Archive for March, 2017

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, March 8th, 2017
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Updated at 6:43 p.m.

JNET: PACKAGES OF CRYSTAL METH HIDDEN IN COFFEE CONTAINER

• A traffic stop yesterday off Interstate 5 at the 13th Street exit in Chehalis yielded 28 and half ounces of methamphetamine inside a coffee container in a vehicle, pulled off the freeway allegedly for speeding, failing to signal lane changes and displaying no license plate or visible trip permit. Members of the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team observed the violations of the northbound vehicle and asked the driver to move to the AM/PM and Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Rick VanWyck arrived with his drug sniffing K-9 and detected controlled substances while a detective was speaking with the driver, according to charging documents. Hancel Zagal Alcaraz, 28, from Pasco, was arrested with $2,467 cash on his person and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to authorities. He was charged today in Lewis County Superior Court with possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. The suspect who owns an auto repair business in Pasco and has no felony criminal history in the state was ordered held on $25,000 bail when he went before a judge this afternoon.

VEHICLE THEFT

• Police were called just after 4:15 a.m. today when someone drove off from the 200 block of West Main Street in Chehalis with a service truck that belonged to someone else. Centralia police caught up with the vehicle at the 1200 block of Alder Street in Centralia, according to police. The driver Jared W. Thorson, 32, of Centralia, was arrested for theft of a motor vehicle and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The truck was returned to its owner.

MASS BATTERY HEIST

• Chehalis police were called to the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue just before 5 p.m. yesterday where they were told two individuals had stolen 25 Max car batteries. The loss is $2,887.51, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

DEPUTY RETRIEVES STOLEN CHAINSAW

• An 18-year-old Onalaska resident was arrested yesterday for allegedly trying to sell a stolen chainsaw to a sheriff’s detective after its owner discovered it for sale on the app OfferUp. Cody B.E. Rider was asked to meet at the courthouse yesterday for an interview after previous conversations with the detective over the past few weeks in which he first said he’d bought it from a former classmate and later said it was a friend he was hunting with back in November, and suggested it was taken from another truck parked near a gate off Meyers Road in the Mossyrock area, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office report summarized in charging documents. Rider was charged today in Lewis County Superior Court with first-degree trafficking in stolen property and allowed to remain free pending trial on a $10,000 unsecured bond. He has no criminal history.

BREAK-IN

• Chehalis police were called yesterday to take a report that someone had forced their way into a residence on the 600 block of Southwest William Avenue two weeks ago. Nothing was taken, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

FRAUD CENTRALIA

• Centralia police are investigating a report of check fraud associated with an approximately 5:15 a.m. call today.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, probation violation, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, third-degree theft, vehicle collision, suspicious circumstances … and more among 130 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

Vader house claimed by fire

Wednesday, March 8th, 2017
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Crews work to extinguish fire on E Street yesterday afternoon. / Courtesy photo by Derrick Paul

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – An investigator is looking for the cause of a house fire that displaced a family of four in Vader yesterday afternoon.

Cowlitz-Lewis Fire District 20 Assistant Chief Ruth Crear said six other fire departments joined them at the home on the 800 block of E Street.

“It’s a total loss, the house and contents,” Crear said. “There’s nothing for them to salvage.”

The one and a half story residence was home to a couple, their grown son and their 16-year-old nephew, she said.

Crews were called at 3:16 p.m. after the teen got off a school bus and noticed fire in the back, and notified the two men who were inside, unaware anything was burning, according to Fire Investigator Derrick Paul.

Crear described the initial fire as outside a bedroom, but Paul’s understanding was the main part of the fire at first was in an adjacent shed and moved into the house.

A firefighter from Toledo was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with a leg or ankle injury, according to Paul. Nobody else was injured, Crear said.

The Red Cross was contacted to assist the family, who are staying with relatives in Vader, according to Crear.

Approximately two dozen firefighters battled the blaze, which re-ignited about 2 o’clock this morning.

“We were there eight hours the first time and two and a half hours the second time,” Crear said.

Alleged drugged driving brings homicide charge for Centralia woman

Tuesday, March 7th, 2017
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Kimberly J. McPherson waits as her conditions of release documents are signed in Lewis County Superior Court this afternoon.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Prosecutors have charged the driver in a fatal Christmas Eve wreck in rural Chehalis with vehicular homicide.

The passenger Thomas D. Lininger, 43, of Chehalis died at the scene of the single-car collision on state Route 508 near Forest-Napavine Road.

Four of his five children and other family members were present in the courtroom today when Kimberly J. McPherson appeared before a judge.

McPherson had been summonsed to Lewis County Superior Court. Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher requested McPherson be allowed to remain free pending trial, with a $25,000 unsecured bond.

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Thomas Lininger and his children

He also asked the judge to prohibit McPherson from driving as a condition of her release.

Judge Joely O’Rourke asked if he had community safety concerns.

“I don’t want to hinder the taxpayers with medical bills or make it any more difficult with doctors,” Meagher said. “I am convinced if she doesn’t get behind the wheel of a car, everybody’s better off.”

Temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller told the judge her client resides locally, has been evaluated at Eugenia Center and is actively involved in treatment. She also has surgery scheduled for tomorrow in Tacoma, Tiller said.

McPherson, 51, used crutches this afternoon and wore a slipper-type shoe on her left foot.

Prosecutors allege McPherson was under the influence of a drug or drugs the night of the accident.

Lininger’s sisters said the couple had just left a family dinner when it happened. Troopers and aid called about 8:40 p.m. on Dec. 24 found the two trapped inside the Honda Accord

“The investigation led the patrol to conclude the defendant drove straight off the road, through a grassy patch, striking a tree,” Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer wrote in charging documents. “There was no indication of any attempt to break (sp) or swerve to avoid the collision.”

Lininger died at the scene from head trauma, according to Meyer.

A trooper contacted McPherson at the hospital and a breath sample provided indicated she was not under the influence of alcohol, but she admitted to using controlled substances earlier in the day, according to Meyer.

Both methamphetamine and heroin were allegedly found in the car, and some meth inside McPherson’s purse, Meyer wrote. She is also charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of heroin.

Charging documents state the results of a blood test reveal the presence of meth, opiates and morphine, though the opiate-morphine result may have been from drugs administered at the hospital, according to Meyer.

Centralia attorney Don Blair was appointed to represent her. She has a conviction for second-degree robbery and a controlled substance violation from 1996, according to Meagher.

Judge O’Rourke ordered standard conditions of release and added further restrictions.

McPherson may not go within 30 feet of any bar or tavern, may not get behind the wheel of any vehicle, even a bicycle, O’Rourke said.

“I’m also adding you may not be outside your residence past 10 o’clock in the evening,” O’Rourke said. “Do you understand that?”

Troopers reported McPherson is a Centralia resident, but prosecutors show a Tenino post office box as her mailing address.

Lininger’s two sisters said outside the courtroom they felt satisfied with what they heard and understood it’s a slow process, but would rather authorities take the time and get it right.

Their brother’s death would have been less difficult if it hadn’t have been preventable, they said.

Vehicular homicide has a maximum penalty of life in prison and/or a $50,000 fine.  McPherson’s arraignment is scheduled for March 16.
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For background, read “Christmas Eve crash claims a life, south of Chehalis” from Sunday December 25, 2016, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, March 7th, 2017
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CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called to the 1100 block of F Street just before 7:30 a.m. yesterday for a vehicle prowl. Someone stole baseball equipment sometime during the night, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS

• A deputy was called over to the Lewis County Jail yesterday afternoon after getting information that when an inmate was arrested, he may have had controlled substances on his person. Jail staff checked the pocket of pants belonging to Robert R. Green, 27, and found suspected methamphetamine and heroin, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Green was re-booked for two counts of possession, according to the sheriff’s office.

ESCAPE ARTIST

• Chehalis police were called about 9:40 a.m. yesterday and again about 2:45 p.m. when the same toddler was found running in the area of the 400 block of Southwest Parkland Drive and 13th Street. The approximately one and a half year old boy had evidently been able to get the door to his home open and an officer spoke with the parent about ways to prevent that, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, third-degree theft, protection order violation, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, shoplifting, civil issue, vehicle collision, suspicious circumstances … and more among 130 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, March 6th, 2017
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Updated at 4:54 p.m.

DOMESTIC ASSAULT TOLEDO

• A 41-year-old Toledo area man was arrested last night after allegedly striking his wife in the face, arms and ribs after they returned home from a restaurant where they ate and consumed alcohol. Deputies called about 6:50 p.m. spoke to the victim who was taken to the hospital and noted at one point her breathing had been inhibited, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. When they contacted the suspect on the 100 block of Fluckinger Road and tried to wake him up, he allegedly threw picture frames at them and kicked at them, according to the sheriff’s office. A Taser was deployed and Trevor E. Beers was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree assault and third-degree assault, Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said.

OLD BOYFRIEND BARGES IN

• A 38-year-old Centralia man was arrested after allegedly entering in through the back door of a former girlfriend at the 200 block of Carroll Way outside Chehalis, following her into her bedroom and grabbing her iPhone as she tried to call for help. Daniel L. Haubrick reportedly ran off with the phone and deputies responding just after 4:30 p.m. yesterday found him later at his residence, where he was arrested for first-degree burglary, second-degree robbery, fourth-degree assault and third degree theft, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

BROKEN WINDOW, CUT HAND

• A 27-year-old Centralia man denied breaking the bedroom window and removing window screens from around the house of his former roommate at the 600 block of Shanklin Road in Onalaska but was arrested for attempted residential burglary and third-degree malicious mischief following a call on Friday evening by the victim. The woman said she’d gotten several calls that day from Joseph R. Rogers and he was found later with a deep cut to his hand, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He said he’d gone to visit her, according to the sheriff’s office. Rogers was booked into the Lewis County Jail, Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said. Prosecutors today declined to file the felony charge.

BREAK-IN CHEHALIS

• An employee arrived to find a business burglarized at the 700 block of South Market Boulevard in Chehalis about 8 a.m. on Friday, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The front door lock had been damaged and as much as $1,000 cash stolen from inside the office, according to police.

SCAMMED IN CENTRALIA

• An individual was duped into sending money via Western Union to someone in another state who convinced her that she had won a large grant, according to the Centralia Police Department following a report yesterday evening from the 1500 block of Windsor Avenue.

AUTO THEFT

• A 2002 Honda discovered missing from the 1900 block of South Market Boulevard in Chehalis yesterday had turned up the day before wrecked and unoccupied with its airbags deployed by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

MORE THEFT

• Chehalis police were called just before 7 p.m. yesterday following the discovery of a car prowl at the 200 block of Southwest 13th Street. Several items were taken sometime during the previous few nights, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• Chehalis police are investigating after a call just after 4:30 p.m. on Saturday to a business on the 1300 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue where a laptop computer and phones were reported stolen, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

BAD BILLS

• A male suspect attempted to pass a counterfeit $100 bill for a purchase at the 1100 block of Johnson Road in Centralia, according to a report made to police just after 2 p.m. yesterday.

• Chehalis police were called about 11:20 a.m. yesterday to a business on the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue which found it had taken in four fake $100 bills.

• Police were called just before 3:30 p.m. on Saturday to a business on the 1400 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue where someone attempted to pass a counterfeit $100 bill.

• Chehalis police were called about 2:15 p.m. on Saturday to a store on the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue where an individual attempted to pass a fake $100 bill, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• A customer at a business on the 10 block of Northeast Median Street in Chehalis called police to report getting change back that included a counterfeit $5 bill on Friday morning. An officer took possession of the bad bill, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

DRUGS

• A 45-year-old Centralia man being booked into the Lewis County Jail on Friday afternoon allegedly handed over his clothing after changing during the booking process with a smoking device and a bag of a crystalized substance wrapped up with it. A deputy responded to the jail about 5:30 p.m. arrested and re-booked Ernest A. Calderon for possession of methamphetamine, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

SUSPECT FOUND BY POLICE DOG

• A 25-year-old Centralia man wanted on an outstanding warrant ran from an officer in the 100 block of Tilley Road in Centralia but was later located by a police K9 team at a nearby apartment around 9 p.m. yesterday, according to the Centralia Police Department. Justin T. Booth was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police. Two other people at the apartment were also arrested for warrants, according to police.

AND FROM MORTON

• Morton police reported today an officer was called about 5:40 in the evening for a complaint the occupants of a vehicle parked at the 400 block of Second Street might be engaging in sexual intercourse. When contacted, both individuals seemed to be disheveled and were adjusting their clothing, according to the Morton Police Department. “They were asked to leave the area if they were doing what had been reported,” the department wrote in a brief summary of the Feb. 28 incident. “They agreed to leave and the officer resumed patrolling the area.”

• Officers responded to the intersection of Mossyrock Road West and Aldrich Road about 8:30 a.m. on Friday to a street sign that appeared to have gang affiliated graffiti on it, according to the Morton Police Department.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• Two Portland women traveling in a sport utility vehicle were injured when it hydroplaned and struck a semi truck headed the same direction on Interstate 5 about two miles south of Napavine last night. Troopers called at 10:40 p.m. to the southbound lanes near milepost 68 report the 2009 Mazda Tribute was totaled and impounded. The driver, Jean Dusablon, 55, and her passenger Katherine A. Belge, 51, were both transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to the Washington State Patrol. Dusablon was to be cited for speed too fast for conditions, according to the state patrol. The Tacoma man behind the wheel of Peterbilt tractor hauling two trailers was reportedly unhurt. His truck was able to be driven away from the scene. Firefighters from Lewis County Fire District 5 had been called just 10 minutes earlier to the northbound lanes in the same area where a passenger car had ended up on its top but nobody was transported from hat wreck, according to Fire Lt. Laura Hanson.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for drugs, warrants, protection order violation, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, suspicious circumstances, misdemeanor domestic assault … and more among 124 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

 

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Sunday, March 5th, 2017
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Updated at 5:04 p.m.

ATTEMPTED BANK MACHINE HEIST

• Centralia police arrested two individuals overnight who were allegedly seen trying to force open an ATM machine at the 600 block of South Tower Avenue. Chase Z. Barker, 19, and Anthony T. Hauck, 18, both of Centralia, were booked into the Lewis County Jail for attempted theft and first-degree malicious mischief following the call just after 3 o’clock this morning, according to the Centralia Police Department.

ATTEMPTED BREAK-IN

• Two people were arrested after allegedly trying to kick in the back door of a home on the 500 block of West Cherry Street in Centralia but were thwarted when the resident pushed back against the door barring entry on Thursday. Officers called just after 9 a.m. got a description of the suspects who fled and subsequently located Aaron J. Henning, 27, of Rochester, and Alan R. Moody, 54, of Winlock, according to the Centralia Police Department. They were booked into the Lewis County Jail for residential burglary. Moody was also arrested for possession of stolen property as it was discovered that he had also stolen a lawn mower from a nearby house, according to police.

THEFT, THEFT, THEFT

• An individual reported to police yesterday morning that prescription medication was stolen from her residence while she was gone, at the 1800 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia.

• Police were called just after 5 p.m. on Friday to the 1500 block of Delaware Avenue where someone had cut a lock to a garage and stolen a gas can.

• Centralia police were called about 8:40 a.m. on Friday to a vacant home on the 1000 block of Alder Street following a discovery someone had forced their way in and stolen power equipment left there for repairs.

• Centralia police took a report from the 1500 block of Lewis Street on Thursday morning of an overnight break-in to a maintenance shed.

AUTO SHOP FIRE CAUSE WAS ACCIDENTAL

• It was a loose electrical connection inside a electrical wiring junction box at Burkett Auto Sales that ignited the fire last weekend that caused an estimated  $30,000 damage to the shop area of the business. The fire on the 1100 block of South Gold Street in Centralia broke out the morning of Feb 25 and was extinguished before it could spread to an adjacent office and large shop building. Riverside Fire Authority Assistant Chief Richard Mack called the condition a high resistance connection, which resulted in a build up of heat and then the fire.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• Two people were arrested after a pursuit off the freeway and through Chehalis that ended with at least three vehicles damaged, including a patrol vehicle, a parked vehicle and the stolen car the suspects were traveling in. A deputy attempted to make a traffic stop of a silver Honda Civic which reportedly was speeding and cutting in and out of traffic on northbound Interstate 5 and exited at the Chamber of Commerce Way interchange, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The chase continued through downtown and into a residential area where the Honda finally stopped, but then its driver backed up and rammed the deputy’s 2014 Ford Explorer, according to the sheriff’s office. The driver of the Honda maneuvered onto a curb striking a parked 2016 Mazda CX5, pulled forward into the patrol vehicle and was then pinned against the curb by the deputy’s vehicle before the two occupants got out and ran off, Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said. It all happened shortly after 6 a.m. on Thursday and ended near Terrace Road and Northeast Highland Place, according to Breen. The 15-year-old female passenger was taken to the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center for possession of a stolen vehicle and the 18-year-old suspected driver, Nicholas A. Mannthey was booked into the Lewis County Jail for attempting to elude, possession of a stolen vehicle, malicious mischief and second-degree assault, Breen said.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for drugs, warrants, third-degree theft, misdemeanor domestic assault, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, shoplifting, hit and run, vehicle collision, suspicious circumstances, vehicle egged during the night … and more among 434 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 72-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

Three separate rape cases dropped in Lewis County Superior Court

Friday, March 3rd, 2017
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By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A judge has dismissed a charge of second-degree rape of a child against a Chehalis man in a case in which a 13-year-old girl told police she was taken advantage of by three males at a Centralia party when she was so drunk she could not walk.

Geffrey A. Duncan, 22, was charged in September in Lewis County Superior Court in connection with the events reported in 2012. He pleaded not guilty.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Melissa Bohm said she’s been unable to contact the alleged victim. The state’s motion to dismiss Duncan’s case without prejudice was granted yesterday, she said.

The allegations were investigated in May of 2012, and forensic evidence collected, but the girl only knew the first names of two of the individuals, according to court documents. An interview with a new witness led to two arrests last year.

Tyler M. McKee, 22, formerly of Chehalis, entered into a plea deal in November and was sentenced to 41 months in prison for two counts of second-degree child molestation.

Prosecutors alleged in charging documents that McKee’s DNA profile matched material collected from the girl’s pants. Duncan’s DNA was excluded from the sample found on the garment, according to prosecutors.

Dismissed without prejudice means the state can file the charge again later, Bohm said.

Two other sexual assault cases from late last year ended the same way in recent days in Lewis County Superior Court.

Bohm said the requests came about after further interviewing of the alleged victims and review of the files and deciding the cases could not go forward.

On Monday, a charge of second-degree rape was dismissed for Juvencio E. Ayala Rodriguez, a 23-year-old Centralia resident. He was charged in November following an investigation that began in April when a 16-year-old girl reported he forced himself on her a few nights earlier when she and a friend met two guys at Schaeffer Park.

Last week, on Thursday, a charge of second-degree rape was dismissed for 19-year-old Santiago L. Fernando of Chehalis. He too was charged in November following an investigation that began with a pregnant 17-year-old girl’s mother calling the Chehalis Police Department.