Updated at 6:32 p.m.
OUTLET MALL EMPLOYEE FIGHTS OFF MAN
• Centralia police were called to an Outlet Mall store yesterday about noon after a man in his 30s came up behind an employee put one arm around her neck and fondled her with his other hand. The woman, in her 20s, kicked and yelled and he ran away, according to police. It happened outside the back door of the business along the 1300 block of Lum Road, according to the Centralia Police Department. The subject was described as a man with light colored hair, wearing a stained orange shirt and dark carpenter-type pants which were very dirty, Officer John Panco said. He was not found.
THEFT
• Somebody broke into a parts distribution business on the 400 block of East Summa Street in Centralia over the weekend and stole money and keys, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy who took a report Tuesday morning learned a window was smashed; the loss is estimated at about $500, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.
• Centralia police took a report Tuesday afternoon of the theft of a computer from a residence on the 1100 block of North Pearl Street. By Wednesday morning, a suspect had been identified and the computer recovered, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• Chehalis police were called Tuesday morning abut the theft of money from the 300 block of Southeast Washington Avenue.
• Centralia police were called Tuesday morning about theft of wire from a business on the 2000 block of Johnson Road.
• A stereo, sun glasses and some change were taken in a car prowl on the 900 block of North Washington Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police Tuesday morning.
• Somebody stole the back license plate from a vehicle and replaced it with a plate from a vehicle stolen in Cle Elum, according to a report made to police Tuesday morning from the 1200 block of Eckerson Road in Centralia.
BRUSH FIRE
• Firefighters were called about 4:20 p.m. on Tuesday to a brush fire at the end of the football and track by Chehalis Middle School. Chehalis Fire Department Capt. Rob Gebhart said it was likely started by fireworks. He estimated it was 30 feet by 10 feet in size. They put it out, he said.
COLLISION
• Two people were taken to Providence Centralia Hospital Tuesday night after a three-car collision on northbound Interstate 5 north of Centralia. Troopers were called about 9:50 p.m. to the crash – in a work zone near milepost 83 – and found the driver of a Hyundai Elantra from The Dalles, Ore. failed to stop when other vehicles ahead were stopped, according o the Washington State Patrol. The driver and her 13-year-old passenger suffered bruises to their chests, her car sustained an estimated $5,000 damage, according to the state patrol. Her car hit the rear of a Toyota Camry, damaging it. The Camry was pushed into a 2002 BMW,damaging it. Driver inattention was blamed.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter