Posts Tagged ‘news reporter’

News brief: Centralia’s Night Out gathering is tonight at Washington Park

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Centralia Police Department is hosting its National Night Out event this evening at George Washington Park.

The community wide gathering will include food, prizes, inflatable slides for the kids, a display of police and other emergency vehicles as well as a chance to dunk the cops in the dunk tank, according to the department’s volunteer coordinator Jennifer Krueger.

The family event begins at 6 p.m. and is free, according to Krueger.

Washington Park is at West Main and South Pearl streets in Centralia.

In Thurston County, the sheriff’s office plans to recognize the annual nationwide crime prevention event by sending its personnel out into the community to neighborhood National Night Out gatherings.

Suspect in rape of girl at 2012 Centralia party arrested in Vegas

Monday, August 1st, 2016
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Tyler M. McKee, center, sits in front of a Lewis County Superior Court judge this afternoon.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office secured a $100,000 arrest warrant for one of three males a 13-year-old girl believes took advantage of her at a Centralia party when she was so drunk she could not walk.

The girl reported to police back in May 2012 she was raped and forensic evidence was collected including from the pants she was wearing, but she only knew the first names of two of the individuals, according to court documents.

Last year, a detective at the Centralia Police Department interviewed a new witness and was given a name, of a male who subsequently recalled being at the party and said he may have kissed her, but accused two of his friends of having sex with the girl after being told she was only 13, court documents relate. His DNA was excluded from the sample found on her pants.

Charging documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court state that one of the friends, Tyler M. McKee, then 19, now 22, was contacted in January in Las Vegas and the DNA collected from him was a match.

McKee was charged in Lewis County Superior Court with second-degree rape of a child. The charge was filed March 18, at the same time an arrest warrant was issued.

He was booked into the Lewis County Jail on Friday and brought before a judge this afternoon.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher asked the judge to maintain bail at $100,000. Judge Richard Brosey agreed.

Judge Brosey appointed Centralia attorney J.P. Enbody to represent McKee.

Court documents in the case relate the girl said she’d never been intoxicated before, but played beer pong and “shot gunned” approximately 10 beers. She told police she remembered both “Tyler” and “Jeff” being on top of her, one after the other. She recalled a third man who came into the room and put his penis in her mouth, according to the court documents.

She ended up in a corner of a closet with semen on her face and thinks they took a picture of her, because she recalled them telling her to say “cheese,” charging documents allege.

The following day, her friend told she’d had sex with three guys.

McKee’s home address in court documents is listed as in Las Vegas. He is also being held on outstanding municipal court warrants.

His arraignment is set for Thursday.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, August 1st, 2016
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•••

BREAK-IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called at 8:47 a.m. yesterday for a residential burglary at the 1100 block of F Street. The Centralia Police Department reported a cell phone was taken.

BREAK-IN CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police were called about 8:45 a.m. on Saturday about a burglary to a garage on the 100 block of Southeast 16th Street. Golf clubs were taken, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

AUTO THEFT

• A deputy responding about 11 a.m. yesterday for an abandoned vehicle found at the 2200 block of Foron Road in Centralia subsequently learned it had been stolen from the 1000 block of North Scheuber Road sometime since 11:30 the night before. Missing from the 1996 Honda Accord was its stereo and an intake filter, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• An individual who accidentally left his keys in his car after he washed it called Chehalis police about 6:10 a.m. on Saturday after discovering it missing from the 300 block of Southeast Canyon Drive. It was found about 7:20 a.m. today near 10th and McFadden, minus its stereo, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Police were called about 7:30 p.m. yesterday regarding a vehicle prowl on the 200 block of John Street in Chehalis.

• Chehalis police were called to the 1000 block of Southeast Adams Avenue about 9:15 a.m. on Saturday for a vehicle prowl that occurred during the night. Among the missing items were the registration, insurance information and clothing, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

OTHER STUFF

• An officer responded to an anonymous 911 call about 5:50 p.m. on Saturday that a male was beating up a dog on Rice Road found there was no issue with the dog, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

DRUGS

• A deputy responding about 7 p.m. yesterday to the 100 block of U.S. Highway 12 where a mother reported finding heroin in her adult daughter’s purse ended up arresting a 24-year-old woman from Pasco. Miranda R. Lynch was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• A deputy dispatched about 11:50 a.m. yesterday to the 12000 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Packwood for a female acting “out of the ordinary” checked on her and ended up arresting her for possession of methamphetamine, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Suspected meth was found in the purse of Jaqueline L. Broten, 46, of Aberdeen, Cmdr. Dusty Breen said. She was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

• A 40-year-old Winlock woman picked up on a warrant on Saturday was also arrested for possession of methamphetamine when a search of her person turned up a glass pipe that field tested positive, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy contacted Janelle L. Butterfield about 11:45 a.m. at the 1400 block of Northwest Kerron Avenue and booked her into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’ office.

• A traffic stop about 8:45 p.m. on Friday at the 1400 block of South Scheuber Road and an arrest for driving with a suspended license led also to an arrest for possession of methamphetamine. Brian J. Haugen, 22, from Centralia, was found with a glass pipe and a clear plastic bag containing a crystal substance, according to  the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office.

VANDALISM

• Chehalis police were called about 1:25 a.m. on Saturday to Southwest Fourth Street off of Market Boulevard after someone threw a rock through the rear window of a parked vehicle. No arrest was made, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

BURNING BARK

• Firefighters called at 9:10 a.m. yesterday for a large burning pile of bark at a landscaping business on the 1300 block of West Reynolds Avenue in Centralia were able to quickly knock down the flames, according to Riverside Fire Authority. The property representative arrived on scene and used an excavator to open the pile up and confirm that the fire was out, according to Fire Capt. Erik Olson. They’re not sure what started it but such piles can generate enough heat to combust on their own, according to Olson.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• A bicyclist was taken to the hospital to be evaluated after traveling the wrong direction on Cascade Avenue just before 3 p.m. yesterday and colliding with a vehicle at Park Street and North Market Boulevard in Chehalis.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, harassment, misdemeanor domestic assault, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, third-degree theft, malicious mischief, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street, attempted theft of cartfull of groceries, a box of what looked like cell phone and electronics found near a bus stop that turned out to be trash … and more among 146 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

News brief: Centralia robbery suspects apprehended

Monday, August 1st, 2016

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Four individuals were arrested yesterday for first-degree robbery in connection with a Saturday morning incident at the 1600 block of North Scheuber Road in Centralia.

It was about 6:44 a.m. on Saturday when a victim reported  a purse and backpack were stolen after a threat with a knife,  according to the Centralia Police Department.

Andrea Parker, Jon Parker, Robert Plasencia and Kiana J. DeLaRosa were all booked into the Lewis County Jail early yesterday morning.

Officer John Panco said two suspects were arrested at the location of the incident and the other two were picked up elsewhere by other police agencies.

Panco didn’t say what might have been inside the purse or backpack.

The four are tentatively scheduled to go before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Sunday, July 31st, 2016
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•••

SINGLE-VEHICLE WRECK U.S. 12 OAKVILLE

• A 68-year-old driver was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle this morning after his car wrecked off U.S. Highway 12 about two miles west of Oakville, according to the Washington State Patrol. Don J. Scott of Aberdeen was headed west when his Mercury Marquis crossed over the oncoming lane, traveled over an embankment and struck a tree, according to the state patrol. Troopers were called about 8:40 a.m. and are investigating the cause of the crash.

TWO-VEHICLE COLLISION U.S. HIGHWAY 12 OAKVILLE

• Two people from Shelton were taken to the hospital after their Subaru Outback struck a cargo trailer being towed by a pickup truck that came into their lane on U.S. Highway 12 about two miles west of Oakville today. Troopers called about 12:50 p.m. to the scene cited the driver of the 2014 Ford F150 with second-degree negligent driving, according to the Washington State Patrol. The investigating trooper indicated David F. Moen, 73, from Albany, Oregon, was westbound, fell asleep at the wheel, ran into the ditch, overcorrected and crossed into the eastbound lane. Moen and his passenger were reportedly uninjured. But the 88-year-old driver of the Subaru and his 77-year-old passenger were taken to Summit Pacific Hospital, according to the state patrol.

TWO VEHICLE CRASH U.S. HIGHWAY 12 PACKWOOD

• One person was hurt when a Jeep stopped for an elk on U.S. Highway 12 in Packwood and was rear ended by a pickup truck. The 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee was able to be driven from the scene and its driver Nicole J. Beaudoin, and its passenger, Paul E. Knollman, both 35 years old and from Seattle were reportedly unhurt, according to the Washington State Patrol. The driver of the 2011 Ford F150 pickup, Ignacio L. Sanchez, 59, from Yakima, was issued citations for following too closely and not having insurance, according to the state patrol. His 25-year-old passenger, Jessica V. Jimenez, also from Yakima, was transported to Morton General Hospital, the investigating trooper reports. The vehicles were westbound about 9:45 p.m. on Friday when it happened.

MISSING MOWER

• Centralia police were called at about 10:30 a.m. yesterday about a lawn mower missing from the 1800 block of Van Wormer Street.

CAR PROWL SUSPECT CAUGHT

• A male juvenile was arrested and booked for vehicle prowl in an early morning case yesterday associated with the 1100 block of Woodland Avenue in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, drugs, harassment, probation violation, misdemeanor domestic assault, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, third-degree theft, malicious mischief, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street … and more, among 323 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 48-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

Man imprisoned for Lewis County molestation now faces indefinite detention

Saturday, July 30th, 2016
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•••

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A former local man nearing release after serving an approximately 27 year prison sentence found himself brought before a Lewis County judge, where state attorneys are asking to keep him locked up.

Dannell Harris was 24 years old when he broke into the home of acquaintances, looking for drugs and money, according to court documents.

The family’s 4-year-old girl was sleeping on the couch, and when he left, he took a BB gun, a few dollars, and the child with him.

Court documents go on to relate how the father discovered she was missing at 3 a.m. It was Nov. 23, 1989, a Thanksgiving morning.

Police searched and later that morning, found the little girl in a car abandoned on a logging road not far from Centralia.

Harris was convicted two months later of second-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary and first-degree child molestation in Lewis County Superior Court. He was given a sentence of 332 months.

This week, the state Attorney General’s Office filed a petition in Lewis County Superior Court to civilly commit Harris for an indefinite period of time, contending he is a sexually violent predator.

Harris had a previous conviction for third-degree rape in a 1988 case. He also had a 1985 conviction for second-degree robbery. Both were in Thurston County.

The state contends Harris has a mental abnormality and is likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if released. The allegations in the petition have to be proven at a trial.

In 1990, Washington became the first state in the nation to pass a law permitting the involuntary civil commitment of sex offenders after they serve their criminal sentences. The attorney general’s office’s special division to handle those cases was created shortly after that.

Harris, now 50, was transported from the Twin Rivers Correctional Center at Monroe to Lewis County and brought before a judge on Thursday.

A Lewis County Superior Court judge had already seen the petition and found probable case for the case to go forward. An order was signed directing the custodial detention and evaluation of Harris.

An evaluation will be done by an expert chosen by the state, to include penileplethysmograph and polygraph testing, according to court documents.

Among the documents in the petition are those signed by a psychologist who evaluated Harris in 2009, conducting  four and half hours of clinical interview and reviewing more than 2,000 pages of documents.

The psychologist this week signed a declaration that it’s still his opinion Harris has a mental abnormality that causes him serious difficulty controlling his sexually violent behavior. Dr. Dale Arnold wrote he read 700 pages of updated records to come to his present conclusion.

In his report, he makes note of information from his interview that states Harris had some 400 sexual partners by the time he was incarcerated, had only begun to feel sexual desire for young girls a few months before the kidnapping and that Thanksgiving morning of 1989 was the first time he’d acted upon the feelings.

Harris is represented by two lawyers, Pete MacDonald and Ival Gaer.

The state’s aim is to keep Harris in a secure facility for control, care and treatment until his condition has changed.

Judge James Lawler on Thursday signed an order to transport Harris to the Special Commitment Center at McNeil Island. Currently, 283 individuals are being held under the program.

During fiscal year 2015, the attorney general’s office’s special division tried 15 cases and won 10 civil commitments.

News brief: Stump burning at origin of small wildfire

Saturday, July 30th, 2016
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One outbuilding was lost to fire west of Centralia / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Authorities suspect an attempt by a property owner to burn out a tree stump led to the spread of flames that destroyed an outbuilding yesterday west of Centralia.

Firefighters were called about 12:50 p.m. yesterday for a grass and brush fire at the 1700 block of Bunker Creek Road, according to Riverside Fire Authority. It was described as about 100 feet by 200 feet in size.

By the time crews arrived, one building on the property had burned, according to Fire Capt. Scott Weinert.

“The Department of Natural Resources was summoned to assist with the extinguishment operation,” Weinert stated.

The damage is estimated at $20,000 for the building and $4,000 for its contents, according to Weinert.