Archive for January, 2018

Dead homeless man was from Vader

Wednesday, January 17th, 2018

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The man who was found dead inside a seemingly abandoned pickup truck in Chehalis earlier this month has been identified as 64-year-old Rickie J. Hornbeck.

The Lewis County Coroner’s Office says Hornbeck is from Vader, but the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office has said he had become homeless and was sleeping in his vehicle.

The Ford F150 with a canopy had been sitting on the shoulder at Southwest Interstate Avenue and Bishop Road for an unknown length of time when a sheriff’s deputy tagged it to be impounded on Jan. 6.

A deputy returned the following morning, called for a tow truck and discovered Hornbeck dead in the back, along with a propane heater.

The sheriff’s office said they would have the heater tested.

The coroner’s office knew early on who he was, but delayed releasing his name until they could locate his next of kin.

Coroner Warren McLeod said an autopsy turned up nothing suspicious, but the cause and manner of the death can’t be determined until the results come back from toxicology tests.
•••

For background, read “Sheriff’s Office: Dead man was local, living out of his truck” from Wednesday January 10, 2018, here

Centralia: Residents of two apartments displaced after overnight fire

Wednesday, January 17th, 2018
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Just after midnight at the 1400 block of Lewis Street in Centralia. / Image courtesy of Chris and Shay Woolam

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Two young children were rescued via ladder when a fire broke out overnight in a two-story apartment building in Centralia.

They were among five individuals trapped when a fire in a first floor unit extended to a balcony of upper level apartments, according to Riverside Fire Authority. The three adults were able to walk out after the blaze was under control, according to Fire Capt. Terry Ternan.

Ternan indicates there were no injuries.

Crews called at midnight to the 1400 block of Lewis Street were joined by members of four other fire departments.

The fire is under investigation by the Centralia Police Department and Riverside Fire Authority joint fire investigation team. There were no smoke detectors present, according to Ternan.

A total of seven occupants from two different apartments were displaced. They were assisted by the Red Cross, according to RFA.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, January 16th, 2018
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•••

Updated at 5:45 p.m.

DOMESTIC DISPUTE

• An 18-year-old Centralia resident was arrested after allegedly holding his girlfriend for an hour against her will during an argument and keeping her from calling 911 on Friday at the 600 block of South Silver Street in Centralia. Reece W. Giddings was booked into the Lewis County Jail for unlawful imprisonment, according to the Centralia Police Department.

OUT-OF-CONTROL KIDS

• Officers responding about 5 p.m. on Sunday to the 400 block of North Buckner Street in Centralia were arresting a 15-year-old girl for allegedly committing misdemeanor assault against her mother when the girl allegedly tried to bite the police. The girl was booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center for third-degree assault, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police were called about 10:35 p.m. on Sunday to the 900 block of South Scheuber Road in Centralia where a 14-year-old girl allegedly kicked a health care worker. A case is being referred to prosecutors for third-degree assault, according to the Centralia Police Department.

OTHER ASSAULT

• Centralia police were called about 10 p.m. on Friday by a female who reported she was assaulted by a male and a female and that later her purse was stolen in a case associated with the 700 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia. Police are investigating.

BURGLARY

• Centralia police were called about 5:30 a.m. on Monday to the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue to investigate a break-in to a coffee stand. An undetermined amount of cash was stolen, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A deputy was called to the 200 block of Huntting Road in Silver Creek on Sunday morning to take a report from residents who arrived home to find they had been burglarized sometime since 8 a.m. on Jan. 9. Among the more than $1,000 worth of valuables stolen were two stereos, a chainsaw, a table fan, a bottle of champagne, tools and a jewelry box, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• Centralia police were called to a burglary at the 500 block of Woodland Avenue about 2:10 p.m. on Saturday in which a safe was stolen.

• Centralia police called about 4:40 p.m. on Saturday to the 200 block of L Street for a burglary indicate that tools were taken.

VEHICLE THEFT

• A white with green stripe 1978 Ford pickup was reported stolen from the 1000 block of South Silver Street in Centralia at about 8:10 a.m. on Saturday. It has a collector’s plate reading 66638CV, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A deputy responded about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday to the 100 block of Rogers Road in Toledo to take a report of the theft of a 2018 Bulldog 16-foot flatbed trailer, stolen sometime since Wednesday. The loss is estimated at $2,900, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• The hood off of a parked vehicle was reported stolen about 11:45 a.m. on Saturday from the 300 block of West Second Street in Centralia.

• Centralia police were called about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday to the 100 block of Virginia Drive where a male was caught trying to steal a Honda car. No arrest was made. The case is under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

OTHER THEFT

• Centralia police were called to the 100 block of West High Street about 1:15 p.m. on Sunday where an individual set her purse down while shopping and someone stole it.

• A 34-year-old Centralia woman was arrested for second-degree theft for allegedly taking a cell phone that had been left in a bathroom stall in a case about 10:20 a.m. on Friday associated with the 1000 block of Scheuber Road in Centralia. Shawnna L. Case was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department. Prosecutors today declined to file a felony charge and forwarded the case to municipal court.

• A deputy was called to the 1500 block of Bishop Road south of Chehalis where sometime between 9 p.m. on Thursday and 8 a.m. on Friday someone cut through a chain link fence at a storage area and removed a motor from a boat and dragged it away. Also missing is a depth finder, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is estimated at $4,000, according to the sheriff’s office.

BAD BILLS

• A counterfeit $20.00 bill was recovered at a business at the 500 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia on Monday afternoon.

• Centralia police were called about 2:40 p.m. on Sunday to the 800 block of Harrison Avenue where a customer attempted to pay his bill with counterfeit money and fled when he was told the bill was fake.

DRUGS

• When Chehalis police were booking a 25-year-old woman into jail last night for an alleged shoplifting of eggs, cheese and a sandwich from the 600 block of West Main Street, they reportedly turned up pills not in a prescription container. Amanda B. Smith was then arrested for a violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• A 34-year-old homeless person arrested on a warrant from the state Department of Corrections about 10:35 p.m. on Saturday at the 1100 block of West First Street in Centralia was also arrested for possession of methamphetamine, according to the Centralia Police Department. Kalina J. Goodwin was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

• A 30-year-old Napavine man arrested about 9:50 a.m. on Friday at the 600 block of West Pear Street in Centralia for a theft he had allegedly committed the day before was also arrested for possession of heroin. Robert R. Green was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• A 17-year-old boy was cited for not having a driver’s license or identification and allegedly was in possession of marijuana at the time of police contact with him about 4 a.m. on Monday at Hanson and Pearl streets in Centralia.

• A deputy responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked in a driveway at the 500 block of North Military Road in Winlock on Saturday could not wake up the driver until opening the car door and shaking him. Justin B. Lawless, 30, from Napavine, was allegedly “obviously” under the influence of alcohol so he was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for being in physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence as well as third-degree driving with a suspended license, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• A 45-year-old Centralia man was arrested for driving under the influence after police were called about 5:45 p.m. on Friday for a rollover accident at the 1300 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia. The driver fled the scene on foot but was tracked by a police dog and then located about two blocks away by a deputy, according to the Centralia Police Department. Pedro Alvarado-Garcia was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

ARSON

• Police called at 5:11 a.m. on Sunday for flames at the Panda Inn  on the 800 block of Harrison Avenue found two chairs burning in an enclosed patio adjacent to the front entrance. Police extinguished the fire and moved the chairs to the parking lot before the building caught fire, according to Riverside Fire Authority. The damage included scorch marks on an exterior wall, according to Fire Capt. Scott Weinert. A person of interest has been identified, according to the Centralia Police Department.

HOUSE FIRE

• Members of three fire departments joined Centralia firefighters on Sunday when a fire broke out at the back of a home on the 2300 block of Eureka Avenue, displacing the residents. Crews called at 1 p.m. found the occupants outside and safe, according to Riverside Fire Authority. The rear attached living space was found to be fully involved in fire and moving into the main body of the home, Capt. Tim Adolphsen stated. There was heavy damage to the laundry room, kitchen, second floor and attic space and the addition at the rear, according to Adolphsen. Nobody was injured and the cause is under investigation.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, third-degree theft, driving with suspended license, misdemeanor domestic assault, violation of anti-harassment order; responses for alarm, dispute, harassment, civil issue, disorderly person, suspicious circumstances, vehicle collision, third-degree domestic malicious mischief … and more among 383 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 72-hour period ending about 7 a.m.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Saturday, January 13th, 2018
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•••

THEFT, THEFT, THEFT

• A deputy was called about 4 o’clock yesterday morning to the 1500 block of Bishop Road where someone had kicked in the door of a coffee stand and stole a cash register. The electronic 14CR machine had almost no money inside of it, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday it is investigating a burglary to a garage at a residence on the 2900 block of Graf Road in Centralia in which someone tried to pry open a Snap-On tool box and left with three five-gallon gas cans. It happened between 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday and 7 p.m. on Thursday, according to the sheriff’s office.

• A 45-year-old Tenino woman was charged yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court with first-degree theft after her arrest a day earlier, in connection with a report made on Dec. 9 from the 200 block of Burchett Road in Onalaska that numerous items of value had been stolen from a storage unit. Missing was as much as $17,000 worth of jewelry, cameras and memorabilia, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy concluded the suspect, a relative, was pawning the items at various pawn shops and made contact with her, according to the sheriff’s office. Barbara J. Henson was booked into the Lewis County Jail, Chief Deputy Bruce Kimsey said.

• The 23-year-old Centralia man arrested at a residence on Southwest William Avenue in Chehalis on Wednesday was charged yesterday Lewis County Superior Court with first-degree trafficking in stolen property in connection with two large flat screen televisions, drills and chargers recovered by police at someone else’s Chehalis home, which had been stolen from Burkett Auto Sales on South Gold Street in Centralia last month. Jonathan C. Siler was charged with a second count of first-degree trafficking in stolen property related to firearms taken from a home on the 700 block of Deep Creek Road while two residents were sleeping in mid-December, according to court documents. Siler was also charged with theft of a motor vehicle related to the Ford Ranger stolen from Deep Creek Road which was located abandoned on the 2000 block of Big Hanaford Road in Centralia. His bail was set at $20,000.

• A 22-year-old Centralia man was arrested on Wednesday – at the same time and place where Jonathan C. Siler was arrested – for allegedly using a stolen bank card to purchase $30 worth of cigarettes at a convenience store. Jose A. Escamilla was was booked into the Lewis County Jail and then charged on Thursday in Lewis County Superior Court with second-degree possession of stolen property and forgery. His bail was set at $10,000.

DRUGS

• A 54-year-old Centralia man arrested for possession of methamphetamine on Wednesday at a home in Chehalis was charged the following day with possession of methamphetamine in Lewis County Superior Court. Members of the Lewis County Joint Narcotics Enforcement team had gone to the residence on the 100 block of Southwest Sixth Street to investigate a tip about a chainsaw, weed eater and blower stolen in a burglary at the Chehalis Tribal Community Center in Oakville. Stanley J. Hartman was booked into the Lewis County Jail. He was allowed release on a $5,000 unsecured bond.

• A 34-year-old Centralia man was arrested on Wednesday for items found in his car when it was impounded last month when a deputy responded to a complaint at the 100 block of Gold Creek Road. Derek J. Yost was was booked into the Lewis County Jail based on charges filed last month of possession of methamphetamine and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. His bail was set at $15,000 when he appeared in Lewis County Superior Court on Thursday.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, reckless driving, driving with suspended license, driving under the influence, misdemeanor domestic assault; responses for alarm, disorderly person, suspicious circumstances … and more among 142 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m.

Prison awaits Centralia couple convicted of neglecting child

Friday, January 12th, 2018
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Mary G. and Anthony S. Foxworth Sr., in green striped jail garb, seemed to take care to keep their backs to the courtroom audience this afternoon

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Centralia parents who fled to South Carolina in an attempt to avoid prison after pleading guilty to severe neglect of their teenage son were sentenced today to nearly seven years.

Mary G. and Anthony S. Foxworth Sr. were brought before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court. They have been held in the Lewis County Jail since the end of November after they were tracked down and returned to Lewis County.

They pleaded guilty today to bail jumping, in front of a partially packed courtroom that included their son and his foster parents.

The original agreement was a sentencing recommendation of 51 months, Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said. But because they fled, that increased to 75 months, plus another eight months for the new offense, to be served consecutively, Halstead said.

Halstead requested and the judge agreed they have no contact with their son for 10 years.

Marion Hazzard addressed the court, describing the 16-year-old boy, that she and her husband first met in February 2016 at Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital, who would become their foster child.

He appeared about eight years old, his skin was translucent, his bones were sticking out, she said.

Centralia police had begun investigating a month earlier, after couple took the boy to the doctor, and he was hospitalized with severe malnutrition, weighing just 54 pounds. Police found he had not seen a doctor since 2007, was not enrolled in school and could not read or write.

The Foxworth’s were charged in Dec. 2016 with first-degree criminal mistreatment and pleaded guilty as charged this past October.

The lack of food in their home was because of an elusive uncle who supposedly would sneak into their house, Hazzard said.

“He was told he was autistic, which he’s not,” she said. “He was told he can’t learn, but he is. He was told he had a bone disease.”

He was still wearing pull-ups.

“I came to learn, he didn’t own but one set of clothes,” Hazzard said.

The boy refused to bathe or brush his teeth and the world terrified him, according to Hazzard.

Over the summer, he learned to ride a bike, to mow a lawn, to do his laundry, she said. He’s returned to school and gotten his first-ever best friend, she said.

Anthony Foxworth Sr., 45, made a statement to the judge, that he would never intentionally harm his son. His wife read a letter aloud.

Mary Foxworth, 43, said she knows now she was not a responsible mother, but even when her son was in the hospital, she didn’t understand how ignorant she was.

“I am sorry for not having the life skills and the knowledge to care for you and teach you how to care for yourself,” she said.

Judge Andrew Toynbee said the sentence of 83 months was the most he could hand down. And that’s what he did.

Outside the courtroom, defense attorney Jacob Clark said his client, the mother, didn’t have the life skills necessary.

Anthony Foxworth’s lawyer, Chris Baum, said he didn’t have a good explanation for the neglect. He said he thinks his client doesn’t necessarily fully understand what happened.

“I think my client is a simple guy and he took a lot of cues from the mother,” Baum said. “He clearly failed to pay attention and his child suffered greatly.”
•••

For background, read “Parents in Centralia child neglect case see judge on bail jumping charge” from Wednesday November 22, 2017, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, January 12th, 2018
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•••

DRUGS

• Centralia police were contacted about 11:30 a.m. yesterday by an individual who reported that his money was stolen by a drug dealer. The 60-year-old man said that he paid for Oxycontin pills between Thanksgiving and Christmas but never received them, according to the Centralia Police Department. With little information and the time delay, there isn’t enough to follow up on, according to police.

• A 32-year-old Napavine woman who allegedly drove through a stop sign, jumped a curb and stopped at a pole then walked away yesterday morning was subsequently contacted by police and arrested. An officer called about 9:30 a.m. to West Main Street at Quincy Place in Chehalis found drug paraphernalia that tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Miranda J. Coppinger was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

HARASSMENT

• A 28-year-old Packwood resident was arrested for felony harassment yesterday after a deputy was called about 3:40 p.m. to the 12000 block of U.S. Highway 12 and told he had broken a window in his girlfriend’s vehicle and threatened to kill her. James M. Seaman was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

CUSTODIAL ASSAULT

• Chehalis police were called about 12:35 p.m. yesterday to Green Hill School to take a report that a 16-year-old student-inmate allegedly inappropriately touched a female staff member.

THEFT, THEFT, THEFT

• Chehalis police were called about 4:20 p.m. yesterday by an individual who said they accidentally left a bank bag sitting on a chair inside a bank on the 600 block of South Market Boulevard and when they returned, the bag was still there but had been emptied of its contents.

• Centralia police were called about 10:50 a.m. yesterday to the 1100 block of West Main Street where cash was stolen from the business while the employee was not attending the sale counter.

• A business at the 1100 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia reported about 12:50 p.m. yesterday that an individual tried to pawn a tool that had been stolen from the business.

• Centralia police were called just after 5 p.m. yesterday to take a report medication was stolen in a vehicle prowl at the 2800 block of Russell Road.

VANDALISM

• Chehalis police were called just before noon yesterday to take a report of graffiti spray painted onto the sides of a building at the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, trespassing, driving with suspended license, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarm, civil issue, hit and run, vehicle collision, disorderly person, suspicious circumstances … and more among 146 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m.

Onalaska fire commissioners facing recall effort

Thursday, January 11th, 2018

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A movement to recall two elected officials who oversee the Onalaska fire department got underway yesterday.

Former Fire Chief Andrew Martin filed a request for a recall petition for Lewis County Fire District 1 Commissioners Rich Bainbridge and Bill Kassel. There are normally three commissioners on the board, but Jeff Lee resigned at the end of last month.

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Commissioner Rich Bainbridge

Lee said he decided to quit the night Labor and Industries and Lewis County informed them their main station was condemned and they had to vacate immediately.

“The two commissioners tapped me on the shoulder to say, we’re going to Rib Eye to talk with L&I, and I said, you can’t do that,” Lee said.

His continuing frustration was with his fellow commissioners failing to make sure they follow the proper protocol for public meetings.

“I can’t be part of that anymore, I don’t want that liability,” Lee said.

In mid-November, the commissioners dismissed Martin as chief, and six other volunteers either turned in their gear or submitted letters of resignation in protest. Five more responders have left since then, leaving the department at half its previous size.

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Commissioner Bill Kassel

Martin said at the time, he was refusing to further punish a member who had brought to his attention a misdeed by another member, who is a relative of Commissioner Kassel. Assistant Chief Rhonda Volk called the commissioners’ move retaliation and she resigned at a well-attended and contentious emergency meeting.

Several of the former volunteers indicated they would return if Bainbridge and Kassel stepped down.

The paperwork filed by Martin yesterday morning with the Lewis County Auditor’s Office cites as justification for a recall numerous instances of the board violating the state Open Public Meetings Act.

“Public pressure wasn’t working, so we’re going the legal route, and see what happens,” Martin said.

He said there are 15 to 20 people behind the cause, prepared to go door to door to collect signatures to get a recall on the ballot.

Lewis County Elections Supervisor Heather Boyer, at the Auditor’s Office, said her role is to forward the charges to the Lewis County Prosecutor who is tasked under the law with writing a ballot “synopsis” and forwarding that to Lewis County Superior Court.

A judge will then hold a hearing to determine if the charges are sufficient. If they are, then the parties can go ahead and begin collecting signatures for a recall, Boyer said.

The number they need is 35 percent of the number of people who voted in the last election in the fire district.

“The petition would require 274 valid signatures from voters within that fire district to place the recall and discharge of the public officers before the voters,” Boyer stated in an email today.

Boyer said its an infrequent occurrence in Lewis County. The last attempt at a recall was in 2007, regarding the mayor of Morton. And that ended when the judge didn’t find the allegations were sufficient to go forward, she said.

Commissioners Bainbridge said he’s disappointed.

“It’s unfortunate they feel that way, but it’s not a total surprise,” he said.

Bainbridge said he’d already heard from the attorney they use, that a recall effort was underway. Bainbridge is of the opinion the board’s actions have all been “legal.”

“We talk to him every week or so, to try to make sure we’re doing things right,” he said.

He notes the district’s ALS emergency medical service has been unaffected by the resignations and he’s confident neighboring districts will join them if they have to fight a fire.

“The truth is, to my knowledge, nobody’s been denied service,” he said.

The roster currently shows 13 volunteer responders, with about seven or eight of them who can realistically respond to calls, according to district secretary Linda Patraca.

One new person has turned in an application to become a volunteer since the turmoil broke out, Patraca said today.

The next regular meeting of the board of fire commissioners is Thursday.
•••

For background, read “Onalaska fire station condemned” from  Friday December 29, 2017, here