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BIG THEFT
• Chehalis police yesterday arrested a woman for first-degree theft in a case reported the afternoon of Jan. 30 from a business at the 1400 block of Northwest Airport Road involving the theft of money. The owner of Riverside Golf Course thought deposits were missing and an audit concluded that more than $90,000 vanished between May 2018 and last month, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Barbara A. Simons, 69, from Centralia, the accountant, was interviewed by detectives yesterday and claimed she had a gambling problem, according to police. Simons was booked into the Lewis County Jail.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
• A resident used a dry-chemical extinguisher to put out a stovetop fire but left the premises before a neighbor spotted flames on the roof in Centralia yesterday. Firefighters called about 11 a.m. to the 1300 block of Kulien Avenue found no one inside when they arrived but discovered flames had traveled up through the stove vent, through the attic and onto the roof, according to Riverside Fire Authority. They put the fire out and checked the rest of the building for further extension, but found none, according to fire Capt. Scott Weinert. The damage was described as moderate. Inside the kitchen, fire had originated on the stove and burned the cabinets above, according to Weinert. A fire extinguisher was sitting on the counter. Crews made contact with the owner a little later and he reported that he had received a call from an occupant that there had been a kitchen fire in the residence but he had extinguished it. The fire department advises people to call them when there is an accidental fire inside their homes, as flames can easily travel in hidden places that may not be visible to the untrained observer.
GLASS BREAKING
• Centralia police were contacted about 7:15 a.m. today by an individual who reported the driver’s side window of their vehicle had been broken at the 1200 block of West Chestnut Street.
• Police were called to the 1000 block of Roosevelt Street in Centralia about 6:25 a.m. today where the rear window of their vehicle had been broken.
• An unknown person threw a rock through the glass door of a business at the 1000 block of Eckerson Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 11:35 p.m. yesterday.
• Centralia police were called to the 1300 block of Lum Road at about 5:05 p.m. yesterday for a vehicle prowl. A window had been broken, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• The windows of a business were vandalized at the 100 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 11:35 a.m. yesterday.
SCAMMED
• Chehalis police were called to the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue about 10:40 a.m. yesterday following the discovery that the day before, a customer had managed to trick a cashier out of more than $1,000.
DRUGS
• A 23-year-old Centralia resident was arrested for possession of methamphetamine after he was contacted by law enforcement just after 1 p.m. yesterday at the 1200 block of West Main Street in Centralia. Armando I. Carbajal Paz was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
AND MORE
• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license, fourth-degree domestic assault, failure to transfer vehicle title; responses for alarm, dispute, shoplifting, harassment, civil issue, suspicious circumstances and more among 135 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