Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated at 5:45 p.m.

CONFUSION OVER BABY LEADS TO COMMOTION OUTSIDE WAL-MART

• A security person pursuing a suspected shoplifter in the Wal-Mart parking lot shouting “they stole, they stole” about a woman carrying an infant led other customers to jump into action believing they were witnessing a child abduction. Police were told they saw a woman throw a baby in the backseat and try to drive away, according to the Chehalis Police Department. “One witness attempted to block her car in to prevent her from leaving and she ended up hitting their car,”  Deputy Chief Randy Kaut said this morning. It happened about 1 p.m. on Wednesday outside the retail business on Louisiana Avenue in Chehalis. Security personnel told police the woman shoplifted a pair of boots which subsequently were thrown out the car window in Chehalis, Kaut said. Through a license plate number, the 22-year-old mother was tracked down at her home in Centralia, and she told the officer she panicked and left the scene, according to Kaut. She was not taken into custody, he said. Police will be consulting with prosecutors evaluating the case for possible charges of theft and vehicular assault, Kaut said. The person who used their vehicle to prevent the woman from leaving isn’t expected to be in any trouble, he said.

RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY

• Someone broke into a home in the Adna area yesterday morning between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., stealing well over $1,800 worth of jewelry, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy called about 7:30 p.m. to the 100 block of Clinton Road learned a jewelry box containing bracelets, rings and necklaces were missing, along with some change, according to the sheriff’s office.

CAR PROWL

• Police were called about 9:20 a.m. yesterday to the 800 block of South Silver Street in Centralia regarding a bank card getting stolen from an unlocked vehicle overnight.

• Someone took a wallet from an unlocked vehicle at the 100 block of South Silver Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police at 10 a.m. yesterday.

• Chehalis police were called to the parking lot at Wal-Mart around 11:15 a.m. yesterday when an individual discovered someone had broken into their unlocked vehicle. Among the items missing were jacket, tobacco, DVDs, CDs and prescription medication, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

DRUGS

• A 30-year-old Chehalis man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine after he was caught allegedly shoplifting at K-Mart in Chehalis on Wednesday afternoon. An officer responding to the Northwest Louisiana Avenue retailer found he had taken three boxes of candy and a “stylus”: and a search following his arrest turned up a glass pipe with suspected drug residue, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Jason R. Dunham was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

RESIDENT FINDS TWO BURGLARS IN HOME

• Thurston County deputies are still looking for two males after an interrupted burglary on Wednesday in which the 60-year-old resident was assaulted. Deputies called about 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday to the home on the 10000 block of Old Highway 99 north of Tenino near Rich Road learned the homeowner arrived to find his front door kicked in and saw two males coming out a back bedroom. One of them used a sheathed hunting knife he’d picked up to hit the 60-year-old before they ran out, according to Sgt. Ray Brady. A vehicle pulled into the driveway apparently to pick them up, but then drove away because they were taking too long to get in, Brady said. A deputy caught up to the suspected getaway driver, in his gold 2006 Mercedes and arrested a 25-year-old man from Mount Vernon who said they had been in the area because they were going to the mall, Brady said. Brady said it’s the second time this week in Thurston County where a resident has come home to find a burglar in their home.

COLLISION

• A 54-year-old Rochester man was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after his truck rolled over a guardrail along a creek on Maytown Road just east of Interstate 5 yesterday. Firefighters called about 11:20 a.m. extricated the man after stabilizing the vehicle, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority. The 2003 Chevrolet pickup was heavily damaged, according to the Washington State Patrol. Troopers suspect driving under the influence, but the man was transported to the hospital because of a possible head injury, according to the state patrol.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarms, misdemeanor theft, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street, window broken out of a business; complaint someone dumped trash in someone else’s dumpster … and more.

A Chevrolet pickup is heavily damaged after striking and then rolling over a guard rail on Maytown Road. / Courtesy photo by Washington State Patrol

UNDERAGE DRIVER WRECKS TRUCK

• The sheriff’s office says a pair of teenagers driving around smashing mailboxes with a baseball bat wrecked their truck last night, and the 15-year-old behind the wheel didn’t have a license. Deputies called about 7:30 p.m. to the 700 block of Pleasant Valley Road learned the boys were southbound when they struck a ditch, then a pole, then another ditch, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The 1994 Chevrolet pickup was totaled, Sgt. Rob Snaza said. It belonged to the 16-year-old passenger, according to Snaza. As many as five mailboxes on Haywire and Pleasant Valley Roads were damaged. The case is being referred to juvenile prosecutors for charging decisions, according to the sheriff’s office.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• A 42-year-old Toledo woman will return to court next Thursday to make her plea in a public assistance fraud case. Kelly M. Hanson is alleged to have given false information to the state and collected $5,419 more in food assistance than she qualified for for the 13 months that ended in April 2012 but was just charged last month and summonsed to appear in court this week, according to court documents. A judge on Tuesday afternoon allowed her to remain free on a $5,000 signature bond pending trial. According to charging documents, Hanson collected medical and food benefits for herself and three children and authorities got suspicious in late 2011 the father was residing with them as well. Investigators learned Ty Hanson – her husband, and the children’s father – opened a construction business listing the same address where his wife reported living, but she didn’t report to DSHS he was a member of the household, or any household income beyond  $1,000 a month in child support, according to the allegations. Kelli Hanson terminated her food and medical benefits in March 2012, but an investigation was already underway, the documents show. The state computed what they believed was an overpayment to her by looking at his gross revenue filed with the state Department of Revenue. Kelli Hanson is charged with first-degree theft of public assistance, a felony with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and also charged with false public assistance verification, a felony with a maximum penalty of 10 years.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, collision on city street, violation of protection order, inquiry on child custody dispute … and more.

Updated at 8:02 p.m.

CANNABIS COOKING OIL KITCHEN SHUT DOWN

• Centralia Police Department’s special anti-crime officers visited a home on the 700 block of Sky Meadows Drive yesterday afternoon where they confiscated an ounce of butane hash oil, an ounce of hallucinogenic (psilocybin)  mushroom and nearly four pounds of marijuana. Officers served a search warrant about 2:30 p.m. and arrested the 25-year-old resident for manufacturing a controlled substance, according to police. Sgt. Carl Buster said as he understands it, the oil results from a newer processing style to make the hash more concentrated and useable for cooking products that will get a person high. It’s dangerous too, Buster said, and that’s what they were doing there. Logan P. Rodgers was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FRAUD

• Centralia police were called yesterday morning to the 500 block of East Magnolia Street where they learned someone had taken out a loan using the victim’s social security number. The case is under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SPECIAL (UN) DELIVERY

• Some stole a box left by UPS on a front porch at the the 800 block of G Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police late yesterday afternoon.

OTHER THEFT

• Centralia police were called about 5:30 p.m. yesterday to take a report of the theft of a purse an individual had left on a gas pump at the 1200 block of Mellen Street.

DRUGS

• Chehalis police were called to the drug and alcohol rehabilitation center on Southeast Washington Avenue on Monday afternoon to a report a client was caught smoking marijuana in the bathroom. They were told basically it isn’t a criminal issue, its a policy issue for them to deal with, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• An officer was called just after 8 p.m. on Monday to ABHS treatment center again when a new client arrived with drugs in his luggage. Police took the individual and the small amount of black tar-like substance, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Matthew A. Perron, 34, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of heroin, according to police.

VANDALISM

• Chehalis police took more calls on Monday about vehicles getting “egged” in the areas of St. Helen’s Avenue  and Northeast Washington Avenue.

GHOST DRIVER

• Chehalis police responded yesterday morning to a report from a woman in her 70s who said someone took her vehicle from the 100 block of Southwest Fifth Street during the night and then returned it. She said she knew that because they put 43 miles on the odometer and it wasn’t the first time it had occurred; it had been going on for some time, according to the Chehalis Police Department. There was no evidence to indicate such a situation had occurred, according to police.

CLOSE CALL

• A 68-year-old Rochester man was arrested for driving under the influence after his pickup truck veered off Harrison Avenue and one tire rolled up a wheelchair ramp entrance to a building, flipping the truck onto its side in the parking lot yesterday afternoon. Police and aid called about 2:30 p.m. found two males, neither with any serious injuries. “He went off the road, crossed a sidewalk, through the bushes, through the lot and onto the ramp,” Sgt. Carl Buster said. It happened on the 1200 block of Harrison, destroying the hand railing but only making slight contact with the building itself, according to Riverside Fire Authority. James L. Christensen was cited and then released, according to police.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarm, possible theft, disorderly persons, collision on city street, harassing text messages, violation of protection order… and more.

Nobody was hurt when a pickup truck drove nearly to the door of a Harrison Avenue business. / Courtesy photo by Travis Brown