HOUSE OF RISING SON OWNER BOOKED FOR ALLEGED DRUG SALES
• The woman who opened her Chehalis home to men transitioning out of prison was arrested yesterday in connection with an investigation into prescription drug dealing. Judy Chafin, 61, and Keith D. Williams, 48, were in a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation about 3:15 p.m. at Southwest Cascade Avenue and Seventh Street, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Deputy Police Chief Randy Kaut said officers were originally focused on Williams and sales of hydrocodone but came to believe Chafin was involved as well. The pair were booked into the Lewis County Jail for delivery of a controlled substance, Kaut said. Chafin owns House of the Rising Son in Chehalis and managed other similar homes, including one on Nix Road west of Chehalis that became the target of neighbors and the sheriff’s office who didn’t want multiple felons living together out in the county.
SOUNDS LIKE FICTION
• A 48-year-old Centralia woman was arrested for fraud after she allegedly tried to pass a fake $100 bill at several businesses and finally spent it at a coffee shop on the 100 block of South Tower Avenue yesterday afternoon. Geraldine R. Taylor was questioned and said she found it in a fairy tale book about two years ago, according to the Centralia Police Department. “That kind of story didn’t seem credible,” Officer Mike Lowrey said. Taylor was booked into the Lewis County jail, according to police. The Secret Service will be contacted and they may or may not be able to figure out who printed the phony currency, according to Lowrey.
CARIBBEAN CONTEST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE
• A Centralia woman in her 60s contacted police on Wednesday after she fell victim to a scam in which she was told she had won thousands of dollars but she first needed to wire $400 to get it. It began with a phone call from someone in Jamaica, police were told. After she paid the money, she got another call asking for more, according to police. Officer Mike Lowrey said it’s a common scheme and folks need to know they should never have to pay anything to win something. Another red flag is being told you’ve won if you haven’t even entered a contest, Lowrey said.
SUPER BAD MANNERS
• A 29-year-old Centralia man was arrested yesterday after a woman spotted him, called police and said he was same man who days earlier pulled his vehicle over as she was walking, opened the car door and was sitting inside with his pants around his ankles. Javier Arias-Lara was arrested for indecent exposure and then released, according to the Centralia Police Department.
THEFT
• A deputy was called yesterday to the 700 block of Cousins Road west of Chehalis where sometime since Sunday someone had stolen a piece of equipment – a DR power grader valued at $1,000, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
• Sometime between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. yesterday, a television and a box of pictures were stolen from a storage unit on the 3200 block of Ives Road outside Centralia, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
• A pair of women were arrested for organized retail theft at the Centralia Outlets on Wednesday afternoon. Roberta D. Olsen, 20 of Kent, and Alisha A. Johnson, 29 of Tukwila, were booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• A pair of 15-year-old Centralia boys were caught on surveillance video yesterday allegedly for stealing cans of spray paint from a store on the 1600 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia. The case is being referred to juvenile prosecutors for evaluation, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• Chehalis police were called to a location on Northwest State Avenue on Wednesday morning about the theft of a hoist.
METH ARREST
• A 27-year-old Centralia man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine after he was contacted by police early yesterday morning inside city-owned property at the 1100 block of B Street in Centralia. Michael E. Bieker, a homeless person, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
VANDALISM
• Police took a report regarding a variety of graffiti posted on a vehicle at the 900 block of South Pearl Street early yesterday morning. The obscene pictures and “inappropriate” words were left on the car with a washable pen, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• Centralia police took a report about 7:45 p.m. yesterday at the 500 block of North Tower Avenue regarding a right passenger side window of a vehicle getting shot out with a BB or pellet gun.
WRECK
• A 47-year-old Longview man was cited for driving too fast for conditions after he took a corner in the rain and spun numerous times into the oncoming lane before getting struck by another vehicle. It happened yesterday on the 1500 block of Bishop Road near Chehalis, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He got a cut on his forehead and the pair of 60-year-olds from Chehalis in the other vehicle were not injured, according to the sherif’s office. His Pontiac Sun and their Toyota Matrix both sustained major damage though, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.
AND MORE
• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, misdemeanor domestic assault, failing to register as a sex offender; responses for shoplifting and other misdemeanor theft, the discovery of a counterfeit $20 bill, possible fraud; complaints of loud music … and more.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
That is interesting, NoPlace. Kinda sounds like everyone involved was just watching a train wreck in slow motion. And without resources to do anything differently, and no one wanting felons in their back yards, sounds like this is just going to be an ongoing problem. Sad is a good word for it. Now , ironically, Chafin is probably going to need to find a halfway house… the cycle continues. There has to be a better solution than this.
Keith W. Is a real winner.
Interesting news about the owner of the House of the Rising Son. Having interacted with her before, I have to say that at some point, I believe her motives were pure.
But when one has no regular source of income, getting money and rationalizing doing things to obtain more becomes a slippery slope. She regularly accepted EBT (food) cards from her released felon renters in lieu of rent. The only way those would do her any good would be if she also used them illegally. I know the DOC officers in the area were aware of this, but what were they supposed to do? The released felons had the option of living in her houses – or the street (where they could not be easily tracked).
Part of what allowed her to get away with this for so long is a real lack of transitional house for both released criminals and especially those with mental illness. While what Judy has done to “provide” that housing is despicable… in the long run, it was better than nothing.
Now, it looks like money may be what has motivated her into the “easy money” world of drug sales. Sad… all around.
Javier Arias-Lara…..
Released? Maybe it’s all in the name!…Is Centralia the next sanctuary city?
I get that your pissed… but this has nothing to do with “lewis county law enforcement.” These are the laws of the state of washington, and the system we have – good or bad. I know it sucks… but its hardly exclusive.
I am absolutely disgusted in Lewis countys law enforcement! I was VIOLATED by this man! Straight up, I have barely slept since the incident, and every time I see a vehicle even similar to this creeps, I have a panic attack! He is a perpetrator! He followed me all the way from Harrison ave, down by motel 6, & down 2 more streets! This piece of s*** shouldn’t be out on these streets! Lewis county screwed up this time! I thought for sure he would be put away after Admitting to the cops exactly what he did. way to make people feel safe around here! good ol lawless/screwus county. Maybe I shoulda handleD it MY way. wow I have nothing more to say.
Yeah, “nipping it in the bud” is one way to handle that. Although I love the female reporters response (can’t remember who it was now) when flashed in a sports team’s locker room: “It’s like a penis….only smaller”. Took the wind out of his sails a bit.
Am sad that people are still falling for these fake contest scams. Theres been so much education about this yet scammers are still making tons off people and generally getting away with it. The worst part is it seems to be the elderly that aren’t getting the message.
The heading on the story about the man exposing himself……super bad manners? Try “on the road to becoming a sexual predator”. It starts with peeping in windows, moves to exposing and then actually sexaully assaulting people. Too bad she didn’t have a good pair of scissors on her. She could have nipped it in the bud as it were.