Updated at 5:57 p.m.
HARD LIQUOR HEIST
• A 16-year-old boy allegedly ran out of Wal-Mart last night with a gallon of gin, a gallon of rum and a fifth of tequila. Police called about 10:50 p.m. to the store on the 1600 block of Louisiana Avenue found their suspect hiding in a dumpster across the street and arrested him for third-degree theft. He was not booked.
IMAGINARY FIGHT WITH REAL KNIVES
• Chehalis police called about 3:30 p.m. yesterday about a possible dispute in the area behind Kit Carson restaurant on Southwest State Avenue subsequently found five kids and three illegal knives. At least one of them was as long as six inches with a blade on both sides of it, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Sgt. Gwen Carrell said she thought they may have been horsing around, but the knives were still seized. The cases involving three of the youngsters – ages 11, 13, and 15 – were referred to the prosecutor for possible charges of possession of a dangerous weapon. One was on probation so was taken to the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center, according to Carrell.
TINY TRAINS STOLEN
• Somebody stole three model trains and several boxes of train parts from a storage unit at the 600 block of Jorgensen Road near Onalaska, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy called there yesterday morning learned the theft occurred sometime in the previous few months. There was no sign of forced entry, Cmdr. Steve Aust said.
DRUGS
• A 29-year-old woman was arrested yesterday for possession of heroin after a search of her vehicle, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Misty R. Braun is the registered owner and was a passenger in the vehicle that police said nearly ran down Sgt. Gwen Carrell on Monday, according to police. The car was impounded and searched, according to Carrell. Braun was booked into the Lewis County Jail but is to be released without charges pending further investigation.
• Pamela A. Clark was arrested yesterday for possession of methamphetamine and marijuana after her impounded car was searched, according to the Chehalis Police Department. She is to be released without charges pending further investigation.
• Kari L. Johnston was arrested last night for two counts of delivery of methamphetamine, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
VANDALISM
• Centralia police took another report of graffiti on a fence yesterday on Rainier Avenue.
• Chehalis police were called yesterday morning about graffiti on the side of a building on South Market Boulevard.
ANOTHER SCAM
• Morton police took a report on Tuesday from a resident about a phone scam involving someone claiming they were sending a supplementary Medicaid card, the police chief said this morning. An individual with an accent asked the woman a few questions, such as where did she do her banking and then claimed they needed to verify her account number, Chief Dan Mortensen said. She refused to give her number and called police instead, he said.
WRECK
• A Chehalis truck driver was reportedly uninjured when his Freightliner was hit by a Honda Civic last night on Interstate 5 in Woodland. The 33-year-old Vancouver woman driving the Honda subsequently died, according to the Washington State Patrol. Troopers were called about 7:45 p.m. to the southbound lanes noted the driver of the car lost control for unknown reasons and struck the rear corner of another car and then the big rig. Both cars were totaled and the Freightliner driven by James M. Foulke, 36, sustained an estimated $2,000 damage, according to the state patrol. Melissa M. Kelso, 33, of Vancouver, was taken to at PeaceHealth Southwest Washington Medical Center where she died, according to the state patrol.
TOLEDO TEENAGER PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO ASSAULTING DAD
• The 16-year-old Toledo boy charged in adult court for allegedly striking his father in the head with a baseball bat pleaded not guilty today in Lewis County Superior Court. The teenager is represented by court-appointed attorney Chris Baum, who asked the judge today to reduce bail to an unsecured bond, noting the boy has two grown brothers who could take him in, one who works at the Cowlitz County Jail and another who works at Green Hill School for boys. Judge Richard Brosey said no. Bail remains at $75,000. The Toledo High School student is charged with first-degree assault, a class A felony with a maximum penalty of life in prison but a standard sentencing range of somewhere around 93 to 113 months, according to Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Shane O’Rourke. A trial date will be selected next week.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter