Posts Tagged ‘news reporter’

News brief: Rural Chehalis resident admits to sexual abuse

Wednesday, December 14th, 2016

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  A rural Chehalis 19-year-old arrested this summer for sexual abuse of two younger female relatives pleaded guilty today in Lewis County Superior Court.

Conlan M. Craig has been held in the Lewis County Jail since his arrested on Aug. 1.

Judge James Lawler accepted Craig’s pleas to one count of second-degree child rape and one count of first-degree child rape.

The original allegations suggested incidents began when he was as young as 10 to 12 years old and the girls were as young as 5 years old. His lawyer David Arcuri told the judge the charges had been amended to include only activity after he turned 18 to make sure when he is sentenced, he will be on lifetime supervision.

His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 8.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, December 14th, 2016
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ASSAULT

• Centralia police were called just before 7 o’clock this morning to the 1200 block of Windsor Avenue following a dispute in which a female reported she was assaulted by a male who took some money. The suspect was not immediately located, according to the Centralia Police Department. The incident is currently under investigation.

• Centralia police this morning stated they were looking for a 23-year-old man to arrest for third-degree assault associated with an incident last night at the 1400 block of Johnson Road.

BREAK-IN

• Centralia police were called about 4:45 p.m. yesterday for a burglary at the 1800 block of North Pearl Street in which someone entered through a window and stole $500 cash, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called to the 100 block of Southeast Sixth Street about 3:40 p.m. yesterday where a resident discovered a window broken at the back of their garage. It wasn’t immediately clear if anything was missing, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called just after 9:30 a.m. today for a vehicle prowl at the 500 block of Harrison Avenue.

• An officer was called just before 9:30 a.m. for a vehicle prowl at the 100 block of Eckerson Road in Centralia in which a window was broken out. An officer had responded to the same area for a similar incident following an approximately 8 a.m. call.

• Police were called about 9 p.m. yesterday to the 1200 block of Belmont Avenue where someone broke the window on a locked vehicle and stole items, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, trespassing, driving with suspended license, misdemeanor domestic assault; responses for alarm, dispute, third-degree theft, harassing text messages, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street, receipt of a counterfeit $20 bill … and more among 140 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

Facebook post bolsters felony charge for illegal cougar hunting

Tuesday, December 13th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 30-year-old man accused of killing a cougar in the Tatoosh Wilderness area of Lewis County without a hunting license is scheduled to go before a judge next week.

Cody M. Young is charged with one count of first-degree unlawful hunting of big game.

The McClearly resident allegedly took down the cougar with a bow and arrow on Sept. 9, a Friday and then bought the required license at a Wal-Mart about 2 a.m. the next day.

Charging documents in the case state that he met with a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officer in Montesano the Monday after to fill out the proper forms and show the animal to WDFW, but he claimed he shot it while out deer hunting on Sept. 10, a Saturday.

He was very proud of his catch, according to the officer.

Young has prior convictions for illegal hunting, and another officer’s recollection of that prompted some investigating, according to the court documents.

Officer Warren Becker checked Young’s Facebook page and saw a photo posted there at 8:05 p.m. Saturday of the big cat, in complete darkness with the aid of a flash, according to the documents. But there was a problem with that photo, he noticed.

Becker knew if the cougar had been killed prior to the post the same day, there ought to have been some ambient light, given the time of sunset, the documents relate.

WDFW officers confirmed the time of the license purchase and even viewed Wal-Mart’s surveillance footage for further confirmation, according to the documents.

A search warrant was served for Young’s phone and phone records, which showed the picture of the dead cougar was taken at 9:14 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9, according to charging documents. Also found was a text message sent before Saturday, stating: “smoked a cougar.”

Lewis County prosecutors filed charges on Nov. 16 and summonsed Young to appear in Lewis County Superior Court last Wednesday.

Young told the judge he needed some time to find and hire a lawyer. He was allowed release on a $10,000 unsecured bond.

He was told to return for his arraignment the afternoon of Dec. 22. Young declined to comment on his case outside the courtroom.

The maximum criminal penalty he faces is five years in prison and / or a $10,000 fine. If convicted, WDFW would suspended his hunting privileges for two years and impose a $2,000 penalty.

The monetary penalty can be doubled if the violation is within five years of a prior gross misdemeanor or felony conviction under the same law.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, December 13th, 2016
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JAIL FIGHT

• A deputy responding to the Lewis County Jail about 8:35 p.m. yesterday to investigate a dispute between two inmates is referring to prosecutors a case for fourth-degree assault after concluding a 30-year-old Morton woman spit on a 24-year-old Chehalis woman, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

ANGRY MAN

• Centralia police were called just after 11 p.m. yesterday to the 300 block of East Pear Street and plan to refer a case of harassment to prosecutors regarding a 47-year-old man. Threats to kill a woman were allegedly involved, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FRAUD

• Chehalis police were called yesterday by a woman who discovered her credit card was used by someone else, after she left her purse for safekeeping with a friend, and it was last known to be her friend’s vehicle’s trunk parked at the Lewis County Law and Justice Center on the 300 block of West Main Street, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• A Chehalis man contacted police yesterday after his Chehalis bank notified him of suspicious account activity and he discovered a $435 transaction on his debit card, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

LOST AND FOUND

• A cell phone found on the 800 block of Southwest Cascade Avenue in Chehalis was turned in to the police department yesterday afternoon.

AND FROM MORTON

• Officers responded to the 300 block of Westlake Avenue in Morton at 11:20 p.m. on Thursday for a possible neighbor harassing another neighbor.  The officer contacted both parties and advised them to stay away from each other, according to the Morton Police Department.

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, shoplifting, third-degree theft, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street; complaint of person living in vehicle parked on city street … and more among 143 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

News brief: LCSO getting new, darker patrol SUVs

Monday, December 12th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Board of Commissioners today approved the purchase of five new patrol vehicles for the sheriff’s office with an expenditure of almost $200,000.

The 2017 Ford Police Interceptor sport utility vehicles are replacing five in use that have more than 150,000 miles on them, according to Undersheriff Wes Rethwill.

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Current LCSO patrol vehicle

Each deputy has their own patrol vehicle and the sheriff’s office replaces five vehicles each year, Rethwill said. He estimated the office currently has about 40 patrol vehicles.

They are transitioning away from silver; the new ones will be dark gray, Rethwill said.

These were scheduled to be bought in 2017, but to take advantage of a particular price savings, they were allowed to get them early, according to Lewis County Commissioner Edna Fund.

The fleet services division of Lewis County Public Works made the request.

While the base price is $27,433, once they are outfitted for police use, the pre-tax cost is $37,222 apiece, according to documents submitted to the commissioners.

They are buying them from Columbia Ford in Longview. The final bill is $197,616.09.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, December 12th, 2016
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Updated at 7:25 p.m.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• Firefighters conducted a rope rescue last night for a woman trapped in the backseat of a newer four-wheel drive vehicle that traveled over an approximately 40-foot snowy embankment in the Capitol Forest. The incident occurred about three miles from the C-Line entrance, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority. Three other occupants were able to get out on their own, according to the fire department. The woman reportedly suffered minor injuries and was transported to St. Peters Hospital.

• A young person walking along Grand Mound Way Southwest about 5 p.m. yesterday was struck by a truck, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority. Firefighter-EMT Ed Singleton said it happened near Oak Lane. The patient had neck pain and was transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital.

• Firefighters and troopers were called about 10:30 p.m. on Friday for a two-vehicle injury collision blocking state Route 6 at the bridge near milepost 26 in Pe Ell, according to the Lewis County 911 Communications Center.

• A 44-year-old man was arrested yesterday at a Centralia motel for allegedly evading a police car during the snow on Friday through the Denny’s parking lot off Harrison Avenue and then driving through the landscaping at Arby’s and over a floodlight. The officer stopped the pursuit because there were people walking in the area but the vehicle was located yesterday, according to court documents. Kurt Dutton told the officer he knew his driver’s license was suspended and needed to get away when he saw the patrol car’s lights, the documents relate. He was charged today in Lewis County Superior Court with attempting to elude. Temporary defense attorney Joely O’Rourke told a judge this afternoon Dutton had just recently moved to Lewis County for his wife’s employment. He is unemployed and collects social security disability payments and qualified for a court appointed lawyer, O’Rourke said. Dutton’s bail was set at $10,000.

BREAK-IN WINLOCK

• A deputy was called just before 8 p.m. yesterday about a break-in to condemned buildings at the 100 block of Pleasant Valley Road outside of Winlock. The 79-year-old owner’s daughter was there to feed cats and discovered hasps on locked interior doors were broken, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It’s not yet known what personal items inside may be missing, Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said. It happened sometime since Friday, Breen said.

BURGLARY CHEHALIS

• An officer was called to the 10 block of Southwest 10th Street in Chehalis about 2:45 p.m. on Friday following the discovery someone had broken out a pane in a glass door and taken a flat screen television, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

AUTO THEFT

• A stolen red Honda Civic was recovered about 8:20 a.m. yesterday parked and unoccupied at the 900 block of South Scheuber Road in Centralia.

FRAUD

• Chehalis police are following up after getting a call from a Spokane man on Friday that someone used his credit card to make a purchase at a retail store on the 1200 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called about 4:25 p.m. yesterday for a vehicle prowl at the 900 block of Johnson Road in Centralia. The victim said she saw a female with pink hair break out the window and steal a backpack and then flee in a small silver sport utility vehicle, according to the Centralia Police Department. The missing item is a crimson and white Victoria’s Secret backpack, according to police.

DRUGS

• A 24-year-old Chehalis resident was arrested for a violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act after a white powdery substance inside a small plastic bag field-tested positive for amphetamines yesterday. A deputy responding about 10:30 a.m. to a report of a suspicious vehicle at Sandra Avenue and Galvin Road made contact with two men and found they both had outstanding warrants, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. After a search, Darin M. McKinley was booked into the Lewis County Jail for VUCSA, Chief Deputy Breen said. His companion, a 36-year-old Centralia man, was booked for a felony warrant, Breen said.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, probation violation, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, trespassing, third-degree theft, disorderly person, misdemeanor assault, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street, snow tires that may or may not have been intentionally flattened … and more among 101 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

News brief: Fake cop makes traffic stop in Centralia

Monday, December 12th, 2016

Updated at 9:42 a.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Centralia police are investigating after a motorist said she was pulled over and then groped by a man they say is a police impersonator.

He was wearing a police-type uniform and driving an older white Ford Crown Victoria with a single red light on its roof, according to the Centralia Police Department.

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•••

He had the 33-year-old Centralia woman exit her vehicle and take sobriety tests, during which he groped her, according to police.

It happened at the 400 block of South Gold Street last night The victim broke away, locked herself in the car and drove home to call police just before 8 p.m., according to the report.

Detectives this morning are investigating this case and following all available leads.

Centralia police say, for now, if you are not certain it’s really an officer trying to pull you over, put on your emergency flashers, slow down, don’t stop and go to a well-lit area. Call 911 to confirm that the person stopping you is indeed law enforcement.

The only description detectives have right now of the suspect is a white male, ages 20 to 30 with short hair, detective Patty Finch said.

“I wanted to put it out so people are advised of what we have, but there’s still a lot more that needs to be done,” Finch said this morning.

Most law enforcement vehicles are clearly marked with “Police”, “Sheriff” or “WSP” markings, with the exception of detective vehicles, according to Finch.