Archive for March, 2015

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, March 5th, 2015

LITTLE FIRE FOUND IN RESTROOM

• Firefighters were called about 11:45 p.m. yesterday to a fire in one of the bathrooms at the Maytown rest area along southbound Interstate 5. They found smoke showing upon their arrival and quickly extinguished the burning paper materials, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority. The damage was minimal and the scene turned over to investigators with the Washington State Patrol, Fire Chief Robert Scott said.

ADNA FIRE CAUSE NOT CLEAR

• The cause of the fire that struck a dairy farm will be recorded as undetermined but it began in a room that housed an air compressor. “I didn’t see anything else that could have caused it,” Fire Investigator Ted McCarty said today. Crews called early Sunday morning to the 400 block of Bunker Creek Road found fire in the milking parlor and were able to keep it from spreading to the adjacent barn that contained some 200 cows. McCarty said it seems much of the equipment is useable, although a motor that ran the milking machines was damaged. Most of the damage was up above, he said.

BREAK-IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were contacted about 1:10 p.m. yesterday regarding a burglary at the 500 block of Hillkress Street over the weekend. The case is under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Someone took a stereo faceplate and other small items when they broke into a vehicle at the 800 block of West First Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 1:40 p.m. yesterday.

• Police were called about 8:50 p.m. yesterday to the 400 block of North Ash Street where someone had stolen the stereo from a vehicle.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, trespass, driving with suspended license, driving under the influence, violation of anti-harassment order; responses for alarm, disputes, misdemeanor theft, suspicious circumstances, infant left alone in a car, collision on city street  … and more.

News brief: Infant death investigation underway in Toledo area

Thursday, March 5th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of an 8-month-old boy in the Toledo area.

Deputies responded last night to the 200 block of Foster Creek Road because of a report of an aid call about a non-breathing baby with CPR in progress, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies learned the father had found the infant in the crib not breathing, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. Nine-one-one was called and CPR begun, Brown said.

The efforts were unsuccessful, she said.

Brown didn’t say if the death was suspicious or why law enforcement was investigating, but did say no further information will be released until after an autopsy, which could possibly take place tomorrow.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, March 4th, 2015

Updated

YOU BOUGHT A WHAT?

• Centralia police were called about 11:50 a.m. yesterday to the Bank of America on the 100 block of South Pearl Street where a 29-year-old man had allegedly choked a family member during an argument about the purchase of a gerbil. Jason R. Ferris, of Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for fourth-degree assault, according to the Centralia Police Department.

LOCKER ROOM THEFT

• Centralia police say they found stolen credit cards in the pocket of  suspect when he was detained for an unrelated assault yesterday afternoon. A cell phone and the credit cards had gone missing earlier in the day from a locker room at the 600 block of Centralia College Boulevard, according to the Centralia Police Department. Adam T, Kay, 31, a homeless person, was contacted around 2 p.m. after allegedly shoving a clerk at the 600 block of South Tower Avenue, according to police. He was cited for third-degree theft and fourth-degree assault and then released, according to police.

DOGNAPPING

• Centralia police took a report of the theft of a dog from the 200 block of East Chestnut Street yesterday.

OTHER THEFT

• Police were called regarding the theft of a license plate from the 600 block of Centralia College Boulevard just before 8 o’clock yesterday morning.

DRUGS

• A 28-year-old Chehalis man who allegedly shoplifted a hot wheel-type car and another item from Wal-Mart last night was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, third-degree theft and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police were called about 8:15 p.m. to the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue and booked Fernando Morales Sanchez into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

NOT SCAMMED

• A Chehalis woman called police yesterday after getting a phone call from someone who said he was her grandson and needed bail money because he got arrested. He told her he sounded different because he had a cold, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The woman called the jail he mentioned to verify the claim and they told her she should report it to police, department spokesperson Linda Bailey said.

ASSAULT IN WINLOCK

• Winlock police are investigating an assault that happened early Friday morning and landed an individual in Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with serious injuries. It happened in the parking lot near Frank’s Bar in Winlock, according to the Winlock Police Department. A man was arrested on Sunday for first-degree assault and second-degree assault and booked into the Lewis County Jail, but was released with no charges filed by the prosecutor. Chief Terry Williams is asking anyone with information to contact them at 360-785-3891 or wpd@toledotel.com

ROLLING SMOKE

• Firefighters were called out twice yesterday for fire in the back of a mobile paper shredding vehicle. Chehalis Fire Department Firefighter Pat Gilligan said after the first incident the driver had waited about an hour and a half for it too cool down and then continued on their way but soon was stopped off South Market Boulevard when it reignited. The crew put foam on it; it was mostly a lot of smoke, Gilligan said. He suggested it was likely an overheated bearing that caused smoldering of the paper.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants,  driving with suspended license, driving under the influence; responses for alarms, disputes, noisy children, harassment, vandalism, misdemeanor assault, misdemeanor theft, counterfeit bill, protection order violation, a vehicle theft that turned out to have only been impounded … and more.

Winlock house fire victims positively ID’d

Wednesday, March 4th, 2015
2015.0304.tabitha.bethany.cuvreau

Tabitha and Bethany Cuvreau

Updated at 12:02 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The investigation into the cause of the fire that killed a mother and two little girls in Winlock continues but authorities now have some answers.

The three died from smoke inhalation, according to the Lewis County Coroner’s Office.

Coroner Warren McLeod said autopsies were completed between Friday and yesterday on the deceased.

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Samantha Koehler

They are Samantha Koehler, 31, and her two daughters Bethany Cuvreau, 4, and Tabitha Cuvreau, 2.

McLeod said his work didn’t come up with an answer as to why the trio didn’t get out of the burning home, while the father and two boys were able to escape.

“That would call for speculation on my part,” McLeod said.

However, he said, the impact of smoke in a person’s system can overcome someone quite quickly and cause unconsciousness.

The three will be released today, so they can be laid to rest, according to McLeod.

The early morning blaze on Thursday nearly consumed the two-story home on the 800 block of Northeast First Street. According to county records and authorities it was built in 1904 and served by natural gas.

The family had been sleeping and when the father and two boys headed out the door, the mother and girls were right behind him, but for whatever reason didn’t get out, according to Police Chief Terry Williams.

Williams today said he doesn’t know when the investigation into the cause of the fire will be finished.

“There’s stuff that has to be sent off to be analyzed,” Williams said.

Meanwhile, many members of the community have been working to raise money and collect donations for the survivors.

The St. Helens Tap House in Toledo is holding a benefit charity ride on March 21, beginning at their establishment on Ramsey Way with multiple stops during a 75-mile loop through the county, to include door prizes and drawings.

The entry fee is $25 per person with all proceeds going to the fire victims, according to Toledo resident Brandie Devine.

For more info or to donate to the prize packages, the contacts are: Brandie Devine at 360-880-7331, Callie Fraser at 850-803-9617 or or Terry Butler 360-269-0041.
•••

For background, read “Deadly Winlock fire: Investigation, grieving, continue” from Friday February 27, 2015, here

 

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015

Updated at 8:08 p.m.

SHERIFF: FRAUD OPERATION UNCOVERED IN ONALASKA

• An Onalaska woman was arrested yesterday at her home where deputies found a suspected check-printing operation. Two others wanted on warrants were arrested at the same time, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. An investigation began about two weeks ago with a 67-year-old who was victimized when someone wrote a fraudulent check at the Chehalis Safeway for $352 worth of groceries, according to the sheriff’s office. Yesterday, when surveillance video that was obtained revealed the woman at the grocery store, whose name was on the check, deputies and members of the Centralia Police Department went together to contact her at the 400 block of View Ridge Road, as well as several people with warrants believed to be hanging out with her, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. Shauna Ridgley was detained and gave law enforcement permission to go inside her home to find wanted persons, Brown said. A 30-year-old Tumwater woman came out with a knife in her hand, wouldn’t obey commands and made comments about “suicide by cop”, Brown said. Officers used a Taser to take her – Amy Moore – into custody, according to Brown. Inside, they found Francisco Lamas, 29, of Centralia. While inside, officers saw check printing materials in the kitchen and subsequently got a warrant to collect numerous identifications, documents and pieces of mail belonging to other people, according to Brown. Ridgley was arrested for theft, forgery and manufacturing fraudulent financial documents, according to the sheriff’s office. The other two were arrested for their warrants and all three booked into the Lewis County Jail. The 67-year-old is just one of the victims, according to Brown.

AUTO THEFT

• A 71-year-old woman reported yesterday her red 2000 Ford Mustang was stolen overnight from the 6000 block of state Route 508 near Morton. The car disappeared sometime after 10 p.m. Sunday and before 7 a.m. yesterday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It has a license plate of ANS 3279, according to the sheriff’s office. The loss is estimated at $10,000 Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

OTHER THEFT

• Centralia police were called about 12:15 p.m. yesterday regarding the theft of medications from the 2000 block of Cooks Hill Road.

• Chehalis police were called yesterday about mail stolen from mailboxes along Southwest 15th Street.

CAR PROWL

• Police were called about 9:25 p.m. yesterday to the parking lot at Providence Centralia Hospital after someone was caught breaking into a car. The owner caught him, but he ran away, however, officers found something the suspect accidentally left behind with his name on it, according to the Centralia Police Department. Charles A. Riggs must have dropped his discharge papers from the hospital and he was subsequently located and arrested for second-degree vehicle prowl, according to Sgt. Jim Shannon. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

• Centralia police took a report yesterday afternoon about an overnight vehicle prowl at the 600 block of Warren Street.

DRUGS

• A 15-year-old girl was arrested for possession of marijuana yesterday in connection with an incident at the 800 block of Eshom Road in Centralia.

SHRUB ISSUES

• A 54-year-old Morton man made a vandalism complaint after someone pruned his junipers and threw the limbs in his yard last week. The suspect in the incident on the 100 block of Collar Avenue is an 81-year-old neighbor, according to the Morton Police Department. The damage is estimated at $5,000, police report.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• A public works employee in Somerville, Texas has been booked into the Lewis County Jail on a charge of child molestation following an investigation that began last year about incidents that allegedly took place in Centralia around 2009. Teddi B. Kendig, 54, yesterday was ordered held on $50,000 bail. Prosecutors state in charging documents that a girl told police last April that when she was 6 or 7 years old, the man her mother was dating pulled down his pants and asked her to touch him, when they were alone together. First-degree child molestation has a maximum penalty of life in prison. Kendig’s arraignment is scheduled for Thursday in Lewis County Superior Court.

• A 28-year-old homeless man was arrested after his 9-year-old daughter was found alone and wandering the streets on the 100 block of Ribelin Road outside Chehalis about 6 a.m. on Saturday, and deputies learned the two had broken into her grandmother’s house nearby to watch television and then slept in the loft of a shack. Charging documents state the girl was hysterical, shivering and shoeless and had been looking for her dad after awakening about an hour earlier and finding him gone. About two hours after responding to the call, a deputy found Derrick W. Burke hiding on the property, and he said he’d gone in the house to take a shower, but then found the door wide open and feared there were burglars, so he hid in the bushes, according to charging documents. Burke had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, the documents state, that he said he was unaware of. Charging documents state the child’s mother gave conflicting statements to police about the situation. Burke was charged yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court with reckless endangerment, first-degree criminal trespass and also for escape from community custody for failing to maintain contact with his community corrections officer – in connection with a 2013 conviction for possession of methamphetamine. Defense attorney Joely O’Rourke told a judge yesterday her client was currently working at a Chehalis vehicle repair business, but hadn’t yet gotten his first paycheck. His bail was set at $10,000 and his arraignment is Thursday in Lewis County Superior Court.

WRECK

• Car parts were left behind in a hit and run that damaged a large section of chain link fence at Winlock High School,  according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy responding yesterday to North Military and Nevil roads believes it was a small car and reports the cost is $500 to $1,000, according to the sheriff’s office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence; responses for alarms, disputes, report of rape, collision on city street … and more.

Possible ID could come this week of remains found off Kresky Ave.

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Authorities are a little bit closer to possibly discovering the identity of the female whose skeletal remains were found last week on a wooded hillside in Chehalis.

If it is who they think it might be, it’s not someone who has been reported missing, according to police and the coroner.

The human remains were found by a surveyor about a quarter mile east of the 2200 block of Northeast Kresky Avenue.

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Northeast Kresky Avenue

Chehalis Police Department detective Sgt. Gary Wilson estimated she had  been dead around a year, based partly on items they found close by. Receipts and other papers in a bag – like a handbag – near her had a name on them, according to Wilson.

Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod’s office has the ability to send an inquiry fax out to all dentists in Lewis County, and he got a response, he said this morning.

Both the remains and what he believes to be her dental records are being transported today to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, where the forensic anthropologist can compare the two, McLeod said.

He could get an answer as to whether they match within days, he said.

Finding a cause of death is something that will take much longer, if they even can figure it out, according to McLeod.

Dr. Kathleen Taylor, the forensic anthropologist, can examine bones and sometimes find some answers, for example she might find trauma to a skull or knife of bullet marks to ribs, McLeod said.

“But there’s only so much we can do scientifically,” McLeod said.

His office is still trying to track down possible family of the female whose name they have, he said.

Sgt. Wilson said he had nothing new to release about the case, and is reluctant to share many details.

“It’s difficult, because you have family out there, people who do have missing persons, and I don’t want them to get false hopes,” he said. “At the same time, I want to protect the family of who it is.”

Wilson said one of his detectives has been conducting interviews, but his office is in somewhat of a holding pattern, waiting for the coroner to make a positive identification.

Everything they collected at the scene last Tuesday, they turned over to the coroner, he said.

There were no indications of foul play at the scene, but there were also no indications at all there to suggest how she died, Wilson said this morning.

The area is above a swath of property where some earthmoving and cleanup is underway, a hike through woods and steep terrain.

Wilson said he could only speculate why the female would have been in that spot.
•••

For background, read “Human remains recovered off Kresky Avenue hillside” from Tuesday February 24, 2015, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, March 2nd, 2015

ATTEMPTED APPLIANCE THEFT

• Someone kicked in a door and tried to steal a dishwasher from a residence on the 300 block of Winston Creek Road near Lake Mayfield, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. The discovery was made yesterday by an individual who went to clean the place for new tenants, according to the sheriff’s office. Nothing else was missing or disturbed, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

BURGLARY TO SHOP

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning nearly $2,000 worth of items were stolen on Feb. 19 from the 3000 block of Lowery Lane outside Centralia. Among the missing property were a Stihl chainsaw, various tools and two motorcycles – a Honda and a Suzuki , according to the sheriff’s office.

SCRAP METAL TAKEN

• Sometime during the week that ended on Saturday, someone stole scrap copper from a barn, workshop and garage at the 1800 block of Bunker Creek Road west of Chehalis. The loss is estimated at $100, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

VEHICLE PROWL

• An officer called to the 500 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia about 1:10 p.m. yesterday was told someone stole items from a pickup truck while its owner was shopping.

VANDALISM

• Police were called about 3:30 a.m. today when a taxi driver reported an individual kicked out the taxi’s tail light following an argument at the 1200 block of Mellen Street, according to the Centralia Police Department.

COLLISION

• An 18-year-old passenger was hospitalized yesterday evening after a 21-year-old driver lost control of his 2001 Pontiac at a corner at the 100 block of the Toledo-Vader Road and struck a guard rail. A deputy responding after the approximately 5:15 p.m. wreck outside Toledo reports the driver was uninjured but the passenger sustained an arm laceration as well as neck and back pain, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Both are from Castle Rock, according to the sheriff’s office. The car was described as totaled.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, assault, shoplifting, driving under the influence; responses for alarms, gas drive off, hit and run, hit and run, hit and run  … and more.