Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated at 1:25 p.m.

SCARE AT PET STORE

• A 45-year-old Winlock man was taken into custody yesterday at Lincoln Creek Lumber in Centralia following an incident involving a knife at a nearby business. Police were called about 4 p.m. to the 1400 block of Harrison Avenue where employees at a pet store were holding a door shut because a man who had been hanging around pulled out a pocket-type knife, according to the Centralia Police Department. Several officers responded and the suspect was discovered up the street at the hardware store on the corner of Harrison and Galvin Road, Officer John Panco said. He had reportedly kicked out a door there and was seen exiting the store, Panco said. Brian T. Bircher wasn’t particularly cooperative as far as talking with police, Panco said. He was arrested for first-degree burglary and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police. Panco said it wasn’t clear why Bircher was behaving the way he was at the pet store.

THEFT

• Someone took a blue mountain bike from an unlocked shed at the 1100 block of West First Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday morning.

BOOM

• An individual on Southwest William Avenue in Chehalis called police yesterday after finding suspicious remnants of something beneath their truck. An overnight explosion and the debris were most likely fireworks, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

‘VERY LUCKY’

• A wrong way driver on the freeway yesterday afternoon was suffering from blood sugar so low it didn’t even register on a testing device. The Washington State Patrol reported it was around 2 p.m. when the Ford Explorer traveled south in the northbound lanes in Centralia but managed to pull to the righthand side of the road without running in to anyone else. The Chehalis Fire Department was called over to the state patrol detachment because troopers didn’t know if the 49-year-old man was suffering from a medical or drug-related issue, Fire Capt. Ted McCarty said. The driver was fairly incoherent, handcuffed and on the ground outside as they’d tried to take him inside to interview him, McCarty said. “He was kind of fighting a little, but that’s because with low blood sugar, you don’t know where you’re at or what you’re doing,” McCarty said. Medics administered treatment and took him to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to responders. The state patrol yesterday indicated it didn’t know if any citation would be issued.

SHERIFF TO DRIVERS: WE’RE WATCHING YOU

• Extra pairs of law enforcement eyes will be watching drivers and crosswalks around the Law and Justice Center on Main Street in Chehalis again. The sheriff’s office announced yesterday deputies would be conducting another emphasis over the next week, a second attempt to make the area safer for pedestrians. They did it in mid-May in response to a request from county employees and other citizens who said the crosswalks in the area were unsafe. Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield said the idea wasn’t so much about writing tickets, but about education and encouraging motorists to slow down. Nine warnings were given and five infractions handed out. Deputies witnessed two boys almost get hit in a nearby crosswalk. Mansfield said it was a real eye opener and clearly related to distracted driving and cell phones. “Drivers need to slow down and pay attention, especially in areas in which there is a lot of pedestrian traffic,” Mansfield stated. “If we can prevent serious injury or even death by conducting these emphases we will continue to do so.”

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, resisting arrest, reckless driving, misdemeanor assault, driving with suspended license; responses for alarms, disputes, harassment, collision on city street … and more.

Updated at 10:16 p.m.

ANTIQUE RIFLE WITH BAYONET STOLEN

• A 37-year-old Chehalis man called police yesterday after he was burglarized for the third time in two months. Police were told that sometime between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. someone stole a WWII rifle with bayonet and also took a jar of coins from the residence on the 600 block of Northwest St. Helens Avenue. He said he’d changed the locks but his girlfriend advised him the back door was unlocked, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The rifle has a value of about $250, according to police.

NOT MY DRUGS

• A 40-year-old Centralia woman was arrested yesterday afternoon when she reportedly confessed to a police officer she had someone else’s property in her purse while the officer waited for her to produce her identification. She produced a pipe, which had residue that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, according to police. Officer John Panco said an officer driving through the parking lot at the Pepper Tree Motel on Alder Street around 3:45 p.m. saw Traci J. Zollinger-Miller who seemed to be trying to hide behind a bush. When he approached her, she ran and when contacted, told the officer she thought she had a warrant, Panco said. As she got out her identification, the officer observed a syringe in the purse – which she said was someone else’s –  Panco said, and when asked if there was anything else, produced the pipe. Zollinger-Miller was booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of methamphetamine, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SLIDING OFF THE ROAD

• A 20-year-old Toledo resident said he was unfamiliar with the area when he left the roadway at a curve, sheering off both a fire hydrant and a utility pole and damaging a fence yesterday. Deputies called about 4:55 p.m. to the 3700 block of Cooks Hill Road noted the 2005 Dodge Ram sustained major damage but nobody was injured, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The driver was issued a citation for speeds too fast, according to the sheriff’s office.

CAR HITS SEMI, SECOND SEMI SCRAPES CAR

• A 42-year-old motorist escaped injury when he slammed into the back of a semi truck which had slowed for traffic early yesterday morning on Interstate 5 in Centralia but his car was totaled and he was to be issued citations for following too closely and not having insurance, according to the Washington State Patrol. Troopers called about 6:40 a.m. to the sound bound lanes near milepost 82 noted that the big rig pulled to the shoulder and when a second semi truck tried to pass on the left, it scraped the side of the Toyota Camry. “We tried to push the car clear, but it was too damaged to move,” Trooper Torson Iverson said. One lane was closed for about a half an hour, Iverson said. The car belonging to Robert H. Ginter, 42, of Centralia, was towed, according to the state patrol.

OH MY

• A wrong way driver on the freeway in Centralia who was able to pull over safely without any collisions or injuries occurring this afternoon was taken to the hospital and it was discovered the incident was caused by a medical condition, according to the Washington State Patrol. It happened about 2 p.m. on Interstate 5 near milepost 80, south of town, according to the state patrol.The investigating trooper reports Darren M. Lumbert, 49, of Centralia, traveled southbound in the northbound lanes in a Ford Explorer. Whether any citation will be issued is under consideration. Further details were not readily available.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, misdemeanor assault, protection order violation, driving with suspended license, driving with no license, allowing unlicensed person to drive; responses for alarms, trespassing, fraudulent checks … and more.

LARGE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT VANISHES FROM HOME

• A cello and a 12-gauge shotgun are among the nearly $2,000 worth of valuables missing after a burglary at a north Centralia home. A deputy dispatched yesterday to contact the 36-year-old victim learned the man left his home on the 500 block of Haliday Road about 11 a.m. on Saturday and when he returned at midnight, discovered the thefts, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy was able to locate a forced entry point, but the victim also thought it was possible the front doors hadn’t been properly locked, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Also taken were a Toshiba laptop computer and external hard drive, a digital video camera, costume jewelry and other property, according to Brown. The gun is a model 350 Savage, she said.

OUTDOOR THEFT

• Someone stole a U.S. flag from the front porch of a home on the 500 block of West Pine Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday evening. It is described as approximately 4 feet by 5 feet in size, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A 30-foot extension ladder was reported missing from a yard on the 200 block of First Street in Morton on Friday morning.

USED GAME WAS STOLEN

• A 23-year-old Centralia man who showed identification when he sold an X-box to a Chehalis game store on Friday was arrested yesterday for trafficking stolen property. Police followed up after learning the item had been stolen in Thurston County. Booked into the Lewis County Jail was Nicholas R. Dafoe, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

DRUGS

• A pair of underage Centralia men were arrested about 12:20 a.m. today for possession of marijuana at the 2000 block of Borst Avenue in Centralia. Trenton J. Hall, 20, and Donald J. Johnson, 19, were cited also for possession of drug paraphernalia and then released, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took a report yesterday of a broken window on a car that occurred overnight at the 300 block of Centralia College Boulevard.

JUST CALM DOWN

• Morton police responded to a residence in the 700 block of Main Avenue about 8:35 p.m. on Thursday regarding a verbal dispute. After speaking with the parties involved, it was determined that one of them would spend the night at a different location in order to calm down, police report.

CRIME STOPPERS

• Lewis County Crime Stoppers is looking for tips regarding a burglary from April 30 at the 2300 block of state Route 505 near Toledo in which witnesses saw a dark colored Nissan or Ford Ranger truck leaving the area with flatbed trailer carrying a John Deere riding lawnmower. The trailer was recovered in Cowlitz County, but the mower is still missing, according to Crime Stoppers. The loss is more than $2,500.  Crime Stoppers pays up to $1,000 for information leading to the clearance of crimes. Anonymous calls can be made to 1-800-748-6422 or information may be shared online at www.lewiscountycrimestoppers.org

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault, driving with suspended license; responses for alarms, disputes, suspicious circumstances,   collision in parking lot; complaint a paycheck couldn’t be cashed because of non-sufficient funds… and more.

MOTORCYCLIST HURT IN CHEHALIS

• A 33-year-old motorcyclist was airlifted after a collision yesterday on the 1100 block of North National Avenue in Chehalis when he hit the rear of a flatbed tow truck which was backing onto the street. Firefighters called about 2:30 p.m. found the man with broken leg bones, possibly a broken shoulder and not very responsive, Chehalis Fire Department Capt. Casey Beck said. Chehalis police detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said the rider was traveling northbound and the tow truck had been attempting to turn around and its back end was in the street. The Chehalis area man was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital and then flown to Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, according to responders. He’s currently listed in stable, serious condition, according to a hospital spokesperson. Wilson said the wreck remains under investigation.

ON THE LOOKOUT FOR JIM BOB

• Deputies yesterday got a break in a hit and run case from Friday night in Onalaska in which a driver who slowed then stopped for loose pigs in the roadway was struck in the rear end, totaling her Toyota Camry. The 67-year-old woman said it was about 8:30 p.m. at the 300 block of Leonard Road and the white van simply drove around her and continued south, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A similarly described van was later found parked behind an outbuilding off Gore Road and its owner called the sheriff’s office yesterday to say they had brought home a hitchhiker named Jim Bob, who had borrowed the vehicle go buy cigarettes and said he’d run into a ditch, according to the sheriff’s office. The case remains under investigation, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

WINLOCK BURGLARY

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning that a 61-year-old Winlock-area man believes he was either laying down or perhaps was gone to the store when someone came into his residence and stole an HP laptop computer and a digital camera. It happened on then 900 block of Byham Road sometime between 9 a.m. last Tuesday and 2 p.m. on Thursday, according to the sheriff’s office. The loss is estimated at $680.

MISSING XBOX TURNS UP AT GAME STORE

• Chehalis police were called on Friday afternoon to a game shop on the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue in Chehalis when an individual called saying they found their stolen X-box there. The item was taken back to the police department and officers will be working with law enforcement in Thurston County regarding follow up, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Chehalis police detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said it appeared someone sold it to the business which would then resell it.

MISSING MEDS

• Chehalis police took a report yesterday from a customer who said she accidentally left her pain meds at a restaurant on Southwest Interstate Avenue and when she returned to retrieve them, they were gone. The case is under investigation, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

SUSPICIOUS FIRE

• Police are investigating a brush fire that broke out behind the former Chehalis Inn on Friday, prompting 911 calls from motorists on Interstate 5 who reported flames about 10 feet tall along a fence. Firefighters called about 1:10 p.m. to the 100 block of Southwest Interstate Avenue said a maintenance person got out a garden hose and prevented any damage to the wood fence. The burned area was about 10 feet in diameter, Chehalis Fire Department Capt. Kevin Curfman said. The motel is now a Howard Johnson’s.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license,  trespassing; responses for alarms, disputes, misdemeanor theft, misdemeanor assault, collision on city street, german shepherd biting a passing bicyclist, vehicles driving off county roads into yards, unattended backpack in Wal-Mart’s parking lot, an inmate upset about being in jail who smashed a sprinkler head and flooded the floor; complaints of the smell of marijuana in an apartment building, a man at a bar yelling, screaming and dancing around, a large man observed with his jeans around his ankles masturbating on the Lewis County Community Trail off Cabe Road west of Chehalis … and more.