Archive for October, 2015

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, October 7th, 2015
2015.0518.2013.1113.sirenslights5860.secondone

•••

PARKING OFFICER THREATENED

• A 50-year-old man who found a notice on his vehicle it would be impounded if not moved made a comment to a parking enforcement officer in Chehalis that got him put in jail yesterday. “He said he would shoot whoever towed his vehicle,” Chehalis Police Department spokesperson Linda Bailey said. Brian D. Hardie was arrested for felony harassment, Bailey said. The vehicle in question was at the 400 block of South Market Boulevard and Hardie reportedly approached the officer downtown at the 400 block of North Market Boulevard. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

PROWLED VALUABLES RECOVERED

• A contact at about 9:15 a.m. yesterday with a person sleeping in a bus at the 1500 block of Bishop Road south of Chehalis turned up items reported missing two hours earlier in a vehicle prowl in the same area. Missing and recovered were a welder’s book and a backpack, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Richard T. Harris, 32, of Olympia, said he found them, according to the sheriff’s office. Harris also had with him two Kenworth keys and two radios which a deputy concluded belonged to a nearby cement business, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. Harris was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree possession of stolen property, according to the sheriff’s office.

THE HONDA BEAT

• Centralia police were back at the 600 block of M Street yesterday following the theft of a dark gray 1994 Honda Civic. The missing car has a big dent in the back driver’s side door and also sports black hub caps, according to the Centralia Police Department. It has a license plate of ACH 5532, according to police.

• A Honda Civic stolen out of Chehalis turned up around 3:20 a.m. today, abandoned in a Centralia parking lot at the 600 block of West Pear Street. It was returned to its owner, according to police.

STOLEN TRUCK TORCHED

• A 2005 Ford Ranger stolen from Morton sometime between Monday and Tuesday turned up completely destroyed by fire at the end of a logging road outside Randle, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. Its license plates had been removed, according to the sheriff’s office. The loss is estimated a $3,500, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

OTHER THEFT

• Stolen from a front yard at the 100 block of Woodland Avenue in Centralia yesterday: A stroller for twins, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police were called about 4:15 a.m. today by an individual at the 1200 block of North Tower Avenue who believed someone used his personal information in an identity theft. The victim has a suspect in mind, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

• Chehalis police were called about 2 p.m. yesterday when an individual called 911 to report seeing a male trying to open vehicle doors in the parking lot at Rite Aid on the 500 block of South Market Boulevard. No arrest was made and no report was submitted, according to a spokesperson for the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Police were called to a business at the 700 block of Harrison Avenue about 1:20 p.m. yesterday to take a report that tenants damaged a room they were renting before leaving. The investigation is continuing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS

• An officer responded to an 8 p.m. call yesterday to the 500 block of Northwest Front Street where someone had found a small bottle containing a crystal substance, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• Police were called about 10 p.m. yesterday to Green Hill School on the 300 block of Southwest 11th Street where green vegetable material was found in a student-inmate’s room, and then more discovered during a strip search, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The case will be turned over to prosecutors, according to police.

ON THE ROAD

• A 21-year-old Winlock resident was suspected to be impaired when he wrecked his 1994 Ford Ranger last night at the 500 block of Rhoades Road near Winlock. A deputy responding about 8:50 p.m. found the truck’s rear quarter panel struck a utility pole after its driver lost control near a corner, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Tomas Aparicio-Chagolla, was reportedly uninjured but was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for driving under the influence, according to the sheriff’ office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, misdemeanor assault, driving with no license, driving with revoked license, driving with suspended license, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street, missing person who was subsequently found … and more.

News brief: Fisherman’s body located very near where last seen

Wednesday, October 7th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CENTRALIA – Divers recovered the drowning victim from Plummer Lake in Centralia at approximately 11:45 a.m. yesterday.

The body of the 65-year-old Centralia man was identified by relatives at the scene, according to the Centralia Police Department.

2015.1005.boat.plummberlake.7939small

Plummer Lake

The Lewis County Coroner’s Office today confirmed that Roger Anderson did indeed die from drowning and that it was an accident.

Anderson was fishing on Monday when somehow he got separated from his small boat, and subsequently disappeared under the water.

Nobody saw saw what happened that caused him to be outside his boat, but a witness observed Anderson trying to swim toward a life preserver while the boat moved away and the witness called 911, according to police Sgt. Pat Fitzgerald.

Numerous responders searched until dark on Monday, and on Tuesday, divers from the Pierce County Metro Dive Team located Anderson, according to Fitzgerald.

Authorities described the lake as murky and as much as 60 feet deep.

Fitzgerald said Anderson’s body was discovered very close to where he was last seen, in a depression about 30 feet down.
•••

For background, read “News brief: Centralia man still not located in lake” from Tuesday October 6, 2015, here

News brief: Two hurt in rollover wreck near Chehalis

Wednesday, October 7th, 2015

Updated at 12:10 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 21-year-old driver was seriously injured when he was ejected from a rollover collision last night along a county road west of Chehalis.

Firefighters called just before 8 p.m. to the 900 block of Shorey Road found the driver in critical condition, according to Lewis County Fire District 6.

Levi W. Taylor, from Chehalis, had injuries to his head and face and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The passenger, a 21-year-old Chehalis woman, had been wearing her seat belt and sustained minor injuries, according to the sheriff’s office. She was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital where she was treated and has been released, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning.

Taylor was cited for not wearing a seat belt and for third-degree driving with a suspended license, Brown said. He faces possible charges of driving under the influence and reckless endangerment, depending upon the results of blood analysis, Brown said.

Taylor is listed in serious condition, according to a hospital spokesperson. His 2008 Pontiac G6 was totaled.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, October 6th, 2015
2015.0518.2013.1113.sirenslights5860.secondone

•••

Updated at 7:37 p.m.

MAN CHARGED WITH KIDNAPPPING

• A 30-year-old construction worker from Bucoda was arrested yesterday for allegedly holding his ex-girlfriend hostage as they drove the backroads of Lewis County in his truck, striking her whenever she tried to get out. The woman told police it went on during the course of about an hour and that he put a cigarette out on her chest as well during the ordeal. Tehl M. Dunlap was booked into the Lewis County Jail and today he was charged with first-degree kidnapping and fourth-degree assault in Lewis County Superior Court. The alleged incident was reported to police about 12:18 a.m. last Monday. Charging documents state they were at Frank’s Hideaway Tavern in Winlock and that Dunlap subsequently brought her back there. The judge this afternoon set his bail at $20,000. His arraignment is Thursday.

DOMESTIC VEHICLE VERSUS BICYCLE

• A Winlock woman was arrested yesterday for allegedly driving her truck into her boyfriend who was on a bicycle, following an argument. A deputy and aid responded about 1:25 p.m. to the intersection of Park and Meier roads outside Winlock where she said it was accidental. Charging documents state the 44-year-old man said she was stopped at a stop sign while they were talking and he left by making a left turn in front of her, according to the documents. He told the deputy she accelerated and hit him so hard, it knocked him over and he skidded on the pavement. Lisa K. Williams, 48, was charged today in Lewis County Superior Court with second-degree assault. A judge this afternoon allowed her to be released with a $10,000 unsecured bond.

SIBLING ISSUES

• Centralia police were called just after 7 p.m. yesterday about a 30-year-old woman allegedly threatening her sister in a a case associated with the 500 block of West Chestnut Street. Kandise A Hickox, of Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for harassment, according to the Centralia Police Department. Prosecutors declined to file that charge.

ELBOW ASSAULT

• Chehalis police were called to Green Hill School yesterday to investigate an incident in which a 16-year-old student-inmate allegedly swung an elbow, striking a staff member. The case is being referred to prosecutor for a charge of custodial assault, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

THE HONDA BEAT

• Yet another Honda car went missing in Centralia yesterday morning, An officer was called at 7:37 a.m. to the 600 block of M Street and learned a silver 1999 Honda Civic was stolen from in front of the home, according to the Centralia Police Department. A half dozen Hondas have been stolen in Centralia and Chehalis since Saturday morning. Centralia police Sgt. Stacy Denham said in some cases they have been recovered just a block away, or just across town. The ones they have located have been intact, he said. It doesn’t appear valuables have been removed or parts taken, he said.

OTHER THEFT

• Centralia police took a report yesterday regarding the theft of a wrought-iron bench from a yard on the 300 block of Jefferson Street.

DRUGS

• Chehalis police called to a dispute about 10:40 p.m. yesterday at the 100 block of Southwest Fifth Street ended up arresting Jennette A. Lian, 39, for possession of methamphetamine. Residue on a smoking device field-tested positive for the drug, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The Chehalis woman was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

VEHICLE FIRE

• Firefighters were called about 6 p.m. yesterday to a van on fire at Bishop and Labree roads. They extinguished it, nobody was hurt, according to the Chehalis Fire Department.

BOMB SCARE CLEARS OUT WINLOCK MIDDLE-HIGH SCHOOL

• A bomb threat yesterday at Winlock High School led to the immediate evacuation of students, but a search by trained dogs with the Washington State Patrol turned up no bombs or explosive materials. Deputies and the Toledo Police Department responded to the buildings on North Military Road, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The threat warning of a bomb going off later in the afternoon was found by a student at approximately 12:30 p.m. and the student alerted staff, according to Chief Deputy Stacy Brown. The youngsters from the middle school and the high school were evacuated to the football field and then either picked up by parents, or taken to the elementary school till the end of the school day, according to authorities. Sheriff Rob Snaza stated he has assigned a detective to investigate and will take appropriate action should a suspect be identified.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, probation violation, driving with no license, driving with suspended license, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, dispute, misdemeanor assault, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street, various unfounded reports … and more.

Police: Heroin house on Southwest Cascade Avenue

Tuesday, October 6th, 2015
2015.1006.Christopher.C.Tortorici.7959

Christopher C. Tortorici is brought before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Chehalis couple was arrested yesterday following a search at their home that turned up drugs and suspected items for dealing them.

Thirty-five-year-old Dawn M. Morningstar-Barnett allegedly told detectives it was mostly her, but they had been selling heroin for several months, to about 10 people a day, according to court papers.

The search warrant was served at their shared residence at the 700 block of Southwest Cascade Avenue.

Numerous items were found in her boyfriend’s pockets, as the two said they thought the visit was from her community corrections officer who could not search him, so he gathered up everything, the documents state.

Christopher C. Tortorici, 36, had $160 in his pockets, along with two small plastic ziplock bags containing a brown powdery substance, a bindle with suspected methamphetamine, a pipe, syringes, two methadone pills, and a prescription bottle containing Suboxone strips and buprenorphine hydrochloride, according to his charging documents.

The documents relate that twice since Aug. 24, Morningstar-Barnett was the target of so-called controlled buys from police informants.

Both were charged in Lewis County Superior Court today with possession of heroin with intent to deliver and delivery of heroin. Morningstar-Barnett was charged with an additional count of delivery.

Judge Nelson Hunt, noting Tortorici was a graduate of drug court, set his bail at $100,000.

Hunt granted a temporary no-bail hold for Morningstar-Barnett, after prosecutors said she wasn’t able to leave the jail to come to court because she was having withdrawal.

News brief: Centralia man still not located in lake

Tuesday, October 6th, 2015
2015.1005.boat.plummberlake.7939

Roger Anderson’s boat came to rest on the south edge of Plummer Lake, without him.

Update: Police indicated at 12:19 p.m. the body has been recovered. The coroner gave his name as Roger Anderson.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CENTRALIA – Search operations resumed this morning at Plummer Lake in Centralia where a man got separated from his flat-bottomed boat and disappeared under the water yesterday.

He is a 65-year-old Centralia resident, according to the Centralia Police Department.

2015.1005.smallerplummer.lake.drowning.7948

Plummer Lake

A witness had seen the man fishing, and then saw him swimming toward a a life jacket while the boat moved away powered by a small electric trolling motor just before noon according to police.

Detective Patty Finch said authorities have contacted at least one of the man’s family members.

Police, firefighters and a dive team worked until dark last night and did not find him.

The lake is adjacent to Interstate 5 and is very deep, according to responders.

Nobody saw what happened that caused him to get separated from his boat, Sgt. Pat Fitzgerald said yesterday.
•••

For background, read “Searchers comb Centralia lake for fisherman” from Monday October 5, 2015, here

Defendant escapes courtroom in Chehalis, captured on street

Tuesday, October 6th, 2015
2015.0612.lawandorder.final

•••

Updated at 10:45 a.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A defendant remanded into custody following a jury trial fled a courtroom and reportedly fought with a corrections officer down the stairwell and out into the street in Chehalis yesterday.

Responding deputies assisted in detaining the man outside the building, on Main Street near its intersection with Chehalis Avenue, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

John C. Baker, 49, of Chehalis, was on trial in Lewis County Superior Court, on the fourth floor of the Lewis County Law and Justice Center.

Sheriff’s Cmdr. Dusty Breen said the incident began about 10 minutes before 5 p.m. in Judge Richard Brosey’s courtroom.

The corrections officer ordered Baker to stop, and when he caught up with Baker, a physical altercation ensued during which the officer was assaulted, Breen said.

Baker was taken to the jail where he was booked for new offenses of first-degree escape, resisting arrest and custodial assault, according to Breen.

He had been free on $10,000 bail, but was convicted yesterday of harassment, stalking and other charges.

“He was facing a substantial sentence,” Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Sheila Weirth said.

Escape is a class B felony, with a maximum sentence of 10 years if convicted, according to Weirth.

The Lewis County Law and Justice Center at the corner of Main Street and Chehalis Avenue contains courtrooms on the top two floors and the sheriff’s office on the main level. The Lewis County Jail is adjacent to it at street level.