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for third-degree theft, according to Police Chief Dan Mortensen. It happened on Thursday, according to police.

HUSBAND CALLS POLICE ABOUT NAUGHTY PHOTO

• Chehalis police were called yesterday by a man who said someone sent dirty pictures to his wife. Further details were not readily available, but it appeared since nobody could identify the male whose private parts were shared in the image, nothing further could be done at this time, according to detective Sgt. Gary Wilson. Emailing or texting such pictures can be considered cyberstalking if they are unwelcome by the recipient, WIlson said.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Police took a report yesterday morning of prescription medications and unspecified electronics stolen from a car at the 800 block of Park Way in Centralia.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called to the 400 block of South Pearl Street about 8:15 p.m. yesterday regarding damage discovered to the garage door of a vacant home.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault; responses for minor collisions, , parenting and roommate conflicts, suspicious circumstances, shoplifting and other misdemeanor theft, disputes; complaints about a growling dog, a pet “doing its business” in a neighbor’s yard … and more.

Read about father charged in robbery of son’s Rochester home …

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Olympian reports the former owner of a medical marijuana dispensary on Old Highway 99 in south Thurston County has been arrested for allegedly hiring a felon to rob his adult son’s home after a falling out about the business.

Donald E. Smith, 52, was an owner of Triple Ds Natural and Alternative Medicines Clinic and is accused of being behind a September 2012 home invasion robbery targeting his son, Matthew Martin, in which a safe with cash and marijuana were stolen, according to the Olympian.

News reporter Jeremy Pawloski writes the collective is now known as Sweet Greens and the business license is in Martin’s name.

Read more here

News brief: Burning restrictions lifted in Lewis County

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – It’s okay to light your outdoor burn pile now, if you live in unincorporated Lewis County.

A burn ban put into place two months ago was lifted at 12:01 a.m. today.

The Lewis County fire marshal’s office indicated in a news release this morning the previous threat of fire danger has diminished satisfactorily.

For further information regarding the rules for outdoor burning, contact Fred Chapman at 360-740-1146.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, September 23rd, 2013

Updated at 3:40 p.m.

THEFT BY FRAUD

• A Chehalis man was tricked into wiring money to Haiti after getting a call from someone who said he was his grandson, was in trouble and needed funds to get of of jail. An officer contacted by the victim was told the caller sounded like his grandson and so he went to Wal-Mart to send $1,900 by Western Union, Chehalis police said this morning. Afterward, he checked with his grown children and learned his grandson was not in Haiti, police said. Detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said it’s the kind of scam that plays on a person’s heart strings and can cause them to act before they think about it. The incident was reported on Friday, there’s nothing more police can do WIlson said. His best advice is the man should have called his family before sending money, he said.

GUN THREAT LANDS MAN IN JAIL

• Deputies were called about 8 p.m. on Saturday to the 100 block of state Route 131 in Randle where a 38-year-old woman said her boyfriend had pulled out a handgun and pointed it at her during an argument. “He threatened to harm her,” Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Rob Snaza said. Robert R. Feddersen, 32, from Puyallup was subsequently located nearby and arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree assault, according to Snaza.

PARTYING ENDS BADLY

• A 20-year-old member of the military from Fort Lewis was arrested in Chehalis early on Sunday morning after he allegedly crashed his car through a planting bed on North Market Boulevard but walked down the street and called to report it had been stolen. Police responding about 1 a.m. conducted a dog track from the 2007 Ford Mustang and the dog followed a scent directly to the 20-year-old, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Riese K. Doyle was arrested for driving under the influence, false reporting, initially allegedly trying to use fake identification that said he was a 21-year-old from New York as well as hit and run, detective Sgt. Gary WIlson said. he was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

• Chehalis police were called about 6 a.m. on Saturday about a 25-year-old man whose car and wallet were stolen after he left with some people in Centralia to a house party in Chehalis. Possibly he was taken also, in his car and he was missing his shoes, detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said. It’s just not clear what happened, Wilson said. The vehicle turned up at Ace Hardware on South Market Boulevard, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The man was not hurt, his vehicle was not damaged, Wilson said.

ANTI THEFT CAMERA SWIPED

• Police were called to a business on the 200 block of Downing Road in Centralia yesterday morning to take a report of an outdoor security camera being stolen. A person wearing a hoodie and a partially covered face could be seen for about one and half seconds around 3:30 a.m. removing the camera from outside the market, according to the Centralia Police Department.

BREAK-INS

• A deputy responding to a residential burglary alarm about 4:45 p.m. on Saturday at the 200 block of Howe Road near Toledo discovered someone had forced their way inside and left with a computer and other valuables, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• A Honda dirt bike, a mower, tools and other items were reported stolen from a shop on the 100 block of Oak Drive outside Chehalis on Saturday. A responding deputy was told the items were talked sometime since the end of May, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

DRUGS

• A 33-year-old Centralia woman riding her bicycle on North Gold Street in Centralia about 2 o’clock this morning was recognized by an officer as having a warrant and arrested for possession of methamphetamine, according to police. A search of her purse turned up cotton balls and needles which field-tested positive for the drug, according to the Centralia Police Department. Kristy A. Price-Alvarez was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

SPARE TIRE TAKEN OFF VEHICLE

• Chehalis police took a report about 5:25 p.m. on Saturday at the parking lot of K-Mart when an employee discovered someone had stolen his spare tire which was stored beneath the bed of the truck. It’s not clear exactly where the theft occurred, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Someone broke in through the back window of a vehicle parked off state Route 7 near Morton while its owner was hunting and stole about $1,500 worth of clothing yesterday. The 46-year-old man from Yelm had left his vehicle at the turnout near milepost three about 7:30 a.m. and when he returned at 2:30 p.m. discovered the theft, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• A wallet was reported stolen from a vehicle at Southeast 12th Street and Market about 2:20 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The victim thought someone got into his vehicle while he was checking his mail, according to police.

VANDALISM

• An officer was called about 7:45 p.m. yesterday to an apartment building on the 300 block of Southwest Third Street in Chehalis when a teenager discovered three tires on his father’s Ford Explorer had been slashed.

• Someone tagged a building on South Market Boulevard in Chehalis, according to a report made to police on Friday.

WRECK

• A 22-year-old Centralia woman was arrested for allegedly driving drunk after a deputy arriving to the 500 block of Reynolds Avenue about 4:15 a.m. on Saturday found front end damage to a 2006 Hummer according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The driver Casaundra M. Rodriguez said a Dodge Neon which tried to pass her forced her off the road, Sgt. Rob Snaza said. Rodrigues wasn’t injured but she booked into the Lewis County Jail for driving under the influence, according to Snaza. The deputy was unable to locate the Neon, he said.

SUNDAY DRIVING

• Some vehicles were towed and others were able to be driven away from the scenes following a pair of rear end accidents on Interstate 5 in Chehalis  yesterday afternoon. The Washington State Patrol described them both as minor injury collisions. A 7-year-old boy from Woodburn, Ore. was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital after an incident about 2 p.m. in the northbound lanes near the Chamber of Commerce Way interchange, according to the state patrol. About 40 minutes later near the 13th Street exit, an 18-year-old girl from Battleground was treated at the scene and then released when her car was struck by a pickup trying to avoid getting hit by a semi truck, according to the state patrol. The semi truck rear ended a Subaru Outback, the investigating trooper reported. Citations were issued for following too closely.

SATURDAY FLYING

• An 80-year-old Mossyrock man escaped serious injury when his ultralight experienced problems with its motor as he was flying over Riffe Lake on Saturday afternoon. He was able to navigate toward dry land where he put his small aircraft down, sustaining only a minor laceration to one hand, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy called about 3 p.m. to the 100 block of Lake Terrace Place south of the lake reported there was no major damage to the ultralight, Sgt. Rob Snaza said.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarm, suspicious circumstances, shoplifting, disputes, minor collisions … and more.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Sunday, September 22nd, 2013

Updated

PAIR HURT IN SINGLE-VEHICLE COLLISION

• Two people were hospitalized after an allegedly intoxicated driver ran off U.S. Highway 12 east of Glenoma early yesterday morning, drove through a guard rail and hit a utility pole. Troopers and aid called about 1:45 a.m. to the scene near Scott Road found the pickup truck destroyed but the occupants were outside of it, according to responders. “From what I understand, he had minor injuries and the female had a broken arm,” Lewis County Fire District 18 Chief Ed Lowe said. Scotty R. Mays, 35, from Glenoma, and Brooke D. Pyles, 21, of Randle, were transported to Morton General Hospital, according to the Washington State Patrol. “They’re lucky to be alive,” Lowe said. Pyles was treated and then released, but Mays was stabilized and then transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle; he has been released, according to hospital spokespersons. The state patrol reports Mays faces possible charges of driving under the influence and vehicular assault.

THEFT

• Someone stole a cargo trailer from the 100 block of North Ash Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 8 a.m. yesterday. The white 2002 Pace enclosed trailer has a license plate of 0961 VX, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Someone apparently crawled through the window of a residence on the 1300 block of Windsor Avenue in Centralia and stole two firearms. Missing is a Ruger semi-automatic and a Taurus revolver, according to a report made to police about 5:40 p.m. on Friday. The case is under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police are investigating a second-degree theft regarding a report made from the 600 block of F Street on Friday. “Items” were missing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police took a report late Friday afternoon from the 100 block of North Ash Street that someone stole the spare tires from two vehicles.

POLICE: MEDS NOT MISSING

• Centralia police yesterday reported they are referring a case for a possible charge of fraud related to a 27-year-old woman allegedly attempting to file a false police report of stolen medications.

UNCOOPERATIVE SUBECT JAILED

• A 41-year-old man was arrested and booked into jail for obstructing after he allegedly failed to follow police officers’ instructions during a dispute about 9:20 p.m. on Friday at the 2800 block of Russell Road in Centralia. Wuilson Alverto Lopez was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Police were called about 4 p.m. yesterday regarding a window broken out of a vehicle at the 100 block of Virginia Drive in Centralia.

MILLIONS GIVEN TO ASSIST LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS

• The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded more than $1.1 million to the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation as part of series of grants to enhance services to crime victims and improve criminal justice in tribal communities. A little more than $407,000 will go towards crime issues related to alcohol and substance abuse, a little more than $307,000 is to combat violence against women and the remainder is for tribal police for training, equipment and to fund their community oriented policing efforts, according to an announcement on Friday from U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. More than $10 million awarded last week was distributed among eight Indian Tribes in Western Washington, according to Durkan. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Tribes, and are confident these grants will help increase the public safety of each community,” Durkan stated in a news release. “One size does not fit all, and I am pleased these grants will address specific needs on Tribal lands.”

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license, misdemeanor assault; responses for minor collision, other misdemeanor theft, someone who found the air had been let out of their tire … and more.

Rochester man loses murder appeal

Friday, September 20th, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Robert J. Maddaus Jr. lost his appeal of his convictions and sentence that put him in prison for life in connection with a weekend of threats and death as he tried to recover cash and pounds of methamphetamine stolen from his Rochester trailer home.

011.0105.maddaus.smallthurst_2

Robert J. Maddaus Jr.

The admitted drug dealer was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Shaun Peterson, a 42-year-old acquaintance who died handcuffed and shot on an Olympia street early on Nov. 16, 2009.

At his jury trial in Thurston County Superior Court in early 2011, Maddaus was also convicted of two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and four counts of witness tampering, as well as second-degree assault and attempted kidnapping related to his interrogation of a 25-year-old woman he suspected was involved in the theft.

In a unanimous opinion issued today, the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II affirmed the convictions, except for one count of witness tampering.

His appeals attorneys argued, and the state conceded, that two counts of tampering related to multiple contacts with Theodore Farmer to persuade him to provide an alibi constituted at the most one unit of tampering. The appeals court agreed.

Today’s decision remands to the trial court to vacate or dismiss one of those counts.

Through his attorneys, Maddaus argued a dozen different reasons and ways the outcome of his trial was wrong. The one point he won on won’t change his sentence of life without the possibility of release, based on the so-called three strikes law.

Among the rejected arguments discussed in the 57-page opinion are that his home was improperly searched, that he was allowed to be  restrained with a leg brace and shock device during trial and challenges to recorded jail phone conversations, jury instructions, the prosecutor’s closing statements and more.

Maddaus was captured in Chehalis about a week and half after Peterson’s death, in a car containing pounds of meth, cocaine and heroin.

At trial, the 41-year-old took the witness stand and denied everything, except that he sold drugs and wanted to find out who had robbed him.
•••

For background, read “Three guesses as to who helped murder suspect Maddaus hide out …” from Sunday Feb. 6, 2011, here

Read the opinion, here