Lewis County Sirens.com

INMATE VICTIMIZED BY BURGLARS

• Five people were arrested yesterday after they were caught allegedly stealing scrap metal off the Centralia property of a 71-year-old resident currently locked up in the Lewis County Jail. Deputies responded about 2:30 p.m. yesterday to the 1300 block of West Reynolds Avenue, after people were seen at Vic Bonagofski’s place by someone who suspected nobody should be there, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. All were arrested for second-degree burglary, according to the sheriff’s office. One of them, Teresa D. Bartley, 43, from Winlock, was additionally arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle, detective Sgt. Dusty Breen said. Another, Peter D. Harris, 41, of Pe Ell, was additionally arrested for possession of methamphetamine, Breen said. Steven E. Merrill, 48, Chehalis, was taken to Thurston County because he was wanted on a warrant; and the rest were booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Breen, to include Joseph L. Hines, 37, Winlock; and Michael W. Kelly, 54, of Centralia. Bonagofski is serving time for driving with a suspended license, according to the information from the jail.

BOTTLE ROCKET BLAMED FOR BRUSH FIRE

• Firefighters from Winlock were joined by members of four other departments when a bottle rocket ignited tall grass in a field yesterday on the 100 block of Marttala Road North. Crews called about 4:45 p.m. found a resident trying to put it out with a garden hose, according to Lewis County Fire District 15. “It wasn’t threatening any structures and we were able to contain it pretty fast,” Firefighter Patrick Jacobson said. The area burned amounted to roughly 10,000 square-feet, he said. Personnel were on the scene for about an hour, including some from the state Department of Natural Resources, Jacobson said. A teenager who lived there had been using fireworks, he said.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• An attorney for the man who bought the Curtis Store after the big flood of 2007 told a judge yesterday his client would be pleading guilty in connection with a deal made with prosecutors regarding his charge of a sexual relationship with a teenage girl. Benjamin E. Hearn, 35, was arrested in January for events that allegedly began in 2012 involving a 14-year-old friend of his daughter. He was charged with third-degree rape of a child, a class C felony, but details of the agreement were not discussed in court. Centralia defense attorney David Arcuri said he expects Hearn will be taken into custody the day he pleads guilty – to serve a year and a day in prison – and asked the judge to hold off a little bit on the sentencing date. “He wants to finish up some work and make some money before he goes in,” Arcuri said. Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt allowed the hearing to be scheduled on Aug. 6. Hearn remains free on bail.

PLANNED HOUSE FIRE SOUTH OF CHEHALIS

• Firefighters will be gathering early tomorrow morning to burn down a house on the the 1600 block of Bishop Road in Chehalis. The practice burn will begin at 7 a.m. and is expected to be concluded by 11 a.m., according to Lewis County Fire District 6. Members of the department will provide traffic control. Anyone with questions may contact Chief Tim Kinder at 748-6019.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrant, driving with suspended license; responses for misdemeanor assault, parking lot hit and run, people sleeping in a park … and more.

Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter

This entry was posted on Friday, July 11th, 2014 at 11:08 am and is filed under Sharyn's sirens roundup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.