Lewis County Sirens.com

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WINLOCK WOMAN DISPLACED BY RESIDENTIAL FIRE

• A senior citizen alerted by her smoke alarm spotted fire in her bathroom, called 911 and got outside safely early this morning at the 300 block of Hemenway Road southwest of Winlock. Crews responding to the approximately 6:20 a.m. call arrived to find smoke showing from the roof line, entered and discovered fire in the attic space above the bathroom in the double-wide mobile home, according to Lewis County Fire District 15. Fire Lt. Patrick Jacobson said they were joined by personnel from Napavine, Toledo and Vader fire departments. The Red Cross was going to help the woman out with a place to stay, Jacobson said. The damage was primarily to the attic and the cause is under investigation, he said.

PEDESTRIAN ASSAULTED

• Centralia police were called about 7:20 p.m. for an incident at the 100 block of South Silver Street in which a 21-year-old Centralia woman said she was walking down the street when a female struck her in the face with what she thought was a bottle. She was treated at the hospital for cuts, according to the Centralia Police Department. She said she didn’t wish to pursue charges, according to police.

CYBER CRIME

•  Centralia police at about 11:15 p.m. yesterday took a report of possible extortion via Facebook associated with an address on the 600 block of Centralia College Boulevard. The case is under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FRAUD

• Chehalis police were called about 10 a.m. yesterday to investigate a possible fraud associated with a location on the 600 block of West Main Street.

ATM HEIST

• A deputy was called to a campground at the 2200 block of Centralia-Alpha Road yesterday morning following the discovery someone had removed a cash machine from the laundry room area. It was taken sometime between 3:30 p.m. on Friday and 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

TOOLS, EQUIPMENT STOLEN

• A self-propelled lawn mower, a Stihl leaf blower and a weed eater were stolen from a shed at the 100 block of Spencer Road sometime between 3:30 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. yesterday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is $950, according to the sheriff’s office.

• A deputy was called to the 1600 block of Bishop Road about 7:45 a.m. yesterday for a break-in to a business in which more than $2,000 worth of equipment was stolen. Among the items taken since about 6 p.m. on Saturday were a welder, a Husky air compressor as well as a surveillance system, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

VEHICLE  PROWL

• A vehicle parked inside a fenced compound at the 900 block of Johnson Road in Centralia was broken into and gas siphoned out of it, according to a report made to police about 7:50 a.m. yesterday.

DRUGS

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning they are referring a case for possession of a controlled substance to prosecutors in connection with finding suspected Suboxone – a medication used in the treatment of opioid addiction – inside a book in a 25-year-old inmate’s cell at the Lewis County Jail on Friday. The substance will be sent for testing, according to the sheriff’s office.

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

• Chehalis police were called about 6:40 a.m. today about a person suspected to be “camped out” in the Honey Bucket at the 400 block of Northwest State Avenue. No arrest was made, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• It was a suspected equipment failure that caused a semi truck to end up on its side last night at U.S. Highway 12 and North Prairie Road, according to Lewis County Fire District 5. Firefighters responded to the scene shortly after 8 p.m. and determined the driver was uninjured, Fire Lt. Laura Hanson said.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, suspicious circumstances, hit and run, vehicle collision, third-degree theft … and more among 180 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

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U.S. Highway 12 at North Prairie Road. / Courtesy photo by Washington State Patrol

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Hank the dog’s human family will fight on.

After yesterday’s emotion laden court hearing about the fate of a pit bull terrier implicated in killing livestock, Lewis County District Court Judge R.W. Buzzard signed an order that Hank be euthanized by the close of the business day tomorrow.

Detained April, 2016

But today, a Lewis County Superior Court judge issued a “stay” meaning the dog cannot be put down during the next 30 days.

Hank’s owner, rural Centralia resident Jann Propp-Estimo, is represented by Bellingham animal lawyer Adam Karp.

Karp said after yesterday morning’s court proceedings, he would appeal and / or file a new lawsuit against the county.

Under Lewis County code, there was no option other than death for the canine after he was deemed in an administrative hearing to be a dangerous dog, for the events of last year in rural Winlock. However, that was delayed as county employees worked to find a lawful way to potentially declassify a dangerous dog.

Meanwhile, the pet that those at the Lewis County Animal Shelter felt was  really not an irredeemable killer, found himself with a new name and then adopted out to a new family. Propp-Estimo knew nothing of Hank’s past until Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer learned that someone bypassed the rules and had Hank impounded last month.

The Lewis County Board of County Commissioners yesterday approved an amendment to the dangerous dog ordinance which allowed the appeal that took place in Lewis County District Court.

The new rules allowed for the judge to take into consideration new evidence including present behavior, character and disposition of the animal. Judge Buzzard wasn’t convinced.

Karp laid out a case that suggested Hank’s mother was the actual killer of the two goats.

Today’s order signed by Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler notes the matter was brought to him at the request of Karp and Lewis County, with both having agreed to the temporary reprieve.

The action gives Karp time to file his appeal.

However, Hank, formerly known as Tank, shall be euthanized no late than 48 hours following the expiration of Lawler’s order, unless he or another court intervenes.
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For background, read “Possible reprieve for dog implicated in goats’ deaths” from Wednesday May 31, 2017, here

Jann Propp-Estimo holds back tears as her son Jason Estimo speaks with their lawyer.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Lewis County judge ruled today the county should proceed to euthanize a pit bull terrier after viewing new evidence by an eyewitness that seemed to exonerate him in the killing of two goats.

The session this morning in Lewis County District Court follows a winding case in which the dog was deemed a dangerous animal under a county administrative process, but instead of being put down, was wrongly adopted out by the shelter to an unknowing Centralia family who handed Hank over when law enforcement came to retrieve him.

Detained April, 2016

Jann Propp-Estimo, seated next to her attorney, let out a sob as Judge R.W. Buzzard made his pronouncement.

“I find by clear and convincing evidence Ms. York got it right,” Buzzard said. “This dog by our codes is dangerous.”

Propp-Estimo’s lawyer Adam Karp shared information with the court about Hank’s disposition from those at the Lewis County Animal Shelter had the dog in custody for several months and once again are holding him and from Propp-Estimo whose family owned him from January until May.

Karp brought the Winlock man who owned the goats to testify and filed a declaration from a neighbor who saw what happened last year.

Julianna Engel, according to a deputy’s report at the time, made statements such as the two dogs chased, bit and killed the goat, Buzzard said. Her more recent sworn declaration specified it was Hank’s mother who engaged in the attack.

“These two statements could not be more different from one another,” Buzzard said.

Judge Buzzard noted that Engel was not present at the hearing to be questioned, but a statement given so close in time to the event is presumed to be more believable, he said.

At the end of the approximately 90 minute hearing, Lewis County Civil Deputy Prosecutor David Fine was instructed to bring back an order for Hank to be euthanized. Judge Buzzard said his signature would start a clock ticking for 48 hours.

Karp said he will appeal and / or file a new lawsuit against the county.

“This is bullsh*t,” Winlock resident Steven Rohr said. “He was not part of it, he was wrongly accused.”

Rohr, the owner of the goats, was visibly upset as he and a fair-sized crowd exited the courtroom.

He had taken the stand in defense of the dog, pointing out what he saw on the video taken by his dash cam that day. At first, he was prejudiced against the pit bull he then knew as Tank, he said. But after speaking with Engel, he changed his mind.

“Hank is sitting right there, wagging his tail,” Rohr had told the court as he pointed to a segment of the video that was shown. The actual killing did not appear on the tape.

Also among those assembled in the lobby on the third floor of the Lewis County Law and Justice Center was Debra Parscal, who owned Tank at the time. She said that after the incident, she had to tell her children she couldn’t come up with the money to meet the county’s demands for $500,000 worth of liability insurance to be able to keep their dog.

Today’s hearing was held simultaneous to a meeting by the Lewis County Board of County Commissioners in which they approved an amendment to the dangerous dog ordinance that allowed the appeal in Lewis County District Court.

The dog’s situation came to to the attention of county authorities in May, when Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer advised commissioners he learned that instead of putting the dog down last year, the Lewis County Animal Shelter changed its name to Hank and adopted him to the new family, without disclosing his pertinent background.

Propp-Estimo took Hank to her rural Centralia home in January, then relocated him to her grown son and grandson’s home in town, because her other dog, Bruce Almighty, didn’t care for the new addition.

Jason Estimo was disappointed and unhappy with the judge’s ruling.

“It seemed, uh, kind of intellectually really dishonest,” Estimo said. “They changed the ordinance to save Hank, and Hank’s still going to be put down.
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For background, read “Possible reprieve for dog implicated in goats’ deaths” from Wednesday May 31, 2017, here