Archive for September, 2015

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, September 11th, 2015
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ARSON

• A car found burning on a logging road west of Centralia last night appears to have been intentionally set on fire, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Firefighters and deputies responded to the approximately 8 p.m. incident described as off the 1500 block of Lincoln Creek Road. Sheriff’s Cmdr. Dusty Breen said the stolen 1996 Honda Accord was destroyed. It belonged to a 42-year-old Centralia man, Breen said. The fire didn’t begin in the engine compartment, but started in the interior of the car, according to Breen.

VEHICLE THEFT

• Chehalis police were called about 3 :15 p.m. yesterday about a pickup truck stolen from the 100 block of Northeast Hampe Way.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Sometime between 5 a.m. and 2 p.m. yesterday, someone got into a vehicle parked outside a residence on the 200 block of Brockway Road west of Chehalis and made off with a 45 caliber handgun and its leather holster, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

OTHER THEFT

• Someone stole a power saw from the 900 block of G Street in Centralia, according to  report made to police just after 6 a.m. today.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, probation violation, misdemeanor assault; responses for dispute, disturbance, misdemeanor theft, loud neighbor music, graffiti discovered on a fence; dog left alone in a presumably too-hot vehicle, homeless man sitting on bench near ATM asking people for money … and more.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, September 10th, 2015
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Updated at 2 p.m.

POLICE: METH INVOLVED IN POLICE PURSUIT OF ATV

• Thurston County deputies assisted when an ATV fled police  last night at the 1100 block of West Reynolds Avenue in Centralia and headed out Old Highway 99 and then onto Interstate 5. The attempted traffic stop began about 6:44 p.m. for unspecified reasons. Thirty-one-year-old Taleana J. Wilson was apprehended on southbound I-5, according to the Centralia Police Department. Police report she was in possession of suspected methamphetamine. The Centralia woman was booked into the Lewis County Jail for felony eluding and possession of meth, according to police.

CONSTRUCTION COMPANY VICTIMIZED BY THIEF

• Someone pried open an enclosed trailer belonging to Conway Construction in Randle and basically emptied it of approximately $10,000 worth of tools and equipment, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The theft from the 10,000 block of U.S. Highway 12 occurred over Labor Day weekend and among the missing property is a gravel compactor, according to the sheriff’s office.

“CUSTOMERS” DIG INTO CASH REGISTER

• Chehalis police were called yesterday by a business in the Twin City Town Center when it discovered by reviewing surveillance video that two strangers had walked in the afternoon before, approached a cash register, opened it up and left with money. It happened at Grocery Outlet on Northwest Louisiana Avenue at about 5:40 p.m. on Tuesday, while the store was open, according to the Chehalis Police Department. That cash was missing was learned when the till didn’t balance, and then they took a look at the video, according to police. The only description of the thieves are two black males, both wearing hats and white T-shirts, one in dark shorts and the other in jeans, police said. The loss is about $160, according to police.

VIRTUAL TRAFFICKING OF STOLEN PROPERTY

• A 23-year-old Centralia resident who allegedly used her phone to take a picture of her mother’s credit card and shared the image with its information on Facebook was arrested for second-degree theft and trafficking in stolen property, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. A deputy was called to the mother’s Centralia home on Tuesday to take a report and subsequently contacted Kayla M. Burleson in the Lewis County Jail – where she was booked for unspecified reasons the day before, according to the sheriff’s office. Burleson reportedly didn’t recall showing the photo to anyone.

AUTO THEFT

• Chehalis police were called about 10:30 a.m. yesterday to a restaurant parking lot on the 100 block of Southwest Interstate Avenue where an individual came out to discover his car was stolen. He said the keys were in the unlocked red 1994 Pontiac Bonneville, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The car later was recovered in Pacific County, according to police.

• A black 1990 Mazda B2200 was reported stolen just before 1 o’clock this morning from the 1000 block of South Gold Street in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Police took a report of graffiti left on a building at the 1200 block of West First Street in Centralia yesterday morning.

• An officer took a report of graffiti put on a building at the 500 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia yesterday morning.

• Police took a report of graffiti found on a trailer at Main and Yew streets in Centralia yesterday morning.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault, 17-year-old booked – for third-degree malicious mischief – for allegedly kicking a dent into his mother’s vehicle during a dispute; responses for dispute, panhandling, misdemeanor theft, illegal dumping, violation of court order, possibly stolen moped; request for help retrieving kitten from a storm drain … and more.

News brief: Thurston sheriff’s detectives looking for missing woman

Wednesday, September 9th, 2015
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Dorothy L. Free’s driver’s license photo on the right and her picture from her Facebook profile – Dottie Troutfree – is on the left. / Courtesy photos from Thurston County Sheriff’s Office

Updated

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Thurston County sheriff’s detectives are seeking information on the whereabouts of a 40-year-old woman who hasn’t been seen for a week and a half.

Dorothy L. Free was involved in a domestic dispute on Aug. 15 and hasn’t made any posts on her Facebook page since the day before, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. Her Facebook profile uses the name Dottie Troutfree, according to the sheriff’s office.

She is listed as a missing person, with a clothing description given of blue jean capris and a light blue shirt.

Free is 5-feet 4-inches tall, weighs 180 pounds and has brown or possibly reddish hair, with hazel eyes, according to the sheriff’s office.

She was last seen on Aug. 28 in Yelm and reported missing by her sister on Sept. 2, according to Sheriff’s Sgt. Carla Carter.

Free stays with a friend in the Lacey area off and on and doesn’t work, according to Carter.

The alert issued yesterday notes she could be in Thurston, Pierce or Grays Harbor counties.

Anyone who has seen her or has information about where she might be is asked to contact detective F.M. Frawley at 360-786-5599 or to please call 911.

 

News brief: Names released from fatal Highway 12 wreck

Wednesday, September 9th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The teen who was one of the two individuals killed in a Highway 12 wreck on Monday morning was actually 15 years old, not 13 and had just started school at White Pass, according to authorities.

Garrett Underland was from Prosser and died following the collision involving a semi truck, a car and a truck pulling a camp trailer east of Randle, according to the Lewis County Coroner’s Office.

Initial information gathered by troopers had his age at 13, but Coroner Warren McLeod said he met with the boy’s parents on Monday night and got the correct information.

McLeod said the boy’s family are longtime friends with the couple in whose car he was a passenger.

“He came here to go to school in Randle,” Washington State Patrol Sgt. Mike Cournyer said.

Passenger Kerri M. Denniston, 39, of Randle, also died in the wreck.

The driver, her husband, Jeremy W. Denniston, 37, was transported to Tacoma General Hospital in critical condition, but Cournyer said this morning it sounds as though he is doing a little better.

Their 2000 Dodge Stratus was stopped to make a left turn into the Cascade Peaks Campground when a semi truck behind them failed to slow down and forced their car into the oncoming lane where it was hit by the pickup truck, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The collision remains under investigation.

Cournyer said the 79-year-old driver of the semi truck with two unloaded trailers was hauling produce for National Frozen Foods. The 2014 Kenworth  was a leased truck, he said.
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For background, read “Investigation into double fatality Highway 12 crash continues” from Tuesday September 8, 2015, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, September 9th, 2015
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LOOT INCLUDES COW ART

• Deputies took a report from a 55-year-old Centralia man yesterday afternoon that someone burglarized his residence stealing a 60-inch flat screen television, a floor jack and three paintings of cows – as well as his pickup truck. Neighbors think they heard the gray 2005 Ford F350 start up at about 8 a.m., according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss from the 100 block of Northridge Road outside Centralia is estimated at $15,000, according to the sheriff’s office.

MAIL THEFT FRAUD

• Chehalis police reported yesterday that an individual contacted them from the 200 block of Southwest 13th Street on Friday following the discovery a check was stolen from their mailbox and cashed in the amount of $1,500. The situation is being looked into further, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

OTHER FRAUD

• Centralia police were called about 9:25 a.m. yesterday by a victim regarding fraudulent use of their social security number, in a case associated with the 2200 block of Cooks Hill Road.

VEHICLE PROWL

• A tool box and tools were stolen from  a truck at the 900 block of Spring Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police just after noon time yesterday.

• Chehalis police were called to the parking lot at Wal-Mart about 6:25 p.m. on Monday by an individual who said they returned to their vehicle after about 20 minutes of shopping to discover a bicycle had been taken from the back of their truck.

PORCH PROWLING

• Someone stole green and blue bulbs from a light fixture on a porch at the 800 block of Southwest William Avenue in Chehalis, according to a report made to police on Sunday.

KIDS ALONE IN CAR

• A 30-year-old Chehalis resident was issued a citation for reportedly leaving an 11-year-old alone with two children in car seats inside a vehicle in the parking lot at Safeway on South Market Boulevard late Friday afternoon. The city’s ordinance says under 12 is too young for a child to be left unattended in a vehicle, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

COLLISIONS

• Centralia police responded yesterday about 5:45 p.m. to a vehicle that collided with a tree at Third and K streets.

• A 53-year-old man was arrested after allegedly running into a power pole about 9:30 p.m. yesterday at the 400 block of Leonard Road in Onalaska, knocking it down and leaving the area. Robert W. Clark, of Onalaska, was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence as well as hit and run, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. His 2004 Chevrolet 2500 truck was described as totaled. Clark was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, malicious mischief, no contact order violation, driving with suspended license; responses for shoplifting, misdemeanor assault, collision on city street  … and more.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, September 8th, 2015
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BURGLARY CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called about 8:25 p.m. yesterday to the 1500 block of Pike Street where someone had broken into a garage and stole electrical wire.

CHASING LIVESTOCK

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning a deputy issued an infraction to an Onalaska woman for prohibited activities by animals after being called on Friday afternoon to the 100 block of McCann Road about three pit bull mix dogs chasing horses. A 15-year-old Appaloosa sustained a wound on her right rear leg from either a bite or from getting clawed, according to the sheriff’s office. Danielle M. Toft, 22, acknowledged she’d been warned before about her dogs running loose, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

TRAFFIC STOP: PASSENGER TRYING TO HIDE GUN

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning a traffic stop on Interstate 5 near Winlock on Friday night resulted in the arrest of a 22-year-old Portland resident for allegedly carrying a loaded handgun in a vehicle without a license, while being a convicted felon. A deputy pulled over the northbound vehicle about 11 p.m. and noticed the passenger was keeping his back to the door while retrieving his wallet, and then spotted part of a black semi-automatic pistol in the door handle, according to the sheriff’s office. Zachary L. Hubbert was booked into the Lewis County Jail for unlawful possession of a firearm, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. The driver, Ahna G. Cobb, 25, of Portland, was arrested and booked for driving under the influence, Brown said.

DRUGS

• A 19-year-old picked up yesterday evening for a warrant in Centralia was then also arrested for possession of marijuana by a minor. Zachory J. Schultz was contacted by an officer at the 1500 block of North Schueber Road and then booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

COLLISION FOLLOWUP

•  The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning the 28-year-old Winlock man who rolled his car at the 200 block of Hamilton Road north of Napavine on Friday night failed to negotiate a southbound curve. His Subaru Impreza was totaled and he was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with serious head injuries, according to the sheriff’s office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, possession of liquor by a minor, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, harassment, misdemeanor theft, collision on city street, collision on county road, possible suicidal person … and more.

Investigation into double fatality Highway 12 crash continues

Tuesday, September 8th, 2015

Updated at 7:28 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 39-year-old woman and a 13-year-old boy died yesterday when the car they were traveling in was rear-ended and shoved into the opposite lane of U.S. Highway 12 in East Lewis County.

The 2000 Dodge Stratus was hit by an oncoming pickup truck pulling a camp trailer.

It happened about 9:40 a.m. at the entrance to Cascade Peaks Campground about seven miles east of Randle, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The man who was driving the car, Jeremy W. Denniston, 37, from Randle, was taken to Tacoma General Hospital and remained in critical condition this evening.

The collision is blamed on inattention by the 79-year-old driver of the semi truck, from Nevada – behind the wheel of a 2014 Kenworth with two unloaded trailers, according to the state patrol.

State Patrol Sgt. Mike Cournyer indicates the investigation would continue today, with the names of the victims to be released when their identities are confirmed.

The wreck shut down the highway in both directions until about 4:30 p.m.

According to troopers, the eastbound car was stopped to make a left turn into the campground. The semi truck behind it failed to slow and struck the rear of the car, forcing it into the westbound lane, where it was hit by the 2011 Ford F350 pickup pulling a trailer, according to the state patrol.

The pickup’s passenger, Cheryl L. Kinder, 69, from Astoria, was transported to Morton General Hospital with minor injuries, according to Sgt. Cournyer. The driver, Lewis H. Kinder, 68, also of Astoria, was reportedly unhurt.

The other passengers of the car, Kerri M. Denniston, 39, and the teenager, are also from Randle, according to the state patrol.

The semi driver, Arthur H. Harrison, 79, of Laughlin, Nevada, was also reportedly uninjured. Potential charges are pending, the investigating trooper reports.

All the vehicles were described as totaled.