Archive for July, 2015

Failed double crossing drug deal ends with prison for “seller”

Wednesday, July 29th, 2015
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By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 24-year-old who robbed a potential drug customer of $1,000 in Centralia last month – and kept the bag of salt he pretended was ecstasy – was sentenced today to just shy of 10 years in prison.

McRae D. Armstrong was in Lewis County Superior Court, where he pleaded guilty as charged a week after his arrest.

The incident at the end of June took place inside a car in the parking lot at Safeway on Harrison Avenue.

The Centralia Police Department had provided the money, as the buyer was a confidential informant and officers were conducting surveillance during the transaction. A short police pursuit ensued but Armstrong wasn’t located that day.

He admitted he used a firearm, and told the buyer-turned victim to get out of the car.

Armstrong pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery, attempted eluding, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and  possession with intent to deliver an imitation controlled substance.

His lawyer Don Blair asked the judge for a mid-range sentence, noting his client accepted the deal basically within a day of getting the offer from the state.

“And the fact that he is here taking responsibility, literally within a week of court,” Blair said.

Pacific County Prosecutor Mark McClain recommended Armstrong be given 116 months on the first count – the top of the standard sentencing range – and lesser amounts for the other offenses to be served concurrently.

McClain was asked to handle the case, because of a potential appearance of a conflict. Armstrong’s father is a private investigator who often works on cases in Lewis County.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler gave Armstrong nine years and eight months.

The sentence also includes three years under the supervision of the state Department of Corrections when he is released and a requirement the defendant be evaluated for drug and alcohol abuse and follow through with the recommended treatment.

An 18-year-old Olympia woman has been charged in the case, as she was allegedly with Armstrong when it happened. A second male has been charged with rendering criminal assistance for allegedly helping Armstrong hide from police, according to McClain.
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For background, read “Teen driver for ecstasy drug deal-turned robbery booked” from Saturday June 27, 2015, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, July 29th, 2015
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ROBBERY CENTRALIA

• Centralia police are investigating a robbery that took place last night at a home on the 300 block of Courtland Street. Officers called at about 11:30 p.m. learned the victim was assaulted, according to the Centralia Police Department. Unspecified items were reportedly taken from inside the residence. The investigation is ongoing. Further details were not readily available.

BURGLARY CENTRALIA

• A deputy was called about 8:30 p.m. yesterday regarding a Centralia area burglary in which the victims said approximately $16,000 worth of valuables were taken, mostly jewelry and electronics. The residents said they left at about 10 o’clock that morning and returned home at 5:45 p.m. to find their place on the 2300 block of Padrick Road ransacked, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It appeared someone pried open a sliding glass door, according to the sheriff’s office. Two safes full of firearms were broken into and a handgun and various other items were removed, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. Some evidence was left at the scene, including tire marks across the yard, that led to Nugget Drive, where a neighbor said two males in their 20s came to the door saying they’d lost their friend hiking, Brown said.

THEFT CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police were called at 7 o’clock this morning by an individual who said someone broke into his work truck overnight while at a motel on the 200 block of Southwest Interstate Avenue and stole a GPS unit as well as a remote control device for heavy equipment valued at more than $5,000.

BREAK-IN MOSSYROCK

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning that a residence in Mossyrock was burglarized sometime between July 18 and July 22 and some $4,500 worth of property stolen, including a 17-inch computer and three Xbox games. Someone got inside the home at the 100 block of Workman Road through an unsecured door, according to the sheriff’s office.

CAR TABS ARREST

• A 22-year-old Centralia woman was arrested yesterday for allegedly having license tabs from a stolen vehicle. Julie A. Rogers was booked into Lewis County Jail for third-degree possession of stolen property in a case associated with the 500 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Police were called to Fort Borst Park in Centralia about 9:50 a.m. yesterday regarding a broken window to a vehicle.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, misdemeanor assault, driving with suspended license, arrest for an alleged child sex crime in which the individual was released from jail with no charges filed pending further investigation; responses for alarm, dispute, misdemeanor theft, suspicious circumstances, abandoned cats, collision on city street, dog alone in parked car and panting  … and more.

Lewis County Sheriff’s Office investigating child assault, one arrested

Tuesday, July 28th, 2015
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Chandra M. Munsey consults with a temporary defense attorney during her bail hearing on Monday afternoon.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 22-year-old arrested on Thursday was charged yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court with two counts of second-degree child assault, in a case involving her boyfriend’s toddlers.

The two little boys were taken into protective custody after their father called police and the children were checked out at Providence Centralia Hospital and then Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, according to their father Casiano Baldovinos.

Baldovinos is standing by his girlfriend, Chandra M. Munsey, and attended her bail hearing yesterday afternoon.

“I know that Chandra’s innocent,” Baldovinos said outside the courtroom.

Authorities have revealed little about the case, saying the investigation is ongoing.

Munsey was brought before a judge on Friday afternoon, when a prosecutor asked to have the documents detailing the allegations sealed. Judge James Lawler granted the request.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead indicated he wasn’t ready to file charges, and asked that Munsey continue to be held in the jail at least until another hearing after the weekend.

Munsey was brought before the judge again yesterday afternoon, after the criminal charges were filed, where defense attorney Joely O’Rourke asked the court to consider releasing her with an unsecured or co-signed bond.

“She has absolutely no felony history, and has a stable residence in Chehalis with her boyfriend,” O’Rourke said.

Judge Lawler set her bail at $50,000.

Baldovinos said his boys, ages 2 and 3, live with him in rural Chehalis. He’s cared for the oldest one nearly all his life, and last year at this time, got the court to make their mother’s family turn the youngest over to him.

He and their mother are not together, he said.

The boys’ grandmother, Rebecca Torres of Centralia, said she’s been warning authorities something bad could happen, since the day police came to take the youngest from her home.

“I’ve been trying for a year to keep them safe,” Torres said, sobbing.

Their mother is in prison, serving a sentence of a year and day for something Torres called petty. Jessica Schroeder, 27, should be getting out next month, her mother said. But Schroeder signed her youngest over to her mother when he was five months old, Torres said.

Exactly what happened remains under investigation, but photos shared by Torres and her 17-year-old daughter on social media last week show the two-year-old with a black and swollen eye. His brother’s picture shows marks on his face as well.

Baldovinos said the children stayed a couple of nights early last week with his girlfriend’s parents, in rural Centralia. When he picked them up, Munsey’s father told him the children scuffled, and one gave the other a black eye, he said.

But he didn’t believe that, he said, and he called police.

The court document filed yesterday that charges Munsey, indicates prosecutors believe the assaults occurred between Monday and Wednesday of last week.

Second-degree child assault is a class B felony, with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine. The offense involves recklessly inflicting substantial bodily harm upon a child younger than 13 years old.

Munsey’s arraignment is scheduled for Thursday in Lewis County Superior Court.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, July 28th, 2015
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BURGLARY ETHEL

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning that $2,200 cash was discovered missing from a 72-year-old Ethel man’s home. The money was taken sometime between Saturday and yesterday out of the fifth-wheel residence on the 100 block of Duryea Lane, according to the sheriff’s office. Evidence was left at the scene of the burglary and deputies have a person of interest, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

SMOKER STOLEN CENTRALIA

• Someone stole a barbecue smoker from a back patio at the 2500 block of Fords Prairie Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday morning.

ITEMS LIFTED FROM TRUCK BED

• Centralia police were called about 1:35 p.m. yesterday to the 1600 block of South Scheuber Road where someone had stolen a Dewalt drill as well as scrap brass from the bed of a pickup truck.

BURGLARY MOSSYROCK

• Morton police reported yesterday they are still investigating an incident from mid-morning on Saturday when a resident on the 100 block of Court Street in Mossyrock returned home to discover someone may have been inside. The home had been left unsecured and it appeared “items” had been taken, according to the Morton Police Department.

GUNSHOTS OR FIREWORKS

• Several individuals from around Chehalis called 911 about 11:45 p.m. yesterday after hearing numerous gunshots, or fireworks. No report was filed, so further details are unavailable, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, trespassing; responses for alarm, dispute, vandalism, misdemeanor assault, suspicious circumstances, collisions on city street, customers holding down suspects at stores on Packwood and in Chehalis… and more.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, July 27th, 2015
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Updated at 8:02 p.m.

HOMICIDE SCARE IN WINLOCK

• Law enforcement was called about 2:30 a.m. today to a residence north of Winlock where a man showed up on the porch asking for help because he had witnessed some people getting shot. Deputies responding to the 100 block of Hale Road East contacted the 39-year-old individual from San Diego who indicated he was high on meth, had stolen his mother’s car and had killed her and others at her home on the 2700 block of Highway 603, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning.  Adrian K. Williams had cuts to his face, hand, arm and legs, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. Deputies checked the residence and found everyone was alright there, and that Williams had permission to drive the car, Brown said. Deputies also discovered the Saturn Vue had rolled and wrecked at the 2200 block of Highway 603. Williams was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital to be evaluated and he was found not to be on drugs. He was subsequently booked into the Lewis County Jail for reckless driving and driving with a suspended license.

HOSPITAL COMMOTION

• A 40-year-old patient was arrested at Providence Centralia Hospital yesterday morning for allegedly attempting to steal unspecified medical supplies while she was being treated in the emergency room. Police say Elicia A Thebiay was disorderly when she was confronted. The Oakville woman was booked into the Lewis County Jail for interference with a health care facility, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MYSTERY ATTACK

• Chehalis police called about a man rolling around in the gravel near the river at the 1500 block of Rice Road discovered he had been pepper sprayed and had no idea how he ended up at the park on Saturday afternoon. The 26-year-old Chehalis resident said someone had maced him and believed someone dumped him off at the park, but didn’t know who, according to the Chehalis Police Department. He admitted he had been drinking, police said. The man was transported to the hospital.

ASSAULT

• Chehalis police were called about 8:20 p.m. on Friday to Green Hill School at the 300 block of Southwest 11th Street to take a report of an assault. The case is under investigation, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

CASH MISSING

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning that approximately $1,000 vanished from the purse of a 64-year-old Chehalis woman at her home on the 900 block of Logan Hill Road outside Chehalis. The woman told a deputy she had two new caregivers at her home recently and believed the money disappeared between July 18 and last Tuesday, according to the sheriff’s office.

• Centralia police were called about 1:30 p.m. yesterday to the 1100 block of South Scheuber Road to take a report of stolen money and medication.

DROP ONE OFF, PICK ONE UP

• Someone parked a pickup truck stolen in Tumwater at Wal-Mart in Chehalis on Saturday and got into an employee’s Ford Mustang and drove it away, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Police were called at 9:30 p.m. to the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue to take the report and learned the theft was captured on security video. The car was recovered in Cowlitz County, containing some items not belonging to its owner, such as a cell phone, tools, keys and license plates, police said.

SUSPECTED THEFT

• A 43-year-old Rochester man was arrested after deputies were called to a report of trespassers at the 1700 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Ethel at about 3 p.m. on Friday. Individuals had been loading up building supplies such as treated lumber and roofing material but deputies were told by the property owner nobody had permission to be there, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Jerry L. Warfield, 43, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree theft, according to the sheriff’s office. The cases involving three others were referred to the prosecutors office for possible charges, according to Chief Deputy Stacy Brown. Warfield was released from jail and no charges filed pending further investigation.

ON AND OFF THE ROAD

• A 17-year-old boy pulled over in Centralia overnight for speeding and driving recklessly was issued a citation and his case will be referred to prosecutors for an additional charge of reckless endangerment since at the time, he had numerous passengers, according to the Centralia Police Department. The teen was cited for reckless driving after contact with an officer about 2 a.m. at the 500 block of North Railroad Avenue, and then released, according to police.

• The case involving the 38-year-old Centralia man who was driving the truck that wrecked into a power pole in Centralia just before midnight on Saturday was referred to prosecutors for a possible charge of driving under the influence, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. His passenger sustained injuries including a possible punctured lung, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning. Deputies and firefighters responding to the 2900 block of Harrison Avenue found both men were injured and both were taken to transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to Brown. Feliberto Garcia Gonzales, 38, sustained cuts to his head, arms and hands, Brown said, and after being treated, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for vehicular assault. His Chevrolet pickup truck was totaled, she said. He was charged today in Lewis County Superior Court today with both offenses as well as making a false statement to a public servant. Bail was set for the father of five at $25,000.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, underage drinking, misdemeanor assault, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license, driving with no license; responses for dispute, hit and run, stolen bicycle, runaway child, child custody issues, suspicious circumstances, collisions on and off of city streets into ditch and tree, questions about setting a trap for a neighbor’s cat … and more.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Sunday, July 26th, 2015
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TEENAGE RUNAWAY ASSAULTED

• An 18-year-old from Buena Park, California, was arrested yesterday after police located a runaway Seattle girl at the library in Centralia. Officers contacted the 15-year-old girl at the 100 block of South Silver Street and learned she had been traveling with the 18-year-old, and were told he had bitten and hit her repeatedly since Tuesday, according to the Centralia Police Department. Police subsequently found Derrick J. Miller, 18, of Buena Park, and booked him into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree assault, according to police.

BASEBALL BAT ATTACK

• Centralia police are looking for two males who reportedly took baseball bats to a man’s car while he was inside it, breaking out its windows yesterday. It happened near Pine and Ash streets, with individuals engaged in a long running dispute, according to the Centralia Police Department. The case is under investigation, according to police.

BURGLARY CENTRALIA

• A 50-year-old man was arrested overnight after allegedly breaking into a residence on the 1000 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia and rummaging through items. Jeffrey E. Westley was booked into the Lewis County Jail for burglary, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Police took a report about 5:15 p.m. yesterday of a vehicle prowl at the 200 block of North Railroad Avenue in Centralia. Missing are a cell phone and the stereo’s faceplate, according to the Centralia Police Department.

ON THE LOOKOUT

• Centralia police reported this morning they are looking for a red Toyota Pickup with yellow flames on it which nearly struck a pedestrian yesterday evening who was walking along the 1400 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia.

ON THE ROAD

• Three homes were left without electricity overnight after a pickup truck collided with a power pole at the 2900 block of Harrison Avenue outside Centralia. Firefighters called at midnight arrived to find two occupants were able to exit the vehicle on their own, and both were injured, but the driver declined treatment at the scene, according to Riverside Fire Authority. The passenger was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to the fire department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, trespassing, misdemeanor assault … and more.

Read about former Tenino police chief to file defamation suit against city …

Sunday, July 26th, 2015

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Olympian reports former Tenino Police Chief John Hutchings, who was fired earlier this year, is planning to file a defamation lawsuit against the city for $850,000.

News reporter Andy Hobbs writes the claim is based on comments made by Tenino Mayor Bret Brodersen about Hutchings’ termination in March.

Initially Brodersen said he wanted to keep the change in police chiefs low key, but then because of mounting criticism on social media decided to share the background publicly.

In a lengthy news release at the end of March, Brodersen described a conflict between the number of hours Hutchings reported working compared with the number of hours he was authorized to work, given he was receiving retirement benefits. He also reported Hutchings added a paid reserve police officer, not approved and in violation of city statute that prohibits payment.

Chief John Hutchings was terminated on March 25 after almost two years with the city.

Read about it here