Lewis County Sirens.com

By Lewis County Sirens

CHEHALIS – With the arrival of warm summer temperatures and below normal precipitation in Western Washington, the Department of Natural Resources has expanded its burn ban to cover the entire state.

It begins today and runs through Sept. 30.

The ban means outdoor burning is prohibited on all forestlands that DNR protects from wildfire, according to the state agency. Anyone caught violating the burn ban can face fines. Prescribed ecological burns approved by DNR will be allowed if expressly approved by Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark.

Recreational fires in approved fire pits within designated state, county, municipal and other campgrounds are allowed.

DNR’s ban does not apply to federally-owned lands such as national forests. Counties and local fire districts may have additional burn restrictions.

Already this year, DNR has had 408 wildfire starts throughout the state.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Centralia detectives are investigating this morning after an individual was beaten and left in a parking lot at the 900 block of South Scheuber Road in Centralia.

Police were called last night to Providence Centralia Hospital where they spoke with the 37-year-old male victim at about 10:20 p.m.

“Basically, the person was contacted by someone, told to (drive) somewhere, he got scared and pulled over into the parking lot at the hospital,” Centralia Police Department Officer John Panco said. “Once he tried to get out of the car, he was pistol whipped.”

Panco said the victim had injuries to his face, including a possible broken nose. Someone saw him in the parking lot and helped him into the emergency room, Panco said.

The Centralia Police Department indicated this morning the suspects are known to the victim.

The suspect or suspects ran off, Panco said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Morton couple won not once, but twice in a row when they appealed the amount Lewis County judges ordered them to pay in restitution associated with animal cruelty charges involving their horses.

Joanne M. Simmons and Terry L. Simmons were convicted of two counts of second-degree animal cruelty.

Back in 2012, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputies and county code enforcement workers seized nine of their 18 horses from property on the  800 block of state Route 7. Prosecutors described the animals as severely malnourished.

The couple was initially charged with numerous counts of first- and second-degree cruelty, but eventually only convicted of the two counts, which were misdemeanors.

The court ordered them to pay $20,589.42 in restitution.

Five private groups and the Lewis County Animal Shelter assisted in the removal and foster care of the horses.

In their first appeal, the Simmones argued the sentencing court erred by imposing costs associated with charges previously dismissed. The appeals court agreed and remanded for modification of the restitution order.

On remand, the sentencing court doubled the amount recommended by the state, saying it was exactly the kind of case where that was appropriate. Prosecutors had asked for $4,533.54.

The three-member panel of division II of the Washington State Court of Appeals said the judge erred again.

While the law allows for a doubling of restitution in lieu of a fine, it wasn’t a fine that was the issue, the justices stated. Their fine was $500.

Another statute provides a basis for doubling restitution, but only applies to felonies, they wrote.

The opinion was issued last week. The order under review was signed by Judge Nelson Hunt.

“Thus, we reverse the sentencing court’s restitution orders and remand for correction of restitution to the amount calculated before doubling,” the justices wrote.
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For background, read: “Former owners of Morton horses charged with animal cruelty” from  Tuesday November 13, 2012, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  The state Court of Appeals in a decision this week upheld the conviction of Jeffrey J. Johnson for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver.

Johnson argued the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence discovered after he consented to a search of his home in the Vader area.

The three-member panel of justices disagreed with him and affirmed his conviction from Lewis County Superior Court.

The determination about the 2015 case was filed on Tuesday.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  A defendant whose sentence could have been as long as life in prison will be returning to Lewis County Superior Court to get a fixed-length term in prison.

The state Court of Appeals reversed the sentence of Brian W. Buckman, who pleaded guilty to second-degree rape of a child, because he was under 18 at the time of the offense and state law excludes him from indeterminate sentencing.

In 2012, Buckman was given a prison term with a minimum of 86 to 114 months in prison and a maximum of life.

He appealed the court’s decision denying his motion to withdraw his plea and in the alternative appealed his sentence.

He was 17 years and 7 months old when he and a 13-year-old had sexual intercourse. His case was handled not in juvenile court, but in adult court, in Lewis County Superior Court.

The opinion from division II of the Washington State Court of Appeals was issued on Tuesday.

While the guilty plea form he signed set forth both the standard range and the maximum penalty, it also specified indeterminate sentencing applied if he was at least 18 years old, the justices wrote.

The trial court had denied his motion to withdraw the plea, arguing since he was beyond his 17th birthday at the time of the offense, he was not 17 years of age or younger.

The three-member panel of the Court of Appeals agreed with not allowing him to withdraw the plea affirming the conviction, but remanded the case for a determinate sentence.

Buckman was represented in his appeal by Centralia attorney Peter Tiller. Representing the state was Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh and Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher. Judge Nelson Hunt was the judge in the original case.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  Lewis County prosecutors won their appeal of the dismissal of a case by a local judge who concluded gift cards stolen by an employee from K-Mart did not meet the definition of “access devices.”

Angel R.M. Nelson was charged in Lewis County Superior Court in 2014 with second-degree theft of an access device and second-degree possession of a stolen access device. Surveillance video allegedly showed her retrieve empty gift cards three times and add funds to them without adding cash to her register, according to background information in the opinion issued this week by the state Court of Appeals.

At a pre-trial hearing, the judge granted a defense motion, ruling that as a matter of law, a gift card is not an access device, according to the document.

Reviewing in the light most favorable to the state and looking to the statute’s plain language, the three-member panel of justices found the state was correct. The justices said a gift card is an “access device.” The opinion was issued on Tuesday.

They remanded the case for further proceedings.