PHARMACIST ARRESTED FOR TAKING MEDS FROM WORK
• A pharmacist at K-Mart was arrested yesterday for alleged theft of a variety of prescription medications from the Chehalis retail establishment on the 1200 block of Northwest Louisiana Street. Police said Gunars Arnits, 59, of Longview was reportedly “skimming ” a couple of doses here and there and consuming them on the job. Police Sgt. Gary Wilson said it’s not clear how much was missing but the assortment included controlled substances. Arnits was arrested for third-degree theft and then released, Wilson said. The sergeant said he understood Arnits was let go from his job and the case would also involve the state pharmacy board.
THEFT
• Centralia police were called about 7:10 p.m. yesterday about the theft of jewelry from a residence on the 1000 block of Scammon Creek Road in Centralia.
• Chehalis police were called yesterday morning to the 1100 block of Southwest Cascade Avenue and told of an apparent burglary that happened there last month.
• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning two safes were stolen from an office of a business on the 1700 block of Bishop Road in Chehalis. A deputy called Sunday to Kugel Industries learned intruders forced their way in “through a wall”, according to the sheriff’s office. The contents were unknown although may have included approximately $400 cash, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. The break-in occurred sometime between Friday and Sunday, Brown said.
• A 1996 GMC Jimmy truck disappeared after its owner left it stuck in a ditch around 4 a.m. Sunday along the 400 block of Lincoln Creek Road outside Centralia, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. Its owner, a 30-year-old Centralia resident, said he got a ride home and when he went back later, it was gone. It has a license plate reading 994 XEW and is valued at $2,000, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.
• Cash, a debit card and a stereo faceplate were reported missing following a vehicle prowl on the 500 block of Waunch Street in Centralia yesterday morning.
VANDALISM
• Somebody spray painted a white stripe down the side of a car on the 1100 block of Southwest Cascade Avenue in Chehalis, according to a report made to police yesterday morning.
DRUGS
• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning a deputy stopped a 51-year-old driver on Saturday evening for a traffic infraction and she voluntarily handed over an unspecified amount of suspected methamphetamine. The encounter occurred just before 6 p.m. Sunday on U.S. Highway 12 in Randle, according to the sheriff’s office. The woman was released and the case referred to the prosecutor’s office for a possible charge of possession of methamphetamine, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. Brown did not indicate why the woman was not arrested and booked into jail.
• A 42-year-old Morton resident was arrested by a trooper over the weekend in connection with allegedly selling methamphetamine from his home on the 600 block of Main Avenue. Robert P. Eklund was ordered held on $10,000 bail on a charge of delivery of meth when he appeared in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday. Charging documents allege a contract informant with the sheriff’s office exchanged $60 in marked money for a small baggie of meth from Eklund in mid-February and then a warrant was issued. Eklund was booked into jail Sunday night, according to the Lewis County Jail log.
WRECK
• Police called about 11:30 p.m. yesterday to a single-vehicle accident on the 1300 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia later arrested the 19-year-old driver for leaving the scene. Hugo A. Campuzano-Garcia, 19, of Centralia, suffered possible head injuries and was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to the Centralia Police Department.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter