Homeless man loses everything when his car catches fire in Chehalis. / Courtesy photo by Nancy Spain
Updated
CAR-HOME DESTROYED BY FIRE
• Firefighters responding just before 11 a.m. yesterday to reports of a fire and explosions found a car fully involved in flames off Southwest Chehalis Avenue down from the Lewis County Jail and Darigold, according to the Chehalis Fire Department. It’s owner had spent the night in the vehicle and gone into the Lewis County Gospel Mission to get some breakfast, Fire Capt. Casey Beck said. “The gentleman was living in the car, and as you can imagine, it was pretty well packed with his belongings,” Beck said. The fire captain said the car’s owner had made some sort of heater to keep warm during the night and he suspected that was related to the fire. The explosions heard were likely aerosol cans. Beck said.
THEFT OF SANDWICH
• A 24-year-old man who allegedly tried to steal a sandwich and vehicle oil from Wal-Mart yesterday ended up getting arrested for attempting to elude. Police were notified about 4:20 p.m. and caught up with the suspect car on Main Street, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The driver attempted to flee but slid up onto a sidewalk and came to rest next to a wall at Northwest Quincy Place and Prindle Street, according to police. Darin M. McKinley was booked into the Lewis County Jail for eluding and a violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, and faces potential charges also for driving with a suspended license and third-degree theft, department spokesperson Linda Bailey said.
THEFT OF COAT
• Someone stole a jacket from a garage on the 1100 block of F Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police just before 6 p.m. yesterday. It was a camouflage coat, according to the Centralia Police Department.
STOLEN CAR ABANDONED
• Chehalis police called about 10:40 a.m. yesterday regarding a suspicious vehicle which had been parked at the corner of Sixth Street and Washington Avenue for awhile discovered the silver 2016 Honda Accord with Oregon license plates had been stolen out of Longview. It was impounded, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
CAR PROWL
• Chehalis police were called about 9:50 p.m. yesterday for a car prowl at the parking lot on the 2100 block of Southwest Woodland Circle. The front passenger window had been broken and a purse taken, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
WARRANT ARREST
• Anthony P. Burleson, 20 of Centralia, was arrested for an outstanding warrant as well as identity theft and providing false information when contacted about 12:30 p.m. yesterday at the 1600 block of Delaware Avenue in Centralia. Burleson was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
DRUGS
• A 39-year-old Rochester man was arrested after a traffic stop about 9:25 p.m. yesterday on southbound Interstate 5 in Chehalis. James C. Cunning didn’t have identification but said his license was suspended and a search incident to the arrest turned up a small clear baggie of a white substance in his pocket that field tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.
• A customer turned in a wallet found at the 1400 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue in Chehalis just before 3 p.m. yesterday and when the clerk opened it up to check for identification, small plastic bags with suspected drugs were discovered, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
• Anna M. Kohler, 31 of Centralia, was arrested for an outstanding felony warrant as well as possession of methamphetamine after contact with police about 11 a.m. yesterday at the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia. She was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
GARAGE BURNS
• Lewis County Fire District 6 says one person suffered a minor injury when a fire broke out overnight in a detached garage off the 100 block of Kennicot Road in Chehalis. Crews arriving after the 12:31 a.m. call found the approximately 30-foot by 30-foot building fully involved in flames, according to department spokesperson DJ Hammer. “It took approximately 40 mins. to bring the fire under control and star overhaul procedures on the structure that had collapsed on its self,” Hammer wrote. The patient lives on the property and had a hand injury, but Hammer didn’t know how it occurred. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. They were joined by personnel from three other departments.
AND MORE
• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, suspicious circumstances, receipt of counterfeit bill … and more among 163 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter