Archive for June, 2014

Notes from behind the news: What did we do before there was Lewis County Sirens?

Sunday, June 22nd, 2014

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Well, many of you know I really, really like gathering information and writing news stories about crime, cops, courts, fire, and what-have-you in greater Lewis County.

It’s something I’ve done here for more than a dozen years.

When I decided to launch an independent online-only news site, I was able to re-double my dedication to providing news that is accurate, timely, fair, balanced, and most of all, newsworthy.

I work hard to avoid disappointing my readers.

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Sharyn L. Decker

Often that means I’m punching away at the keyboard at 9 o’clock at night. Sometimes it means I set my alarm for 5 a.m.

It always means I ask myself, what do readers want to know about this? And I reach out to get answers; and confirm the “facts” that I’m not certain about.

Well, it’s been four years now.

That’s right.

Lewis County Sirens celebrates its four-year-anniversary this month.

I still enjoy very much getting up each morning and digging up what no other news outlet has found.

Sometimes it’s just a snippet, or a snapshot of the previous 24 hours as in Sharyn’s Sirens Roundup where you can read about select calls and encounters involving local police and fire departments.

Sometimes it’s in-depth coverage over time of a significant event: think John Booth triple murder on Wings Way, or Ronda Reynolds suicide or homicide with court case and coroner’s inquest, or Ronald Brady and the intruders outside his Onalaska house.

And then other times, it’s every kind of thing in between.

I don’t know who said it first, but it stuck in my mind; that news reporters are the ones who bring us the first draft of history. What a tremendous responsibility that is.

It’s been rewarding for me, and I’m pretty sure its been a refreshing bit of reading for many who live in, work in or care about this area.

I actually had 1,000 readers the same month I launched, June 2010. By the end of that year, Lewis County Sirens.com was approaching the circulation of the local daily newspaper here.

Twelve months later, my number of readers had more than tripled.

Today, Lewis County Sirens.com has well over 50,000 readers. That’s huge in a county with a population of somewhere around 75,000 people.

That’s more than five times the number of people who subscribe to the newspaper here.

Really, it’s not surprising it has become wildly popular, because crime (and high school sports) are the most-read parts of any newspaper. Plus, and mainly, I think, my reputation as a trusted news source is solid.

Readers spend an average of about five minutes navigating around my news site during each visit. And best of all, what has really grown is how readers contribute through their comments.

It along with its companion Facebook page – which is a horse of a different color really, but is also a wealth of reader contributed information and commentary – have grown into something I wouldn’t quite have imagined four years ago.

Lewis County Sirens has found a bit of time to reach further out into the community, through an opportunity to support Centralia’s live theater, in a small way. And now, as co-media sponsor of the upcoming DB Cooper Music Festival. Doing my part to help give us all a break from the trauma, drama and disaster that comes with focusing on crime daily, and when it happens.

Will Lewis County Sirens be around four years from now?

It’s hard to say.

As many of you know, being an entrepreneur has its challenges. Me, I’m that and a dedicated news reporter. Those are two tall pairs of boots to fill at the same time.

And I’m just one human. I really do only have two feet.

So, as Lewis County Sirens celebrates four years, I’m going to suggest that any of you who find it a truly valuable resource in our community consider what, if anything, you might do to ensure its continued publication.

Feel free to simply keep reading and enjoying it for no charge. I grew up with the idea of free news, and I like that. In fact, absolutely do continue reading. The larger the number of readers, of visits, of page views, the more valuable the advertising space is to those who want to promote what they do.

And that’s what supports Lewis County Sirens when it comes right down to it, the advertising.

While I think I’m a pretty terrific news reporter, the one who fills the boots in the ad sales department hasn’t done a whole lot to make sure that area businesses, organizations and other enterprises know what an amazing opportunity exists with an ad on the news site.

There simply is nowhere else locally to reach so many people, for so little money. We get hundreds of thousands of page views each month.

So readers, I’m asking you, if you’re a fan, if you are someone who really wants to help, then think about your own business, or someone close to you, who could benefit from placing an ad on the most-read local news site. And then tell them about it.

I’m feeling so good on this fourth “birthday” that I’ve come up with a special pricing deal – a super good one, actually – for anyone who launches an ad before June 30. Ask me about it.

Also, there’s that little yellow “donate” button on the right hand side of the news site. This may sound like a public television pitch, but if you like what you are reading, and feel it’s worth paying for, and can afford to, consider making an ongoing small donation, or consider a one-time contribution.

Whatever suits you. Whatever feels right.

If money is too tight, but you still feel like you really want to contribute to the ongoing success of this resource, one way to do that, if you happen to be on Facebook, is whenever you read a particularly interesting news item, hit the share button and blast a link to all your friends.

That’s pretty much it for Lewis County Sirens’ birthday wish list.

Well, okay, there is one other thing, for anyone who may be feeling a bit of appreciation and can’t think of any other way to show it. Since you asked …

You could send me a Starbuck’s gift card, and consider the caffeine an investment in helping me get through one of the coming news cycles. 😉

Notes from behind the news: Sunday Sirens music break

Sunday, June 22nd, 2014
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Vicci Martinez, a finalist on The Voice, is among the entertainers who will take to three different stages when the DB Cooper Music Festival touches down at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds on Aug. 2.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Ready for a Sunday sirens music break?

Last week, news of another drowning, this time a 17-year-old boy, and then a tragic and deadly explosion at a fireworks business … Let’s turn it off for a few.

I’m going to listen to Vicci Martinez, one of the performing artists who will take the main stage at the upcoming all-day party at the fairgrounds that is the DB Cooper Music Festival.

Lewis County Sirens.com is co-media sponsor of the event, in part because I think we all need a time out where we simply have fun.

I’m working my way up to be able to take a day-long break, by practicing five minutes at a time, periodically.

Described as a pop singer-songwriter grounded in acoustic rock, Martinez graduated from Stadium High School in Tacoma.

She was a finalist on NBC’s The Voice in its first season, and before that appeared on CBS’s Star Search and won the regional tryouts for the first season of American Idol.

The phantom writer for DB Cooper’s festival promotional materials says she’s the daughter of a Mexican plumber dad and an ESL teacher mom, who first took the stage at the age of 16.

She’s performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, had a hit that reached #12 on VH1, with more than 250,000 singles sold. Her latest single is called Otra Cancion.

She’s good, let’s just listen to her.

This is her song, “Come Along” featuring Cee-Lo Green, here
•••

Hey, it looks like early bird ticket prices were extended to June 30.
DB Cooper Music Festival
Two dozen or so acts – enough for three different stages – featuring blues, folk, funk, soul, rock, jazz, bluegrass, southern rock, beachy and more.
When: Saturday, Aug 2, 2014 doors open at around 11 a.m.
Where: Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, 2555 North National Avenue, Chehalis, Wash.
Ticket Price: $25 – $40
Early Bird Tickets $25: – Price good until June 30, 2014
Show Type: Festival
Restrictions: 21 & over, ID required
Parking: $5 per vehicle
For all the details: http://dbcoopermusicfestival.com/index.shtm
Tickets sales online, here

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Coming to our town; early bird tickets still available.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, June 20th, 2014

NO PARTY FOR CENTRALIA MAN

• A 27-year-old Centralia resident was arrested last night after he allegedly attempted to shoplift food, a half gallon of pineapple rum, a fifth of cotton candy vodka and a pint of regular vodka from Safeway. Police responding about 9:45 p.m. to the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue booked Lucas D.C. Bryan into the Lewis County Jail for third-degree theft, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MOST OF MISSING CAR FOUND

• A car stolen in April from Centralia turned up last night on a logging road near Curtis; up on blocks and missing three of its wheels, its stereo and several other parts, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The red 1999 Chrysler 300 was recovered around 6 p.m. on the 400 Line off Lost Valley Road, according to the sheriff’s office. It’s value was $500, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

DOG-GONE

• Centralia police were called to Providence Centralia Hospital about 5:30 p.m. yesterday by a man whose 7-month-old Pit bull puppy vanished from his car. The windows had been left down, according to the Centralia Police Department.

WILDFIRE ASSISTANCE

• Three firefighters from Lewis County Fire District 5 returned home yesterday from assisting on the wildfire in Eastern Washington, where they helped with structural containment. Firefighter Maria Kennedy said they headed to Selah on Tuesday night and worked the next day. The Yakima-Herald Republic reports the fire that blackened nearly 9,000 acres outside Selah – believed to have been caused by target shooting in dry grass – was completely contained last night. A group from the Toledo fire department went as well, according to Kennedy.

PRE-FOURTH OF JULY MESSAGE FROM THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL

• The state fire marshal is reminding the public that in Washington, fireworks must be purchased from a licensed retail fireworks stand during the legal sales period. The purchase of fireworks over the internet is illegal, State Fire Marshal Charles M. Duffy says.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license, misdemeanor theft, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarm, disputes, graffiti, possible fraud, collision on city street, driver all over the road, a male taking a nap on someone else’s front lawn … and more.

Police: Organized crime defendant created “hit list” of key witnesses

Thursday, June 19th, 2014
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Forrest E. Amos, facing a trial on a third strike offense, appears in court as he is charged with witness intimidation from inside the Lewis County Jail.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – An alleged local drug trafficker who police believe continued his activities from inside prison walls last year now stands accused of a plan to hurt or intimidate witnesses in his upcoming trial, including having someone cut the brakes or plant a bomb in the car of Ryan “No Legs” Shewell.

Shewell, a former Chehalis resident, feared Forrest E. Amos, and moved out of town after agreeing to testify, according to local prosecutors. He lost his lower legs and fingers to a disease he contracted as a child.

Amos, 31, was charged late last year in Lewis County Superior Court with leading organized crime, in connection with sales of Oxycodone before he was sent to prison and while he was there, allegedly, using fabricated telephone numbers and other means to direct and set up deals on the outside. A conviction would be a third strike for the former Chehalis area man.

Lewis County prosecutors yesterday charged Amos with four counts of intimidating a witness.

They claim he managed to smuggle a “hit list” out of the Lewis County Jail where he has been held since December.

His sister Sylvia Pittman, 27, was arrested Tuesday and charged yesterday with the same offenses, as police allege she delivered the list to another so-called supporter-conspirator in the Azteca parking lot in Centralia earlier this year. She told police she was trying to help Amos beat his charges, according to court documents.

The page had four names and addresses on it, according to prosecutors.

Amos is being held on $1 million bail, requested by prosecutors previously because, they said, even behind bars, he wasn’t really controllable.

Yesterday, Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Eric Eisenberg asked a judge to place him in solitary confinement pending his trial.

Judge Nelson Hunt said he couldn’t do that but did order that Amos be prohibited from using a telephone or the jail’s internet-based video visitation. He also ordered that all of Amos’s mail would be searched, except any that specifically has his lawyer’s name and address on it.

According to charging documents, Amos has been using some of the same methods in jail he was using in prison to gather supporters who would in turn help him tamper with witnesses in an attempt to get out of his pending charges.

Law enforcement has been monitoring him, and learned Amos was also using “legal mail” to continue his criminal intentions without detection, according to prosecutors.

Centralia’s Officer Adam Haggerty contacted Lt. James Pea at the jail who assured him it was not possible to use legal mail in that fashion, charging documents state.

“However, it was later discovered that it was in fact happening,” prosecutors write.

The court documents don’t go into any detail about how legal mail is supposed to work at the Lewis County Jail or how its process was corrupted.

Charging documents allege Amos has used supporters in attempts to pressure his former girlfriend, a key witness, Jennifer Lantau not to testify.

The documents describe how a confidential source of Officer Haggerty’s revealed to Haggerty in mid-April information about Amos’s plans.

Haggerty was told, according to charging documents, Amos wanted supporters to drive to Port Orchard to physically harm Shewell, as well as hurt another witness Kari Arndt-McBride.

He allegedly wanted another key witness Katherine Levy Miles verbally intimidated.

Finally on the list, was Heather Caulkins. Amos wanted someone to plant heroin and a gun in her vehicle and then call Crime Stoppers, charging documents allege.

Also charged in the intimidation are “John Does”, as the state believes there are several co-conspirators involved who are as-yet unidentified.

Amos’s alleged drug trafficking organization from inside prison walls came to light a year ago when Centralia police revealed an investigation that spanned four counties and caught up to some 20 individuals including a nurse practitioner; an investigation during which items seized included  approximately 1,650 illegal prescription pills, 156 marijuana plants, five vehicles, $19,000 cash and a house in south Chehalis.
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For background, read:

• “Centralia police track illegal Oxycodone trade to prison inmate” from Tuesday June 18, 2013, here

• “Alleged Lewis County Oxycodone dealer charged with organized crime” from Wednesday December 4, 2013, here

Feds, state investigating fatal explosion at Maytown fireworks facility

Thursday, June 19th, 2014

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The employee who died after an explosion yesterday at a Maytown fireworks company is identified as 75-year-old Bill Hill, a Thurston County resident.

In a statement issued yesterday, Entertainment Fireworks Inc.’s vice president of operations Ken Julian extended the business’s heartfelt sympathy to family and friends.

He called it a tragic accident affecting a small company that’s like a family.

“When something like this happens, it is devastating,” Julian stated. “We have been in business more than 16 years and nothing like this has ever happened as safety is our number one priority and we pride ourselves on our highly qualified staff.”

Two others, including an owner, were injured. A 25-year-old male employee was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and a 52-year-old man with a burned hand went to an Olympia hospital.

Early information from the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office was that Hill died enroute to Harborview, but Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock said today Hill died at the scene – from inhalation of combustible materials –  as he was being prepared for transport.

It happened just before 10 a.m. at the front of an outbuilding on the 13000 block of Reeder Road. A witness said he heard and saw what he estimated were about 15 commercial fireworks explode at about roof level of the buildings.

Julien indicated shells were being prepared for shipping. A fire department spokesperson said she understood workers were inserting what she called electronic matches.

The company produces fireworks shows, and according to its website has 21 explosives storage buildings at the site.

A spokesperson for the state Department of Labor and Industries said the business has not had any safety complaints, incidents or inspections for a number of years and its storage facilities are properly licensed by L&I.

It is the only work-related fatality involving fireworks in the state in decades, L&I spokesperson Elaine Fischer said.

They have begun investigating the incident, but may not be able to finish until after a report is completed by the the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. ATF is the lead investigating agency, Fischer said.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, June 19th, 2014

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AT CENTRALIA MOTEL

• A 23-year-old Chehalis man apparently angry because he thought the mother of his child was texting another man was arrested after police were called to Motel 6 in Centralia last night, where he had allegedly blocked her from leaving and then kicked in a door when she took her phone in the bathroom. Officers responding about 11:30 p.m. to the 1300 block of Belmont Avenue learned she was able to get out to her car where he broke the glass before he took off running, according to the Centralia Police Department. She thought he was going to kill her and the 5-year-old child was present when it occurred, police said. Subsequently located and booked into the Lewis County Jail was Nicholas L. Gonzalez, for felony harassment, unlawful imprisonment and second-degree malicious mischief, police said.

POLICE: TRIO BARGES INTO WOMAN’S HOME

• A 45-year-old Chehalis woman was hospitalized after a fracas last night at an apartment on the 200 block of Northwest Chehalis Avenue. Officers called about 10:40 p.m. were told two heavy set females and a male arrived and beat up the woman, according to the Chehalis Police Department. They apparently were trying to retrieve some property that belonged to someone else, according to police. “I don’t know what property they were after but they just barged in and committed assault, which is burglary,” detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said. Arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail were Angela M. Johnson, 27, and Don K. Gonzales, 25, both from Chehalis and Saleana A. Valencia, 19, from Olympia, according to Wilson. Prosecutors declined to charge them and they were scheduled to be released today. Wilson said this morning he was still waiting to hear back from the hospital about the woman’s injuries.

UNPLANNED WARRANT SWEEP

• Centralia police ended up arresting three wanted men after a passenger of a vehicle they were watching at the 1300 block of Belmont Avenue in Centralia jumped out and ran upstairs into a motel room. It happened about 1 p.m. yesterday at Motel 6 and the individual they were originally looking for wasn’t found until later in Bucoda, according to the Centralia Police Department. Dana M. Johnson, 33, a homeless person, was arrested and booked for outstanding warrants and for an earlier investigation of residential burglary, according to police. Sgt. Kurt Reichert said there were three people left in the car, which an officer held at gunpoint and when officers knocked on the motel room, they arrested others there. It appears there were about a half dozen altogether, but Reichert wasn’t certain if the passenger was among those arrested. Booked into the Lewis County Jail were Stephen D. Pierce, 35 of Oakville, for an earlier investigation of burglary; Steven N. Romero, 20 of Centralia, for an earlier investigation of vehicle theft; and Forrest S. McMillian, 27 of Oakville, for several warrants, according to police.

SUSPECT SPEAKING IN TONGUES

• Chehalis police called about a skinny male who seemed to be speaking in tongues at about 12:45 p.m. yesterday arrested a 25-year-old homeless man who allegedly stole a backpack and also was seen on someone’s porch on Southwest Cascade Avenue attempting to take a bicycle which was chained up. Joshua E. Blankenship was arrested for third-degree theft and then released, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

STOLEN LICENSE PLATE

• Centralia police took a report about 5 p.m. yesterday regarding a license plate plate stolen off a vehicle at the 2000 block of Borst Avenue. The Washington state plate reads: B01598M, according to the Centralia Police Department.

ELDERLY PE ELL WOMAN VICTIMIZED BY BURGLAR

• Someone walked through an unlocked front door at a home in Pe Ell and stole a jewelry box from a bathroom in the master bedroom belonging to an 88-year-old woman. A deputy called to the 500 block of North Main Street learned the box contained about $3,000 worth of rings and necklaces, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. It happened between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

DRUGS

• A 38-year-old Chehalis resident wanted on a warrant was arrested after he was seen about 7:30 p.m. near Sixth Street and William Avenue; and a pipe was found with powder in it that field tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Kelly M. Davies was booked into the Lewis County Jail for the warrant and for possession of meth, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

PHONE SCAMMERS

• Centralia police took a report yesterday from the 200 block of Downing Road from an individual who said they got a phone call from someone saying their power bill was past due and if they didn’t pay $1,200, the electricity would be shut off. It was an attempted scam, according to the Centralia Police Department. The advice from police: If anyone calls you asking for money, you ought to first verify the information independently. “Don’t call them at the phone number they give you, look it up,” Sg. Kurt Reichert said.

• Chehalis police took a report yesterday afternoon from an individual on West Main Street about getting a phone call from someone posing as a representative of the Internal Revenue Service, who wanted money. Sgt. Gary Wilson said there’s not much local police can do in these types of situations, in part because sometimes the scammers are calling from a foreign country. “We just warn people, if the IRS calls you, it’s not the IRS,” he said. They contact people by mail, not over the telephone, he said.

CHEHALIS BUSINESS SETTLES VIOLATION OF HAZARDOUS MATERIAL LAW

• The owners of Del’s Feed and Farm Supply Store in Chehalis agreed to pay a fine of $134,400 for failing to report it was storing more than 10,000 pounds of propane at each of five locations, including Chehalis, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. “Emergency responders rely on this information for their safety and to help protect nearby residents during an emergency, such as a fire or an earthquake,”  a spokesperson for the EPA said in a news release yesterday. Tractor Supply Company operates 18 Del’s Feed and Farm Supply Store in Washington and once made aware of the violations, quickly took steps to comply, according to EPA spokesperson Hanady Kader. Propane, sometimes referred to as liquefied petroleum gas, LP-gas, or LPG, is highly flammable. Under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, facilities that store threshold quantities of certain hazardous chemicals are required to submit an inventory of each of those chemicals to the State Emergency Response Commission, the Local Emergency Planning Committee and the local fire department.

WRECK

• Three people were hospitalized after a head-on crash last night in Winlock caused by an intoxicated underage driver that totaled two Honda Civics. A deputy responding about 9:20 p.m. to the 300 block of South Military Road concluded that the car carrying Enrique J. Hernandez, 20, and a 20-year-old passenger was traveling too fast and slid into the oncoming lane, running into a car driven by a 54-year-old man, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. All three are Winlock residents and were transported to Providence Centralia Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to the sheriff’s office. Hernandez was subsequently booked into the Lewis County Jail for driving under the influence, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. He was also cited for not carrying liability insurance, she said.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarm, dispute, shoplifting, broken vehicle window, collision on city street, someone taking a motor vehicle without permission, harassing phone calls, harassing texts, someone said they thought they witnessed a drug deal in a parking lot, a shoeless drunk man in a bar yelling and being rude, a drunken individual knocking on doors at an apartment building trying to get someone to put him up for the night … and more.

News brief: Appeals judges reject each of Pe Ell man’s claims on rape conviction

Wednesday, June 18th, 2014

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The former Pe Ell girls’ softball coach convicted two years ago of rape of a teenage team member lost his court appeal.

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Todd D. Phelps

Todd Phelps, 52, was sent to prison for six years after a trial that extended into eight days, where prosecutors described how he gradually seduced a 16-year-old troubled with low self esteem and ultimately had sex with her that was against her wishes.

The former log truck driver was convicted of third-degree rape and second-degree sexual misconduct in May 2012 in Lewis County Superior Court.

A three-member panel of the Washington State Court of Appeals unanimously rejected each of Phelps arguments. The opinion was issued yesterday.

The issues he raised were many. The appeal was countered by Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh.

Through his Olympia lawyers Jodi Backlund and Manek Mistry, Phelps claimed:

(1) the trial court violated his and the public’s right to an open and public trial during jury selection; (2) the trial court violated his right to be present during jury selection; (3) the information charging Phelps with second degree sexual misconduct with a minor was deficient; (4) the trial court failed to give a unanimity instruction for the second degree sexual misconduct with a minor charge; 5) the prosecutor committed misconduct during closing arguments, and (6) Phelps’s trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to prosecutorial misconduct during closing arguments.

The decision was authored by Judge Linda Cj Lee, with Judge Thomas R. Bjorgen and Judge Bradley A. Maxa concurring.
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For background, read “Pe Ell rape trial: Guilty as charged” from Friday April 27, 2012, here