Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Morton couple won not once, but twice in a row when they appealed the amount Lewis County judges ordered them to pay in restitution associated with animal cruelty charges involving their horses.

Joanne M. Simmons and Terry L. Simmons were convicted of two counts of second-degree animal cruelty.

Back in 2012, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputies and county code enforcement workers seized nine of their 18 horses from property on the  800 block of state Route 7. Prosecutors described the animals as severely malnourished.

The couple was initially charged with numerous counts of first- and second-degree cruelty, but eventually only convicted of the two counts, which were misdemeanors.

The court ordered them to pay $20,589.42 in restitution.

Five private groups and the Lewis County Animal Shelter assisted in the removal and foster care of the horses.

In their first appeal, the Simmones argued the sentencing court erred by imposing costs associated with charges previously dismissed. The appeals court agreed and remanded for modification of the restitution order.

On remand, the sentencing court doubled the amount recommended by the state, saying it was exactly the kind of case where that was appropriate. Prosecutors had asked for $4,533.54.

The three-member panel of division II of the Washington State Court of Appeals said the judge erred again.

While the law allows for a doubling of restitution in lieu of a fine, it wasn’t a fine that was the issue, the justices stated. Their fine was $500.

Another statute provides a basis for doubling restitution, but only applies to felonies, they wrote.

The opinion was issued last week. The order under review was signed by Judge Nelson Hunt.

“Thus, we reverse the sentencing court’s restitution orders and remand for correction of restitution to the amount calculated before doubling,” the justices wrote.
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For background, read: “Former owners of Morton horses charged with animal cruelty” from  Tuesday November 13, 2012, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  The state Court of Appeals in a decision this week upheld the conviction of Jeffrey J. Johnson for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver.

Johnson argued the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence discovered after he consented to a search of his home in the Vader area.

The three-member panel of justices disagreed with him and affirmed his conviction from Lewis County Superior Court.

The determination about the 2015 case was filed on Tuesday.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  A defendant whose sentence could have been as long as life in prison will be returning to Lewis County Superior Court to get a fixed-length term in prison.

The state Court of Appeals reversed the sentence of Brian W. Buckman, who pleaded guilty to second-degree rape of a child, because he was under 18 at the time of the offense and state law excludes him from indeterminate sentencing.

In 2012, Buckman was given a prison term with a minimum of 86 to 114 months in prison and a maximum of life.

He appealed the court’s decision denying his motion to withdraw his plea and in the alternative appealed his sentence.

He was 17 years and 7 months old when he and a 13-year-old had sexual intercourse. His case was handled not in juvenile court, but in adult court, in Lewis County Superior Court.

The opinion from division II of the Washington State Court of Appeals was issued on Tuesday.

While the guilty plea form he signed set forth both the standard range and the maximum penalty, it also specified indeterminate sentencing applied if he was at least 18 years old, the justices wrote.

The trial court had denied his motion to withdraw the plea, arguing since he was beyond his 17th birthday at the time of the offense, he was not 17 years of age or younger.

The three-member panel of the Court of Appeals agreed with not allowing him to withdraw the plea affirming the conviction, but remanded the case for a determinate sentence.

Buckman was represented in his appeal by Centralia attorney Peter Tiller. Representing the state was Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh and Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher. Judge Nelson Hunt was the judge in the original case.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  Lewis County prosecutors won their appeal of the dismissal of a case by a local judge who concluded gift cards stolen by an employee from K-Mart did not meet the definition of “access devices.”

Angel R.M. Nelson was charged in Lewis County Superior Court in 2014 with second-degree theft of an access device and second-degree possession of a stolen access device. Surveillance video allegedly showed her retrieve empty gift cards three times and add funds to them without adding cash to her register, according to background information in the opinion issued this week by the state Court of Appeals.

At a pre-trial hearing, the judge granted a defense motion, ruling that as a matter of law, a gift card is not an access device, according to the document.

Reviewing in the light most favorable to the state and looking to the statute’s plain language, the three-member panel of justices found the state was correct. The justices said a gift card is an “access device.” The opinion was issued on Tuesday.

They remanded the case for further proceedings.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Prosecutors dropped a felony case they had filed against a Chehalis business owner, alleging after they searched his warehouse and his residence he’d used an alias, illegally possessed a gun and falsely declared his qualifications as a voter.

Elvis A. Matias-Lopez, 34, of Chehalis, was charged at the end of April in Lewis County Superior Court.

According to court documents, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office found Matias-Lopez was illegally in the country and eligible for deportation.

A sheriff’s detective began looking into Champion Greens located on Northwest West Street in Chehalis based on information that arose pursuant to an investigation by multiple agencies into organized criminal activity in Washington state, according to court documents.

Law enforcement conducted surveillance on on Matias-Lopez for about a year, ending last October, court documents relate.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wouldn’t say what kind of organized crime was being looked into, but yesterday said he asked a judge to dismiss the charges earlier this month because he anticipates the case will be transferred to a federal jurisdiction.

The local charges were first-degree criminal impersonation, false declaration as to qualifications as a voter and alien in possession of a firearm without an alien firearm license.

They were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they can be re-filed at a later date, Halstead said.
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For background, read “Probe into unspecified “organized crime” nets local resident eligible for deportation” from Sunday May 1, 2016, here