Lewis County Sirens.com

Chanh Nguyen is seated next to temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller, while his co-defendants look on; far right is Nga Dong and adjacent is Hai Son Le

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – After a 33-year-old San Jose man was arrested for growing more than 600 marijuana plants at property he said he rents from his sister-in-law across the street from Vader City Hall early this month, drug detectives found power records inside his vehicle for an address on Nelson Road north of Winlock.

When the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant this week on Nelson Road, they found more than 1,500 plants in a two-story outbuilding growing in five separate rooms and two other growing rooms in the residence, along with packaging equipment and materials.

Power consumption records from Lewis County PUD showed over 120,000 kilowatt hours for the last billing cycles.

The electric bill was in the name of Chanh Nguyen, 39, from San Jose, according to authorities.

Nguyen and two other men were found in the outbuilding on Thursday by deputies when the search was conducted and were arrested.

Nguyen said he rents the property for about $1,700 a month, had been there for about four months and did not have authorization for the grow, according to prosecutors.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher was clearly frustrated when the three men were brought before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday afternoon.

“This is not a couple of hippies growing a couple of plants in the backyard,” Meagher said.

The unlawful indoor growing operation was huge, perhaps the largest he has seen in Lewis County, according to Meagher.

“This is at least the fourth one we’ve had this year, like this,” he said.

Manufacture of marijuana is a class C felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison, the same punishment as simple possession of narcotics.

“I just don’t know how you can look at the size of this and not think it’s organized crime,” Meagher said.

He asked for $100,000 bail for each of the three defendants, but Judge Joely O’Rourke imposed $50,000 and restricted their travel to Western Washington.

Also appearing before the judge were Hai Son Le, 39, Fort Lauderdale and Nga Dong, 65, also from Fort Lauderdale. All three used the services of a Vietnamese translator.

The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office charged them with manufacture of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver or manufacture, and possession of marijuana.

Charging documents in the case describe a set up with numerous grow lights, air-moving fans and carbon filters which Meagher said are used to keep the odor from drifting outdoors.

Outside the courtroom, Meagher said he doesn’t yet know who owns the house on Nelson Road.

This case grew out of the Vader case, which in turn, was discovered because the Vader arrestee’s driver’s license was found at a growing operation in Grayland in Pacific County.

That was part of a series of at least 50 search warrants served in Grays Harbor and two other counties late last month. The Grays Harbor County Drug Task Force oversaw the arrests and seizure of more than 32,000 marijuana plants valued in excess of $80 million.

It followed an investigation into illegal marijuana growing operations by Chinese nationals, primarily in homes purchased with cash for that purpose.

Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott told The (Aberdeen) Daily World the reason 31 of the suspects were released without charges was it appeared they were brought to the United States from China under the impression they would pay off their debt of transportation and other costs after the crop was sold, a crop they were led to believe was legal; he called it a form of human trafficking.

Asked if any similar claim of being victims of human trafficking had come up in this case, Meagher said two of the defendants didn’t or couldn’t talk with law enforcement when they were arrested.

“I don’t have anything solid, but I have a suspicion,” Meagher said.

Temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller said after the court hearing, it seemed to her the three men did not know each other.

Their arraignments are scheduled for Jan. 4 in Lewis County Superior Court.

All three men appear to have bailed out of the Lewis County Jail shortly after midnight last night, according to the jail’s online roster.
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For background, read:

• “Vader indoor marijuana nursery shut down” from Tuesday December 12, 2017, here

• “Illegal marijuana growing by Chinese nationals targeted in Grays Harbor County” from Tuesday November 28, 2017, here

•

Defendants left to right: Chanh Nguyen, Hai Son Le and Nga Dong talk with a Vietnamese interpreter before their bail hearing

Jeremy L. Rumley Jr., in red, prepares to take a seat at the defense table in Lewis County Superior Court

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Bail was set at $50,000 for a 26-year-old man who allegedly broke in through the locked back door of a downtown Centralia tavern after closing, while the bartender was inside alone and cleaning up.

When police frisked the suspect, they located a 16-inch knife on him, according to court papers. The blade measured 10 inches long.

Jeremy L. Rumley Jr. was brought before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday afternoon, charged with two counts of first-degree burglary.

He was allegedly found inside the Hub Tavern shortly after 3:40 a.m. on Wednesday. Later that morning, the owner of the adjacent Tower Tavern reported he discovered someone had broken through his rear door and he was missing numerous bottles of alcohol and cigarettes, according to the documents.

Centralia police described Rumley as transient. Court documents list him as transient in Centralia. Temporary defense attorney Kevin Nelson told a judge yesterday afternoon Rumley resides in a Portland apartment with his wife.

Charging documents state officers were dispatched to the 100 block of South Tower Avenue; the bartender said someone had been banging on the door and then made entry.

When officers tried to push open the back door, someone inside kicked it shut. They surrounded the building and after a short period of time, a man opened the back door and officers detained him. That’s when they found the knife.

The bartender told police she had been cleaning the men’s restroom when she heard a loud bang and then a second bang. As she ran to hit the silent alarm, she heard a thud and hid and called 911, according to charging documents.

When she thought officers were on the scene, she headed to the front door, and saw two individuals crouched on the ground behind the bar, the documents relate. She exited and hid in some bushes.

Surveillance video shows two two people break through the rear door and crawl on the floor until they reach the bar, according to charging documents. The two appear to be spooked when the bartender walked out and one runs to the front of the bar and out of view.

“You can see officers contacting Rumley at the rear door after he opened it and was detained,” Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wrote in the affidavit regarding probable cause.

Rumley’s co-defendant, John Doe, is charged with the same two offenses.

Surveillance video from the Tower Tavern shows two individuals pull up to the back of the bar, park and wait until the crowds dissipated, according to Halstead. It also shows them enter the building, remove items and then place them into the vehicle.

Rumley’s arraignment is scheduled for next Thursday.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS  – The two buildings that comprise the Onalaska fire department’s main station have been condemned.

Lewis County Fire District 1 Board of Commissioners Chair Rich Bainbridge said it wasn’t a surprise.

The notice dated yesterday indicates numerous issues such as structural dilapidation with wood rot, interior vegetation growth and inhalation hazards such as mold, asbestos and mice droppings.

“Everything you can think of is wrong with it,” Bainbridge said. “Obviously it caught us at an awkward time.”

He said they have been visited off and on this week by Labor and Industries and Lewis County.

“We had a meeting last night, L&I came down last night from Olympia,” he said. “They said, you’ve gotta get out of these buildings now.”

The station is located at 244 Carlisle Avenue.

Bainbridge said the district has two satellite stations it can use, but exactly where the fire engines and other equipment will be parked is unknown.

“I can’t answer that right now, where everything is going to go,” he said.

The newly appointed Fire Chief Adam Myer is taking an inventory of the district’s belongings, he said.

The district owns property, six acres, for a new building.

Bainbridge said an engineering firm is in the process of putting together a design and once they know the final cost, they plan to go for a bond to build it.

“That’s been my target since I became commissioner,” he said.

The three-member board of commissioners normally meets the third Thursday of each month, but some special meetings will likely be held, Bainbridge said.

November’s meeting was held in the office area at the Carlisle Avenue location and an emergency meeting the following week took place in the large bay just adjacent.

The second meeting was heavily attended and contentious, as the board had just dismissed the fire chief and then one-third of the volunteers resigned in protest.

Bainbridge isn”t sure where the next meeting will take place.
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For background, read “Commissioners, volunteers clash at Onalaska fire department” from Thursday November 23, 2017, here

Roberto L. Mendez, in green striped jail garb, is represented by temporary defense attorney Kevin Nelson in Lewis County Superior Court

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Sunday’s incident in which shots were fired near a gas station in Silver Creek and one man was arrested led to the recovery of five firearms stolen in a recent Lewis County burglary.

Roberto L. Mendez, 32, of Mossyrock, reportedly told deputies he fired his handgun into the air as he and a 39-year-old Winlock man drove away in separate vehicles following an argument.

Mendez said the dispute was because he had not sold some guns the man provided him the week prior, because he believed they were “hot”, according to charging documents.

Mendez was charged yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court with one count of drive-by shooting, five counts of possessing a stolen firearm and possession of methamphetamine. He remains held in the Lewis County Jail with bail set at $100,000.

Charging documents in his case state that deputies dispatched about 11:30 a.m. on Sunday to the 2900 block of U.S. Highway 12 spoke to a clerk at the gas station who said there had been two males parked who appeared to be in an argument but they left. She heard what she thought was two gun shots, but didn’t know who fired a gun or where the shots came from, Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wrote.

The 39-year-old man was contacted at his home and didn’t want to cooperate but an acquaintance who had been with him said as they each drove away, Mendez stuck his hand out of his driver’s side window and fired a handgun into the air two times, according to Halstead.

Deputies located Mendez through a traffic stop and he allegedly admitted to firing the gun.

When they searched his vehicle, they found the handgun and five other guns. On Tuesday, a detective showed the victim of a recent burglary pictures of the five guns and he identified them as his which had been taken from his home, according to Halstead.

Mendez’s arraignment is scheduled for next Thursday.