Lewis County Sirens.com

Mark E. Grover is shown his seat in Lewis County Superior Court for a bail hearing.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Bail was set at $200,000 for the man who allegedly pointed what turned out to be a BB gun but looked like a 9mm pistol at a Centralia police officer who was chasing him on foot.

Mark E. Grover, 35, of Sequim, was charged in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday with second-degree assault and possession of methamphetamine.

Grover has no felony convictions in his past but has had misdemeanor driving offenses and has a pending case involving obstructing a law enforcement officer, Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Joel DeFazio told the judge.

DeFazio asked for the high bail, citing a threat to the community and a flight risk. He has three active warrants, DeFazio said.

Temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller tried for a lesser amount and conveyed to the judge her client said he has broken ribs and something is “very wrong” with his back.

Grover told the judge the pain was making him nauseous.

Judge Joely O’Rourke told him to work that out with the jail.

According to charging documents and police, Grover wrestled with three officers for several minutes behind the Rite Aid store on Harrison Avenue in Centralia on Wednesday morning.

Centralia police were initially called about a suspicious person who seemed to be prowling vehicles in the Safeway parking lot and were then told a store manager confronted him and pulled him out of a vehicle, according to the documents.

The suspect ran, but saw one officer’s police car and changed directions, according to the documents.

Centralia police Sgt. Brian Warren spotted the suspect in the Rite Aid parking lot, exited his vehicle, identified himself as police and instructed the suspect to stop, according to authorities.

Grover ran, Warren chased him on foot.

Warren was outfitted in plain clothes and driving an unmarked car, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Warren continued to yell he was police and to stop and was three to five feet away from Grover, when Grover stopped, turned around and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at Warren, Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wrote in charging documents.

Rather then stop to pull his duty weapon, Warren continued forward and grabbed the gun with both hands, according to Halstead. Grover also had two hands on the gun and the two men struggled over it, he wrote.

Warren repeatedly told him to let go, but he refused, according to the documents.

“While struggling over the gun Grover asked Warren if he was a cop and Warren said he was and he needed to release the gun,”  Halstead wrote. “Grover stated numerous times, ‘you’re going to get shot.’ ”

Other arriving officers got the gun from Grover’s hands but spent the next several minutes trying to get Grover’s hands out from beneath his body as he lay on his stomach, according to Halstead.

Officers deployed the Taser numerous times, Halstead wrote.

When Grover was searched, officers found a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine on his person, the documents state.

Grover was  taken by ambulance to be checked out before being booked, according to police.

When the gun was examined, it was found to be a loaded, operational BB gun but appeared identical to a 9mm Smith and Wesson handgun, according to court documents.

Grover’s charge of second-degree assault includes an enhancement that alleges he was armed with a deadly weapon other than a firearm.

He was assigned a court appointed lawyer. His arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.
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For background, read “Centralia officer facing gun-wielding man goes hands-on” from Thursday March 16, 2017, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A suspect during a foot chase who turned and pointed a pistol at the officer behind him in Centralia yesterday is booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree assault.

The officer was close enough to reach out and push the gun away and grab the man’s hand then a struggle ensued for control of the weapon, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Centralia police Sgt. Tracy Murphy said it took three officers wresting with the subject almost four minutes before they were able to cuff him. It happened behind the Rite Aid store at Harrison Avenue and Johnson Road.

Once police recovered the gun to clear it, they realized it was a BB gun, Murphy said.

It looked like a Smith and Wesson semi-automatic, he said.

Mark E. Grover, 35, of Sequim, had several outstanding warrants and also was found to be in possession of methamphetamine, according to police.

It’s only by the grace of God Grover wasn’t shot for his actions, according to Murphy.

Had Sgt. Brian Warren been two steps farther behind the guy when the gun appeared, that would have changed everything, he said.

“A split second decision,” Murphy said. “Do I try to beat the guy to the draw or get the gun out of my face.”

The reason for the encounter was a 911 call just before 9:30 a.m. about a suspected car prowler in the parking lot of Safeway; police were told a person was trying car doors, according to Murphy. Witnesses advised 911 of where the suspect headed and Sgt. Warren was the first to arrive, tried to cut him off and then gave chase on foot, he said.

Numerous officers arrived quickly, according to Murphy.

The suspect was taken by ambulance to be checked out, because of the potential effects of the combination of being under the influence of drugs and a prolonged fight, Murphy said. Then he was booked into the jail.

Grover is very fortunate the situation worked out the way it did, Murphy said.

“In the end, we’re very grateful it happened that way,” he said. “He (Warren) is glad it went that way.”

Grover is tentatively scheduled to go before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.

Brian Mendoza-Laureano Zuniga, in red, faces a judge while his three companions, in orange, from Green Hill School await their turns.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Five student-inmates from Green Hill School are charged with prison riot for an allegedly gang-related melee that broke out in the dining hall of the state juvenile incarceration facility in Chehalis.

The incident that occurred on Aug. 11 was investigated by the Chehalis Police Department and the suspects subsequently charged in Lewis County Superior Court. Four of them were brought before a judge yesterday afternoon.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Joel DeFazio said the fifth defendant has since been transferred into the custody of the state Department of Corrections and would be transported to a court hearing on Friday.

“We want all five of them to be arraigned at the same time,” DeFazio told the judge.

Charging documents in the case include statements from six different staff members involved in breaking up the fighting. The attackers were described as Surenos and their targets Nortenos.

One staff member recounted that as dinner was ending, he saw nearly all the Maple A and B Wing residents moving, running and one even climbing over a divider wall to get near or assault rival residents on the other side. One of the staff was reportedly kicked in the face as he tried to protect a resident, according to the documents.

Green Hill School off Southwest 11th Street provides services to as many as 185 male youth incarcerated in the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration for a wide range of felony offenses. They range in age from 15 to 20 years old. A signifiant portion of youth held at Green Hill will finish their sentences in an adult prison.

Yesterday, Brian Mendoza-Laureano Zuniga, now 19, was brought to court via the Lewis County Jail from the state Department of Corrections where he has transferred since the event in August.

Three of them were brought to court from Green Hill School and were to return there after the hearing until their next court date. They are: Angel Flores, 19; Adrian Pimentel Jr., 20; and Juan D. Martinez-Sanchez, 19.

Pimentel is additionally charged with custodial assault, a crime with a maximum penalty of five years.

Not present was Eduardo Humberto Moreneo who is expected Friday.

Charging documents do not make note of what offenses the defendants are currently serving time for. The documents don’t give information about the alleged victims, such as their ages and make no mention of any injuries.

Prison riot is described as two or more inmates together using force, violence or threats of such to disturb the good order of the institution, contrary to commands of officers. It has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Authorities reached out to the Chehalis Police Department the following day, requesting contact about a “major youth disturbance” the night before.

The arraignments are scheduled for March 23.