Archive for August, 2016

Acres and acres scorched south of Chehalis

Thursday, August 4th, 2016
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Firefighters from multiple departments battle grass, hay fire off Rice Road this afternoon.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Just two days after county officials enacted outdoor burning restrictions because of potential fire danger, flames tore through fields in south Chehalis southwest of Interstate 5.

Veronica Redl and relatives were just returning to her home on Rice Road from the store this afternoon when they saw billowing smoke behind her two-acre property.

“We were kind of awestruck ourself,” Redl said. “We saw a lot of smoke.”

The Chehalis Fire Department was called at 2:37 p.m. for a small amount of fire around a hay baler, with a couple of bales which had ignited. Fire Capt. Rob Gebhart estimated the piece of equipment was 400 to 500 yards behind the first house that sits across the street from Stan Hedwall Park.

“Then the wind kicked in, and it took off,” Gebhart said.

Chehalis Firefighter Steve Emrich said it took only two to three minutes before flames spread to more than 10 acres, heading south and west.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported more than 30 acres burned, belonging to several different property owners.

Emrich this evening said he understood it was estimated at 100 acres.

They focused on protecting homes and outbuildings along the rural road.

“We tried to get in front of it with water, which we did,” Gebhart said. And someone with a dozer cut a fire line which was a huge help, he said.

Part of what burned was hayfield already cut, and fields with still tall hay and grass, he said.

They were assisted by crews from Lewis County Fire District 6, Riverside Fire Authority, Lewis County Fire District 5, Lewis County Fire District 1 and the state Department of Natural Resources. A brush truck from Toledo passing by even stopped and joined them, Gebhart said.

Rice Road was shut down from the park to Labree Road, and some residences were evacuated, according to the sheriff’s office.

Nobody was hurt. Fences and equipment were damaged, the sheriff’s office posted on its Facebook page.

The Chehalis Fire Department was back at the station by about 6 p.m. DNR personnel continued at the scene mopping up.

“We were lucky we were able to keep it out of a couple of super dry fields,” Emrich said.

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An estimated 100 acres were consumed; fences and equipment were damaged, but nobody was injured.

 

Prosecutors: Centralia man’s refusal to drive to wooded area gets him pistol whipped

Thursday, August 4th, 2016
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David Serrano Mosso is charged with kidnapping and assault in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A judge ordered a 20-year-old Centralia resident held on $500,000 bail in connection with an incident in which a man was found beaten and bleeding in the parking lot of Providence Centralia Hospital.

On Friday morning, Centralia police described the initial details as someone was trying to make a 37-year-old Centralia man drive somewhere, he got scared, pulled into the lot and was pistol whipped.

Charging documents in the case describe the victim as meeting someone he’d sold some wheels to, in order to get paid, and two males getting into his car, one of them shoving a pistol into his ribs and them telling him to drive out to a wooded area.

He said he noticed a third male following them in a white Honda-style car.

When he refused, and turned into the hospital parking lot along South Scheuber Road instead, the two males struck him, according to court documents.

A person visiting a friend at the hospital found the victim bleeding from his head and face, stumbling through the lot and helped him into the emergency room, according to court documents.

Officers arriving after the 10:20 p.m. call from the hospital last Thursday night, were told security found the unoccupied vehicle running with the driver’s door open and a large pool of blood on the ground nearby.

Inside the car was a BB gun the victim said was not his his. A wallet and .22 caliber bullet were found nearby.

The victim, Juventino Barrera-Martinez, told police he didn’t know the names of the males in his car, but did know the front seat passenger worked at Taco El Rey and lived on Russell Road, Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wrote in court documents.

On Friday morning, David Serrano Mosso, 20, from Centralia, was arrested for consuming alcohol in violation of his 24/7 program with the Centralia Police Department. He was  booked into the Lewis County Jail.

Because he fit the description provided by the victim, Officer Buddy Croy questioned Serrano Mosso and found he worked at Taco El Rey and lived on Russell Road, Halstead wrote. He denied buying any wheels.

The victim picked Serrano Mosso from a photo montage on Sunday, as the individual in the front passenger seat of his car who had pulled the pistol on him, and assaulted him, according to Halstead.

Serrano Mosso was charged yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court with first-degree assault and first-degree kidnapping.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher asked that he be held on $500,000 bail, and Judge Nelson Hunt agreed.

Centralia attorney Don Blair was appointed to represent him. Serrano Mosso’s arraignment was scheduled for this morning.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, August 4th, 2016
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•••

Updated

BURGLARY WINLOCK

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning that someone broke into a residence on the 300 block of Minkler Road in Winlock sometime between Monday and yesterday and left with a LeapFrog tablet, games and another tablet. A door and its frame was left damaged, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

BURGLARY CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called to the 2100 block of North Pearl Street about 4:30 p.m. yesterday where an individual reported that sometime over the last several days someone stole items from the residence. The victim is still making a list and the case is under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AUTO THEFT

• A stolen Honda car turned up yesterday morning parked at the 700 block of South Market Boulevard minus its stereo, a purse and a coat, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

DRUGS

• Jared R. Dulores, 43, of Chehalis was arrested for an outstanding warrant and possession of methamphetamine after contact with police about 6:15 a.m. today at the 1200 block of Mellen Street in Centralia. Dulores was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

• Chehalis police were called about 2:30 p.m. yesterday regarding a pair of suspicious males in a grayish silver truck in the area of Folsom Street and Northwest Ohio Avenue, where three children were playing in a front yard. They were wearing reflective vests and had been seen in the area off and on, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• A 61-year-old driver had an injured vertebrae and a cut to his back of his head after his 2001 Ford Ranger rolled onto its top yesterday morning at the 1600 block of Lincoln Creek Road outside Centralia. A deputy called just before 10 a.m. found Richard O. Tharpe, of Centralia, had driven onto the gravel and overcorrected, causing the wreck, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. His vehicle was totaled. Tharpe was arrested for driving under the influence and third-degree driving with suspended license, according to the sheriff’s office. He was also cited for not having vehicle insurance and failing to notify the Department of Licensing of his change in address, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

• Chehalis police were asked to assist a trooper about 12:30 a.m. today for a vehicle failing to pull over along Interstate 5. Once the vehicle was stopped, Chehalis was asked to secure the vehicle and the children left inside as the driver left on foot, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Further details were not readily available.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, resisting arrest, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, shoplifting, unfounded report, runaway juvenile located, possible hit and run, collision on city street … and more among 163 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

Second defendant pleads guilty in Chehalis Backpage.com related robbery

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016
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Samath L. Hem, accompanied by his lawyer Jacob Clark, faces a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 23-year-old Tacoma man was given just over 12 years in prison today for his role in a violent robbery at a rural Chehalis home by a man expecting an escort he’d contacted on Backpage.com.

Samath L. Hem has been held in the Lewis County Jail since shortly after the April 29 events at a residence on the the 900 block of Logan Hill Road.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said two males arrived with the female to the home, but the 53-year-old victim didn’t report what happened until the following day.

The victim told authorities he was punched, hit in the head with a pistol and dragged to his bedroom where he was tied up with a power cord. His television and some checkbooks were gone when he was able to get himself untied and then some property belonging to him was discovered in the trunk of a car impounded after a shoplifting incident a few days later at Home Depot in Chehalis.

Natrone D. Bostick, 19, of Lakewood, pleaded guilty in mid-June and got a 15-year sentence.

Hem, with only a few misdemeanors in his past, was handed down a sentence today in Lewis County Superior Court of 12 years and three months.

Defense attorney Jacob Clark told the judge it was an agreed recommendation between him and the prosecutor’s office. Hem pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and second-degree burglary. He pleaded guilty to third-degree theft and possession of methamphetamine at the same time in the Home Depot case.

Judge Nelson Hunt agreed with the components of the plea deal.

Hem’s mother, fiancée and step-father sat behind him in the courtroom this afternoon, both women crying.

Hunt told Hem to turn around and take look at the emotion they were showing.

“This is about what you did,” Hunt said, as he admonished the defendant to remember the moment the next time he’s disposed to get into trouble.

The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office has said law enforcement figured out who the woman is, but no charges have been filed against her as of today.
•••

For background, read “Nineteen-year-old gets sentenced for Backpage.com related home invasion” from Thursday June 16, 2016, here

News brief: Stove fire chases Tenino residents from home

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016
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Investigators snapped photos after the fire was extinguished on Mima Acres Drive Southeast. / Courtesy photo by Thurston County Fire District 12.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A fire that seriously damaged a home just west of Tenino yesterday is believed to have started with a pan on a stove, according to Thurston County Fire District 12.

Three fire departments responded to the approximately 12:30 p.m. call along the 1700 block of Mima Acres Drive Southeast, Administrative Chief Tina Vanderhoof said

The occupants were home, called 911 and got out safely, she said.

The flames got into the ceiling, then the roof and while the doublewide mobile home didn’t burn to the ground, it was compromised and likely is a total loss, she said.

Much of the contents were destroyed, Vanderhoof said.

Two firefighters were treated at the scene for exhaustion, but nobody was hurt, she said.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016
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•••

Updated at 5:32 p.m.

CRITICAL CRASH IN CENTRALIA

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning a 58-year-old Centralia man remains in critical condition following a motorcycle crash at the 100 block of Joppish Road outside Centralia yesterday morning. A deputy arriving just before 7:30 a.m. yesterday found the 2008 Harley Davidson was totaled and its operator had suffered internal injuries after colliding with a road sign, according to the sheriff’s office. He was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Cmdr. Dusty Breen said. He had been wearing a helmet. Breen said it appeared speed was involved as the motorcycle rider had been northbound and failed to negotiate a curve.

FOOD FIGHT

• A 42-year-old man angry because someone stole his Lunchable allegedly used a large piece of lumber to strike a tent that was occupied last night in a wooded area off the 1700 block of Airport Road outside Centralia. A deputy responding about 10:15 p.m. learned the victim, a 54-year-old Centralia woman, sustained a large lump on her left cheekbone, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Douglas M. Martin, also from Centralia, was arrested for third-degree assault and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office.

AUTO THEFT

• Police called about 1:20 p.m. yesterday when a 2006 Saturn was discovered missing from the parking lot at Wal-Mart in Chehalis. The keys had been left inside the unlocked car, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Not long afterward, an officer driving through the parking lot at Twin City Town Center, also on Northwest Louisiana  Avenue, spotted the unoccupied car, which still had a purse in it, although a cell phone and medications were missing, according to police.

• Centralia police were called just before 12:30 p.m. yesterday when a block 1995 Honda Accord was discovered missing from the 100 block of West High Street.

• Chehalis police were called just before 8:30 a.m. yesterday when a 1997 Honda Accord was discovered missing from the 1000 block of Southwest 20th Street. The car was located about 3 p.m. at the Chehalis reservation and the owner notified to come and retrieve it, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

BURGLARY CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called about 4:15 p.m. yesterday to a residence on the 1000 block of Centralia Avenue where they were told that checks and household items had been stolen during the previous several weeks.

TOOLS TAKEN CHEHALIS

• A deputy responded yesterday to a report that a family member was suspected of taking a floor jack and some tools from the 100 block of Kennicott Road outside Chehalis. Bradley J. Economou, 26, of Chehalis, who wasn’t supposed to be at the residence, was contacted and subsequently arrested for residential burglary and then booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He was released today when prosecutors declined to file the felony charge.

YARD THEFT CENTRALIA

• An officer was called to the 1400 block of Crescent Avenue in Centralia yesterday to take a report that sometime during the night someone stole a lighthouse cross ornament from their yard.

OTHER THEFT

• An officer was called just before 10 a.m. yesterday to the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue to take a report that groceries had been stolen and alcohol was stolen, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• An 18-year-old Centralia resident was arrested yesterday in connection with a $775 cell phone stolen while its owner’s son had it while swimming at the Adna trestle the day before. Mikel J. Herren was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree theft and possession of stolen property, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

FRAUD

• An individual contacted Centralia police yesterday from the 1000 block of Swanson Drive to report that someone in California had opened a credit card account using their name.

• An officer was called yesterday to Providence Centralia Hospital to take a report that someone had used a false identity when they received care. A victim was billed for services, according to the Centralia Police Department. The case is under investigation, according to police.

CAR PROWL

• A jewelry box was stolen from a vehicle parked at the 700 block of Ham Hill Road in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 3:45 p.m. yesterday.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• A 20-year-old Chehalis resident was charged today for allegedly beating a person she suspected was a confidential police informant, punching the person in the face at least 10 times while her companion tore up and cut up the person’s clothing with a small knife. Charging documents say only it occurred in Lewis County sometime after Jan.1 of this year. Stevi L. Taylor was booked into the Lewis County Jail on Sunday night for what appears from the facility’s online roster to be a warrant for failing to appear in court on a misdemeanor theft case. Taylor has no felony convictions in her past but is now charged with intimidating a witness, an offense with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Charging documents state the incident occurred when drug detectives set up a controlled buy operation for an informant to purchase heroin from Taylor and her companion, and someone present saw a message on the person’s phone from a local drug detective. Her bail was set at $10,000. Her arraignment is tomorrow in Lewis County Superior Court.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, third-degree theft, misdemeanor assault, probation violation, driving with no license; responses for alarm, dispute, disorderly person, collision on city street, someone spotted going to bathroom in bushes behind park and ride  … and more among 163 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

News brief: Alleged ongoing sexual abuse brings felony charges

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A rural Chehalis 19-year-old was arrested early yesterday for allegedly forcing two younger female relatives to have sex with him beginning when they were as young as five years old and he was as young as 10 to 12 years old.

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Conlan M. Craig

A deputy with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by an aunt on Sunday in Centralia who said the girls disclosed to her what had occurred.

One of the girls said she told him no but it happened a half dozen times and the other said it continued until as recently as two months ago, according to court documents.

Conlan M. Craig was interviewed by the deputy and booked into the Lewis County Jail. He was charged yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court with two counts of first-degree child rape.

The maximum penalty is life in prison.

Judge Richard Brosey set Craig’s bail at $50,000. His arraignment was scheduled for Thursday.