ONALASKA MAN REPORTEDLY DIES IN IDAHO MOTORCYCLE WRECK
• An Idaho TV station is reporting an Onalaska man was found dead last night at the scene of a motorcycle crash in Hayden Lake. KXLY.com identified him as Gary E. Otterness, 40, of Onalaska. Read more here.
PACKWOOD FLEA MARKET DRAWS KNIFE THIEVES, SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS
• Deputies were called to the flea market in Packwood late Sunday night after a vendor caught a man inside his tent trying to steal knives. The vendor from Bend Ore. said he had closed up shop and left about 5 p.m. and when he returned later he saw movement and spotted shoes inside, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He grabbed a pair of legs and deputies subsequently arrested a 20-year-old Puyallup man for second-degree burglary, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning. Samuel W. McArthur was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree burglary, she said. On the same corner of U.S. Highway 12 and Snyder Road a few hours later another vendor chased a man without success from his booth and discovered 50 to 80 knives were stolen. Law enforcement officers located a suspect vehicle about an hour later. Troopers arrested a 21-year-old Tacoma driver for DUI, Brown said. A search of Kevin M. Couthran’s vehicle turned up 20 knives, she said. He was also booked for second-degree burglary.
PACKWOOD MAN GETS OUT OF HAND AT FLEA MARKET
• A 39-year-old Packwood resident was arrested for disorderly conduct on Saturday night after he allegedly walking in the lane of traffic at the Packwood flea market and throwing traffic cones. Kevin W. Legett was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
INTRUDER GOES IN DOG DOOR, LEAVES WITH JEWELRY, TVS AND MORE
• A pair of Tenino-area residents returned home on Sunday to find their house had been ransacked and an estimated $10,450 of valuables missing. It appeared someone got inside through a dog door at the residence on the 3100 block of Sundew Lane Southeast, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. Among the items stolen were four flat screen televisions, cameras, jewelry and electronic game systems.
BREAK-IN LEAVES LOSS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN TOOLS
• Deputies were called Saturday to Garrison Auctioneers on the 100 block of Avery Road where an estimated $3,150 tools and items had been stolen from a storage facility, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The locks on five storage spaces had been damaged.
STOLEN FLOOD PROTECTION EQUIPMENT SOLD FOR SCRAP
• Chehalis police on Friday arrested a 51-year-old Centralia resident for the June theft of $50,000 of flood protection equipment stolen from K-Mart. The rubber coated aluminum panels called flood logs had been stored in a locked facility outside the retail business on Louisiana Avenue, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Detectives discovered that many of the logs had been sold for scrap at a local recycling center and then shredded, according to a news release Additional parts were located at a Lewis County residence, police reported. Stacy L. Harless was booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree theft and trafficking in stolen property, according to police. Harless was released from jail this afternoon without being charged, pending further investigation.
OTHER THEFTS
• Lewis County sheriff’s deputies arrested two people on Friday in Pe Ell for a previous burglary at a residence on the 4400 block of state Route 6. Bobbie Jo Brooks, 19 of Chehalis and her boyfriend Russell Homan, 37, of Doty, were booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree burglary, according to the sheriff’s office.
• Sheriff’s deputies took a report Saturday of the theft of a 1994 yellow and white motorcycle. Its owner said he had tried to get it restarted along the 200 block of Blanchard Road outside Centralia on Friday evening and left it there when he could not get it going. He returned the next day to find it gone, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
• Centralia police were called to four vehicle prowls between Friday and Sunday.
SMALL FIRE EXTINGUISHED IN CENTRALIA
• Firefighters were called just after 7 o’clock Sunday morning to smoldering sawdust in a calf shed on the 1300 block of Bayne Street in Centralia, according to Riverside Fire Authority.
DRUGS
• Police arrested a 64-year-old Centralia man on Sunday morning for possession of methamphetamine. Gary A. Lohr was booked into the Lewis County Jail after his contact with an officer at the 700 block of Harrison Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• Chehalis police arrested an individual early Monday morning in connection with possession of methamphetamine near Southwest William Avenue and Southwest Third Street. Further details were not readily available this morning.
MAN ARRESTED INSIDE CHURCH
• A 28-year-old man from California was arrested for criminal trespass after a janitor spotted him inside a Centralia church on Saturday night. Officers were called about 9 p.m. to Mountain View Baptist Church on the 1200 block of Belmont Avenue, according to Centralia police. Nolan E. Shea, described as a transient, gave his name as “Jehovah” and reportedly told police to just shoot him but said they couldn’t arrest him in his own house, according to police. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.
BUILDING STRUCK BY VEHICLE
• Centralia police were called when a vehicle ran into the back of a business on Saturday evening. The damage at the Circle K on the 1000 block of Belmont Avenue was minor, according to police.
SLOW DOWN IN SCHOOL ZONES, POLICE ASK
• Kids are back to school today in the Centralia School District and officers will be conducting extra patrols this week for motorists driving unsafely or too fast in school zones. Centralia Police Department Sgt. Jim Shannon offers this request: “Please drive safely and pay close attention to children starting the new school year.”
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This was updated at 5 p.m. on Tuesday Sept. 7, 2010
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter