NIGHT AT THE DEPOT
• Chehalis police dog Reign was sent in to the railroad depot in Centralia overnight when someone who didn’t belong there was discovered inside after hours. It was about 12:10 a.m. when police responded to the 200 block of North Railroad Avenue. “The K-9 went in, he gave up,” Officer Linda Bailey said. The man inside who reportedly lied about his name was subsequently was arrested and booked into jail for trespass, obstruction, criminal impersonation and forgery, according to the Centralia Police Department. Police concluded he is Michael A. Hilton, 30, of Chehalis.
BREAK-IN CENTRALIA
• Centralia police responded about 10 a.m. yesterday to a business at the 500 block of Harrison Avenue regarding a burglary which occurred sometime over the weekend.
FRAUD
• An officer took a report of unauthorized charges to a credit card from the 1300 block of South Gold Street in Centralia yesterday.
• A bank card was reported stolen yesterday from the 600 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia.
• More reports are coming into the Centralia Police Department from individuals who have been victimized after trying to send mail from the Centralia Post Office’s outdoor mail drop bin shortly before it was broken into the end of January. Detective Sgt. Pat Fitzgerald said at least one person came in yesterday and police are learning of more checks that never made it to their intended recipient but were cashed elsewhere for different amounts than originally written for.
• Chehalis police took a report yesterday from a daycare business on Folsom Street which discovered an unknown person used their bank account to deposit checks altered after being stolen from the Centralia Post Office’s outdoor mail drop bin at the end of January. Money was deposited at the Centralia branch and then withdrawn from their account at a branch in Port Orchard, according to police.
TRICKY TRICKSTERS
• If you get a phone call from someone who says they are conducting an identity theft investigation and need you to verify your social security number, don’t do it. The Washington State Patrol has been getting reports from individuals receiving from calls from people identifying themselves as with the Washington State Police and the U.S. Justice Office from a 813 area code in Florida requesting folks to call now with their social security number, according to the state patrol. It’s a scam, according to agency spokesperson Dan Coon. Identity thieves pose as businesses, banks and government representatives to gain people’s personal information and can come across as legitimate and be very convincing, according to Coon. He recommends if phoned by someone who represents themselves as a state patrol employee and asks for information, to first call a local state patrol office to confirm if they really are an employee. He warns, never reveal your personal information to someone you do not know.
SHERIFF’S OFFICE CHANGES ITS HOURS
• Beginning tomorrow, the front windows at the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office will no longer open as late or close as early as they have been for the past two years. The office in the Law and Justice Center in Chehalis cut its hours previously as they re-allocated staff time to conduct the background checks for an overwhelming number of applications for concealed pistol licenses, according to a news release. They previously were open 9 a.m. 4 p.m. The new hours are 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Sheriff Steve Mansfield notes citizens have the continued option to make an appointment to do business with them.
AND MORE
• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, domestic misdemeanor assault in which the 19-year-old man who shoved his girlfriend got bit and then booked into jail; responses for non-injury accident on county road that resulted in major damage and non-injury accident on county road that resulted in minor damage … and more.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter