Archive for February, 2015

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News brief: Oakville house burns, no one hurt

Thursday, February 19th, 2015
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Smoke billows from single-story house near Oakville. / Courtesy photo by Grays Harbor Fire District 5

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Four fire departments battled a blaze that broke out yesterday outside of Oakville, destroying a single story home and its contents.

“No injuries, just an extremely broken up family,” Grays Harbor County Fire District 1 spokesperson Shawn Burdett said.

The fire at Southbank Road and Craftdale Road about four miles northwest of town was reported by a neighbor about 12:48 p.m., Burdett said.

It spread throughout the house rather quickly, he said.

The cause is not yet known, he said.

The department was assisted by Grays Harbor Fire District’s 5, 2, 12, West Thurston Regional Fire Authority and Riverside Fire Authority hauling water with a half dozen tenders.

“I just want to say we all are tremendously thankful to the other agencies,” Burdett said. “Without their help, this would have been much worse.”

Burdett said he hoped to have more information later to release.

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Police chief hopefuls undergo two days of questioning in Centralia

Wednesday, February 18th, 2015
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Centralia City Manager Rob Hill, wearing cap, huddles with the five finalists for police chief after a public gathering at the train depot.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CENTRALIA – In suits, ties and shiny shoes, they chatted, shook hands and answered questions from a small number of people who came out to meet them last night; the five men hoping to become Centralia’s next chief of police.

The short meet and greet in a conference room at the Centralia train depot followed a day of interviews from one panel of department heads and another comprised of select members of the community.

Newly elected Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza said he was kind of excited to see who would end up getting the job.

“We’re fortunate to have this caliber of candidates,” Snaza said. “We’re all about us working together.”

Snaza was one of five who had spoken to the finalists earlier in the day. Joining him in the interviews were Jenny Collins, executive director of the Visiting Nurses Foundation; Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer; Lacey Police Department Chief Dusty Pierpont; and Centralia College Athletic Director Bob Peters.

Centralia City Manager Rob Hill likewise seemed enthusiastic about the quality of the individuals he has to choose from.

“I’m pretty confident our next chief will come out of this group,” Hill said.

Centralia Police Department Chief Bob Berg is retiring in May, after 11 years in the job. With assistance from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, the city began a nationwide search in December, and screened applications from 20 individuals.

The pay for the head of the department with 31 commissioned officers in Lewis County’s most populated city was advertised as between about $100,000 and $122,000.

Two of the group come from the banks of Lake Michigan.

James Held has been chief of the Lake Forest (Illinois) Police Department for almost three years, an organization with 40 sworn officers.

Thirty miles to the south, Lt. Maury Richards has been with the Chicago Police Department for 23 years.

Carl Nielsen is a captain, and second in command at the Turlock Police Department in California’s central valley.

Closer to home, Rod Baker comes from the Pierce Transit Police Department, which he created. Baker is on a yearlong sabbatical to get his degree in criminal justice administration

And from inside the Centralia Police Department, Cmdr. James Rich is hoping to become its next chief.

Rich, with 33 years of law enforcement experience, said the agency has made huge strides in the past 10 to 15 years. He wants to help see it continue down that path, he said.

Hill planned to conduct his interviews today, and expects to do his background checking in person, on one or more of his final choices, he said.

He has no set date for when he will make his decision, he said.

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Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, February 18th, 2015

Updated at 7:33 p.m.

CANINE SLAIN, RELATIVE ARRESTED

• Deputies arrested an 18-year-old Randle resident yesterday for allegedly shooting his grandfather’s dog. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office says it happened about 11:25 a.m. in a driveway on the 100 block of Kelly Lane in Randle, and was possibly in retaliation for an earlier incident. The 2-year-old Labrador-Pit Bull mix was struck twice and died at the scene, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. Brown said when deputies subsequently contacted the suspect on Kiona Road, he said he was someone else, so he was arrested for obstruction and animal cruelty. Kolby G. Mullins was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office.

BURGLARY CENTRALIA

• Centralia police took a report of a burglary to a business on the 500 block of North Tower Avenue about 11:30 a.m. yesterday.

MISSING CANOE FOUND, ONE ARRESTED

• A 35-year-old homeless man from East Lewis County was arrested yesterday for five counts of trafficking in stolen property, in connection with a November burglary at the 100 block of Chapman Road in Morton. Some of the property recovered includes a canoe, fishing poles and a chainsaw, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Brian J. Elmore was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office. He was released with no charges filed, pending further investigation.

VEHICLE PROWL

•  Police took a report yesterday morning of a vehicle prowl at the 900 block of Northwest State Avenue in Chehalis in which someone shattered a window with chunks of concrete, and tried to pry out the radio. Nothing appeared to be missing, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The damage is estimated at $1,000, according to police.

FRUSTRATED INMATE IN TROUBLE

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said an inmate yesterday who got upset because a button got stuck on a telephone kiosk, took a broom handle to it causing approximately $1,100 in damage. In the inmate’s own words also, “because he hadn’t had caffeine in months,” Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. The case against Sean M. Ferrel, of Bremerton, is being referred to prosecutors for a charge of second-degree malicious mischief, according to the sheriff’s office.

DRUGS

• A 63-year-old Olympia resident was arrested for possession of methamphetamine overnight after contact with an officer about 2 a.m. at the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia. Fred L. Campbell was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• Bail was set at $15,000 for a 19-year-old Pe Ell resident accused of taking three guns plus ammunition from a Pe Ell home, giving one of them to a 16-year-old to go shooting with and then putting the others back in a shed on the property. Brady A. Clair, also known as Brady A. Jenkins, was arrested on Friday and went before a judge yesterday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court. According to charging documents, a break-in was reported early last week by a caretaker of a residence on the 700 block of Main Street in Pe Ell. The allegations go on to state the town marshal spoke to the 16-year-old boy and his mother on Friday, who said Clair told him he stole the .22 revolver and two other handguns from a military veteran. The boy gave the marshal the gun, who also recovered the other two weapons, according to the documents. Clair, who was previously convicted of a felony possession of an incendiary device, was charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, with possessing a stolen firearm and with delivery of a firearm to an ineligible person. Defense attorney Joely O’Rourke told the judge her client is engaging in an educational program at Pe Ell High School and not employed and therefore qualified for a court-appointed lawyer. Don Blair was appointed to represent him. Charging documents make note that Brady’s mother on Saturday told the marshal she found information in her son’s Facebook messaging where he reportedly told an individual he has 29 or 30 handguns and rifles buried in the woods outside Pe Ell. His arraignment is tomorrow.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, dispute, hit and run, shoplifting, protection order violation, suspicious circumstances, possible child abuse, complaint of someone leaving cat poop on a doorstep … and more.

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Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, February 17th, 2015

PANTS DOWN IN WAL-MART

• A 64-year-old man from Oregon was arrested after he was observed in the men’s department in Wal-Mart with his pants down, touching himself. An officer responding about 8:30 a.m. on Friday to the retailer on Northwest Louisiana Avenue arrested James W. Webb, from Eagle Creek, Oregon, for indecent exposure, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

PANTS DOWN ALONG CITY STREET

• A 41-year-old Centralia woman was arrested for indecent exposure after she was seen with her pants down in public off 13th Street near Market Boulevard in Chehalis on Friday afternoon. Kristine M. Hiatt was intoxicated and was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

BREAK-IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police responded about 5:45 p.m. yesterday to a report of a burglary at a home on the 400 block of South Silver Street where games and gaming equipment were stolen. The victim was able to possibly identify a suspect and this case is still under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

BREAK-IN CHEHALIS

• A Chehalis area resident discovered on Saturday that someone cut the padlock on her outbuilding and stole various personal property including a sander, weed eater, gas can, spray guns. She told a deputy it must have happened sometime during the previous month at the 1000 block of Coal Creek Road, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• Chehalis police were called about 2 p.m. on Friday after a resident returned home to see her front door ajar and a male standing inside the front door of her apartment. “He tried to say he was looking for a cat or a dog, she told him to get out and he left,” Chehalis Police Department detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said. “Nothing was missing.” It happened at the 1900 block of South Market Boulevard, according to police.

MISSING UNDERCLOTHES

• Chehalis police took a theft report on Saturday evening from a guest at a motel on the 100 block of Southwest Interstate Avenue. They said they returned to their room, found it had been cleaned and discovered items missing from inside a backpack, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Gone was a Visa card, perfume and new underwear, according to police. The case remains under investigation.

HARASSMENT WINLOCK

• A 54-year-old Winlock man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly making threats to a relative. It happened on Sunday and was associated with the 100 block of Harkins Road in Winlock, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Stacy Brown. Booked into the Lewis County Jail for harassment and unlawful possession of a firearm was Roger D. Debaere, according to the sheriff’s office.

DRUGS

• A 30-year-old Centralia resident was arrested for possession of methamphetamine yesterday morning following contact with an officer at the 200 block of North Railroad Avenue in Centralia. It was about 8:10 a.m. when Ryan E Morehouse was arrested for an outstanding warrant and search turned up a smoking device that field-tested positive for meth, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

SLASHED TIRES

• Chehalis police were called about 10:40 p.m. on Saturday to the 300 block of Northwest State Avenue where a female discovered all four tires ion her vehicle were flat. They were punctured, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, misdemeanor  assault, driving with suspended license, driving under the influence, anti-harassment order violation; responses for alarm, dispute, hit and run, runaway juvenile, suspicious circumstances, collisions on city streets and county roads … and more.

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Coffin discovered in Lewis County creek

Tuesday, February 17th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A casket was found wedged in a Lewis County creek over the weekend and authorities don’t yet know whether it contains a body.

Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said he was notified of the discovery on Sunday night and waded out to take a look at it yesterday.

“We can’t tell if it’s occupied or not,” McLeod said.

The steel gray casket is partially submerged, the foot end driven into the creek bottom, almost as if deposited there by raging floodwaters, he said.

He’s meeting, probably tomorrow, with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue coordinator to make a plan to pull it out, he said.

He has no idea how long it’s been there.

McLeod said it is a creek off the Newaukum River, on private property, but wouldn’t disclose the location.

“I don’t want people going there,” he said.

It could be that it washed out of a burial spot on private property upstream or it could be something that someone owned and was never used, he said.

McLeod said he’s been making inquiries and is unaware of any public cemetery in the area, but he is checking with the county health department which would have registered any burials on private property.

The lid is damaged, he said, and it’s even a possibility any remains it contained have escaped. He won’t know until they retrieve it, he said.

McLeod said he has learned that steel caskets sometimes have a tube attached to the exterior, inside which a funeral director would have placed identifying documents if it had been used for a burial.

It was found by somebody who likes to fish on the Newaukum, and was out walking on a neighbor’s property checking out damage from the last flood, he said.

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Chehalis fiscal analyst in trouble for tax evasion

Monday, February 16th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Charging documents in the case of a Lewis County business accused of stealing for failing to remit $46,000 in sales taxes suggest the company’s troubles began when it fell into default on its tax obligations.

BK Rife Enterprises LLC opened in 2002, specializing in pole barns, garages and cement work, and over time got behind on its taxes, so in September 2008, the Washington State Department of Revenue revoked BK’s certificate of tax registration, according to the documents.

Edward and Karina Rife were co-owners, but it was Karina who interacted with the state agency over the years, seeking to reinstate the certificate, according to authorities.

Karina Rife, 43, is charged with first-degree theft, second-degree perjury and engaging in business with a revoked tax registration. Her court file shows a Chehalis address.

The criminal charges were filed Jan. 29 and Karina Rife appeared before a judge on Friday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.

Defense attorney Joely O’Rourke told the judge her client is a state employee, working as a fiscal analyst for the investment board, bringing home about $3,000 per month which supports herself, her husband and her child. O’Rourke said the situation meant Karina Rife qualified for a court-appointed lawyer.

Charging papers state she was informed the process to get the certificate of tax registration reinstated included paying the back taxes due as well as posting a bond, and told more than once that operating without the certificate was a felony.

But she indicated the business was not operating, or that it had only done a few isolated jobs, according to the documents.

The state alleges she knowingly filed falsified tax returns between 2007 and 2013 to hide the company’s business activity.

Charging documents allege BK operated continuously until 2013, with most of its invoices showing sales tax charged to and collected from its customers. The information came from a tax examination after the state agency discovered building permits had been issued for contracting work done by BK.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Eric Eisenberg said Karina Rife is the only one of the two owners charged with the crimes, because the state has evidence she was put on notice of the various issues.

Local attorney Jacob Clark will represent her. Her arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.
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For background, read “News brief: Local builder faces theft charges for failing to remit sales tax to state” from Wednesday February 11, 2015, here

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Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, February 16th, 2015

Updated at 11:32 a.m.

AUTO THEFT

• Centralia police report an abandoned stolen vehicle was recovered about 4:45 a.m. today in connection with  location at Tilley and Walnut streets.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police took a report of a vehicle prowl at the 3000 block of Borst Avenue about 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

THEFT MOSSYROCK

• Police report a load of firewood was stolen from the 200 block of State Street in Mossyrock sometime between Feb. 5 and Feb. 7. The loss is $100,  according to the Morton Police Department.

DRUGS

• A case involving a 49-year-old Longview woman is being referred to prosecutors for a possible charge of possession of methamphetamine in connection with a 9:20 p.m. police response last night to the 1200 block of Alder Street in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.

GOLDILOCKS?

• Morton police report they were called about noon time last Wednesday on the 100 block of Aberdeen Road after the resident discovered someone had come inside their home while they were away. Nothing appeared to be missing and police have no suspects, according to the Morton Police Department.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• Jence S. Sawyer, 23, Chehalis, is scheduled to be sentenced on March 11 after pleading guilty to reduced charges, related to two cases that brought him back to Lewis County last month from North Dakota where he was working. Sawyer pleaded guilty to second-degree assault for an incident on May 16, 2014 in which he  admitted he grabbed his estranged girlfriend with the intent to not let her go. Prosecutors initially alleged he tried to have sex with her and unlawfully imprisoned her at his home. The then-20-year-old woman told police she she finally crawled out a bedroom window with her baby after Sawyer refused to let her leave his residence on the 3100 block of Jackson Highway. Sawyer pleaded guilty as charged at the same time in Lewis County Superior Court last Wednesday to third-degree rape of a child in connection with an encounter the November before with a 15-year-old girl he befriended in Packwood.

• A 32-year-old Lacey woman will have an opportunity to make her pleas in Lewis County Superior Court on Thursday  for allegedly stealing jewelry three years ago while she stayed at the home of a Chehalis area woman. Kelly K. Davidson was charged in May 2012 and an arrest warrant issued for second-degree theft and first-degree trafficking in stolen property. The victim contacted the sheriff’s office after discovering her mother’s sapphire ring and numerous other items of value were missing, and said after she confronted Davison, Davidson denied taking anything and left the residence in the middle of the night, according to court documents. The jewelry turned up at Tumwater Pawnbrokers LLC, according to the documents. Davidson was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail on Wednesday and then on Thursday a judge allowed her to be released pending trial on a $10,000 unsecured bond. Defense attorney Joely O’Rourke said Davidson is unemployed and her husband’s income as a mason supports their family of five. She said she never received her summons to court in 2012, O’Rourke said.

• A 26-year-old man is charged with second-degree assault for allegedly swinging a metal pipe at the head of an acquaintance who reportedly showed up to an apartment on Lewis Street in Centralia when Malone was moving out of the home he’d shared with a woman back on Feb. 1. Charging documents state Aaron D. Malone contacted the woman, said he was removing property from their shared apartment and she needed to be there. When she showed up with two men, Malone allegedly attacked one of them with the bar, but the man was able to block the repeated blows with his hands, court documents state. Malone left before officers arrived, but was arrested last Wednesday. Defense attorney Joely O’Rourke told a judge on Thursday her unemployed client lived with his father and bail was set at $15,000.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license, driving under the influence; responses for dispute, misdemeanor theft, protection order violation, collisions on city streets … and more.

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