Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Dale R. Brotherton was free on $10,000 bail as his case related to allegedly producing hash oil in the basement of a Centralia home unfolds, but he was arrested yesterday for allegedly tampering with evidence and prosecutors say the case is compromised.

Centralia police seized the 52-year-old Centralia man’s fifth-wheel trailer in which they thought he may live in as well as a car belonging to Brotherton when they arrested him last week.

It was May 28, the same day the department’s special anti-crime team dismantled what they said was an a potential explosive hash oil making operation in the basement of a rental home 800 block of West Pear Street.

Yesterday, not long after he failed to show up for a meeting at the Centralia Police Department’s impound facility in which Sgt. Jim Shannon was going to assist him in retrieving some belongings, Brotherton allegedly cut a hole in the chain link fence and broke into his recreational vehicle.

“Now we will not be able to establish what may or may not have been in the car, because Mr. Brotherton altered that,” Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Eric Eisenberg said.

Eisenberg asked a judge this afternoon when Brotherton appeared in court to revoke the bail in the original case and set a new, much higher bail amount.

Eisenberg indicated police had a search warrant but had not yet conducted their search.

He spoke of the car, at the bail hearing, but charging documents filed by another deputy prosecutor describe the vehicle entered as the fifth-wheel trailer.

Temporary defense attorney Bob Schroeter told the judge it was quite possible there was confusion about the meeting time and a potential alternative version of events, when he suggested to the judge bail need not be so high.

The impound lot on the  2600 block of Reynolds Avenue is surrounded by an 8-foot high fence with barbed wire.

According to charging documents, just before the 3:30 expected meeting, Sgt. Shannon checked the recreational vehicle which was secured, and then locked the gate behind himself when Brotherton didn’t show up.

Charging documents give the following account: A short time later Shannon got word Brotherton was there, and another officer arriving first observed Brotherton standing inside the doorway to the RV. The other officer also spoke with Zachary Brotherton who was standing next to a truck parked outside the fenced area, who stated, “I can’t believe he did that.”

Shannon found the RV’s lock had been forced open and a wooden panel which covered a void space beneath the refrigerator torn off.

He suspected Brotherton went inside to either find and hide or destroy items stored in the RV.

Brotherton initially denied being inside the facility, but subsequently admitted he entered the fifth-wheel trailer to get some of his property.

Police found a hole cut in the fence which was large enough for someone of Brotherton’s size to get through.

Brotherton’s new charges in Lewis County Superior Court, filed today, are second-degree burglary, third-degree malicious mischief and tampering with evidence.

The first offense has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The other offenses are gross misdemeanors, with maximum penalties of up to 364 days in jail, according to Schroeter.

In his other case, he is charged with manufacturing marijuana.

Centralia police said when they searched the house last week which a friend allowed him to use, they found  more than 140 pounds of marijuana trimmings and various items such as glass tubes and large glass surfaces used in the hash oil process. They also found a jar of the suspected substance in the kitchen freezer.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt today wasn’t buying Schroeter’s alternative possibilities regarding the visit to the impound facility.

“It looks pretty bad to me,” Hunt said.

Hunt set bail in the first case at $50,000 and in the new case at $20,000.

Brotherton qualifies for a court-appointed lawyer, but is attempting to hire his own. Hunt appointed David Arcuri.

He is scheduled to return to court next Thursday.
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For background, read “Centralia police uncover hash oil processing lab in residence near college” from Friday May 30, 2014, here

Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter

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