•••
Updated at 2:23 p.m.
THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS STOLEN FROM HOSPITALIZED WOMAN
• A 34-year-old Winlock woman was arrested yesterday at the end of a two-month long investigation which concluded she withdrew more than $43,000 from two accounts belonging to a woman who was hospitalized and subsequently died. Aurora S. Fulmer allegedly made more than 100 transactions in approximately a one-month period that ended on Feb. 8, according to the sheriff’s office. Fulmer was contacted yesterday, taken into custody and booked for seven counts of forgery and two counts of first-degree theft, Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said this morning. Breen said the case is associated with an address on the 100 block of Fircrest Road in Centralia, but didn’t say how or if the suspect knew the victim.
MISSING MONEY
• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning a case for second-degree theft is being referred to prosecutors in connection with a Sunday call to the 400 block of Jones Road in Centralia in which a father reported $800 cash vanished from the home during the two-hour time period when his 17-year-old son was left unattended there.
MOTOR MISSING
• Chehalis police were contacted just before 9 a.m. yesterday about a 6 horse power motor having been removed from a boat at the 1900 block of Northeast Kresky Avenue. The black Mercury long shaft motor was valued at $300, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
HARASSMENT
• Chehalis police were called about 9:40 a.m. yesterday to take a report of harassment over social media involving juveniles.
BEGGING IN THE STREET
• A 42-year-old man who police say was warned multiple times for aggressive panhandling and impeding traffic was arrested after an officer saw him standing in the middle of the road at the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia, allegedly trying to stop cars while asking for money. An officer responding about 1:35 p.m. yesterday took Todd D. Strenge, of Olympia, into custody and booked him into the Lewis County Jail for disorderly conduct, according to the Centralia Police Department.
FROM THE COURTHOUSE
• A pair of Centralia men are accused of stealing nearly $30,000 worth of materials from their employer, a recycling business that specializes in high pressure cylinders and gas tanks located on the 2600 block of Commercial Boulevard in Centralia. The theft wasn’t reported until after a December call to Cylinder Depot Inc. about damage to a back door as if someone tried to break in. A manager told a deputy he suspected 27-year-old Matthew B. Meyer and 31-year-old Christopher A. Clements who had been fired for allegedly stealing, according to court documents. When the deputy contacted the company’s owner, Brian Ogier, he was told the theft was discovered in October when Ogier learned the two men had been taking the stolen brass cylinder valves to Hand and Hand Recycling, according to charging papers. Ogier reported a loss of $29,959, according to the documents. Charges of first-degree theft and also first-degree trafficking in stolen property were filed in Lewis County Superior Court on May 16. The suspects were summonsed to appear in court yesterday afternoon, but only Meyer showed up. He was allowed release pending trial on a $5,000 unsecured bond. Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Jeffrey Schapp said the summons mailed to Clements was returned with a message saying he had moved to Ohio. Judge Andrew Toynbee ordered a no-bail bench warrant for Clements.
AND MORE
• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarm, dispute, vandalism, civil issue, suspicious circumstances, third-degree theft, disorderly person … and more among 131 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