Posts Tagged ‘news reporter’

Guilty plea accepted in Green Hill counselor-inmate sex case

Wednesday, July 27th, 2016
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Erin Stiebritz, right, and her lawyer face Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The counselor accused of having sex in her office at Green Hill School with a student-inmate pleaded guilty today, as charged.

Erin Stiebritz, also known as Erin Snodgrass, appeared in Lewis County Superior Court with her lawyer this afternoon who spoke to news reporters after the hearing.

“My client made a terrible decision, she’s taken responsibility,” defense attorney Blake Kremer said. “She’s going to be paying for it for a long time.”

Stiebritz, now 37, was arrested earlier this year following an investigation conducted in 2015 for incidents that occurred during the latter half of 2014. She has been free on bond since she was charged.

Judge James Lawler today accepted her guilty plea to one count of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct.

Lewis County prosecutors wrote in charging papers that the then resident-counselor had an intimate relationship with an incarcerated boy who turned 18 during that time. Stiebritz had begun working there in June 2013.

Green Hill is run by the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, a division of the Department of Social and Health Services. It’s a medium to maximum security fenced facility in Chehalis that provides male offenders education and vocational training.

She remains free until her sentencing, which is set to take place in September after a pre-sentencing investigation is done.

The standard sentencing range for the offense is six to 12 months in jail, however, prosecutors have agreed to recommend an exceptionally shorter sentence, according to Kremer.

If the judge goes along with it, she would get 14 days in jail and 46 days converted to treatment, Kremer said. Then she would also have to register as a sex offender for 10 years, he said.

Judge Lawler today also agreed to seal portions of documents in the file he said contained personal and private information about the defendant as well as other people.

Her hearing is scheduled for Sept. 21.
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For background, read “Counselor-inmate sex alleged at Green Hill School” from Tuesday January 12, 2016, here

News brief: Gun-pointing landowner gets booked

Wednesday, July 27th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  A worker walked off the job at Cowlitz Timber Trails near Salkum yesterday after encountering an angry 69-year-old man who reportedly held him at gunpoint, telling him he could shoot him and anyone else who came onto his property, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

A deputy called just before 12:20 p.m. about the incident at the 1800 block of Spencer Road was told it happened on the property line in the woods and the 42-year-old resident of Silver Creek had been using a chainsaw to clear brush.

The victim said the man was pointing the firearm at him from within five feet, ranting about a property dispute and the victim was very afraid he was going to die, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. The gunman after about 30 seconds put his pistol away and the victim walked off the job, according to the sheriff’s office.

Cowlitz Timber Trails is a membership-based camping and recreation property along the Cowlitz River.

Roger K. Wilkinson, 69, Salkum, was contacted, arrested for first-degree assault and booked into the Lewis County Jail. He is scheduled to be brought before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court to hear what, if any, charges will be filed against him.

A second Chehalis attorney hoping for outgoing Lewis County judge’s seat

Tuesday, July 26th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – It’s a rare event when any of the three Lewis County Superior Court judge positions really open up, as in recent years the incumbents have run for reelection unopposed until they decide to retire.

So, contested races for the bench here are not common.

This year, two judges will be stepping down at the same time, and two candidates are campaigning for one of those seats.

Rural Chehalis attorney Katherine Gulmert filed to run for the position being vacated at the end of this year by Judge Richard Brosey. Chehalis lawyer Joely O’Rourke declared her candidacy for that seat in March.

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Katherine Gulmert

In December, when Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt announced he would be retiring at the end of this year, Adna attorney Andrew Toynbee announced he would be a candidate. Nobody filed to run against Toynbee.

Hunt was first elected in 2004. Judge Brosey has held his seat since July 1998. Judge James Lawler is running for a third term and is unopposed.

The Superior Court judges preside over felony and high-money civil cases on the top floor of the Lewis County Law and Justice Center in Chehalis, the county seat. The job pays $162,618 a year.

The names of the three hopefuls will appear on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.

Gulmert was the last of the three to make her plans known.

The native of central California moved to rural Chehalis in 2002 after earning her law degree in 1998 at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.

She’s worked both sides of the courtroom when it comes to criminal law, with the early parts of her career in various prosecutor’s offices.

In 1999, Gulmert worked at the Grays Harbor County Prosecutor’s Office. In 2000, she took a similar position with the city of Aberdeen and in 2004, with the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.

For two years, she was the chief criminal deputy prosecutor in Jefferson County, doubling as the county coroner, and then worked as a deputy prosecutor in Cowlitz County until 2013.

Since then, Gulmert has been in private practice, co-creating a law firm that maintained an exclusive contract with the city of Longview for indigent defense. Gulmert cites other areas in which she’s practiced, such as family law, elder law,  and veteran’s law.

She moved her practice to Chehalis this spring, taking an office in the building that holds the Community Mediation Center of Lewis County on Pacific Avenue.

Gulmert, 58, said when she saw Judge Brosey was retiring, she decided: “If I was going to be a judge, this was my time to do that.”

“I do have the experience for the position and I am hardworking,” she said. “And I will learn the areas which I haven’t yet done.”

“I am willing to put my whole self into it,” she said.

Her election information highlights giving back to the community.

“Our county deserves an experienced judge, one who, after listening carefully to both sides of a difficult case, will make her decision based on the laws as written,” she states.

When she’s not working, Gulmert volunteers her time as a board member for the Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia and the Ballet Theater of Washington.

Both Toynbee and O’Rourke since they announced their candidacies have been put on the contact list to serve as substitutes on the bench in in Lewis County Superior Court handling family law cases, as pro-tem commissioner.

According to the most recent information available from the state Public Disclosure Commission, only O’Rourke has reported raising any money for her campaign, with just over $12,000 raised and spent. Her campaign shows about $4,200 of debt, money the O’Rourkes loaned the campaign.

PDC filings for Gulmert, Toynbee and Lawler each show they have raised no money.

The primary election on Aug 2 won’t include any local judicial races but does include various federal and state offices as well as contested races for two of the three Lewis County commissioner positions.

Numerous candidates have filed to run for state representative and state senator in Legislative District 19 which includes the southwest portion of Lewis County. The two representatives and senator for Legislative District 19, the rest of the county,  are on the ballot, but unopposed.

See the online Voter’s Guide for the primary election, here
•••

For background, read:

• “Judge Brosey eyes retirement, Chehalis lawyer to seek election to the court” from Wednesday March 30, 2016, here

• “Lewis County judge won’t seek election to fourth term, local lawyer to try for the bench” from Wednesday December 16, 2015, here

• Information on candidate Katherine Gulmert, here

• Information on candidate Joely O’Rourke, here

• Information on candidate Andrew Toynbee, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, July 26th, 2016
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•••

VIOLENCE AT GREEN HILL

• Chehalis police were called at 4:30 p.m. yesterday to Green Hill School on Southwest 11th Street on a report a student-inmate had assaulted three staff members. The police department is waiting for more information from the juvenile institution, so details are not yet available, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

BURGLARY

• A deputy was called yesterday morning to the 2000 block of Bishop Road in Chehalis about a burglary at Peace Lutheran Church. The deputy was told a pastor arrived around 2 a.m. to prepare to leave with the youth group for a trip and discovered a door to the church garage was damaged and an auditorium speaker and a bench top drill press had been removed, although they were found behind the building in the grass, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The break-in occurred sometime after 6 p.m. on Sunday, according to the sheriff’s office.

• Centralia police responded to an approximately 4:45 a.m. call today about a burglary at the 100 block of North Iron Street. Taken was cash from a wallet and an Xbox, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police were called about 1:40 p.m. yesterday to the 1000 block of Scammon Creek Road in Centralia where a victim reported while on vacation for the last week someone entered their home and stole prescription medication, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called to the 900 block of South Scheuber Road about 10:15 p.m. yesterday where an individual reported their vehicle was broke into and electronics were stolen.

• An officer was called just before 8 a.m. yesterday to the 100 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia for a vehicle prowl. The victim reported that sometime over the night unknown persons entered her vehicle and stole some tools, according to the Centralia Police Department.

LOCKER ROOM THEFT

• Chehalis police were called about 5:15 p.m. yesterday to the pool at the 400 block of Southwest Parkland Drive where they were told a male had left his wallet in his pants in the locker room and it disappeared.

FUNNY MONEY

• Centralia police were called about 3:50 p.m. yesterday to the 1000 block of Belmont Avenue to take a report of a female attempting to pass a counterfeit $50 bill at a business.

LOST AND FOUND

• A worker found money in a parking lot off South Market Boulevard in Chehalis and turned it in to the police department about 2:30 p.m. yesterday, according to the Chehalis Police Department. It was discovered in the area around the 1300 block and the 1500 block, according to police. If the person who lost it can describe it, they should be able to get it back, department spokesperson Linda Bailey said.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, trespassing, probation violation, domestic malicious mischief, misdemeanor domestic assault, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street … and more, among 187 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, July 25th, 2016
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•••

FIGHT, FIGHT

• Police responding about 12:05 a.m. today to the 100 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia arrested three for fighting in public. They are: Robert Day, 38, of Onalaska; Trevor Johnson, 30, of Chehalis, and Edward Arredondo, 34, of Chehalis, according to the Centralia Police Department. Earlier, around 6:15 p.m., an arrest of similar nature was made at the 600 block of Warren Street, according to police. In that case, James Lowther, 38, of Centralia, was arrested and then also released.

BREAK-IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police called about 9:45 a.m. yesterday to the 500 block of South Pearl Street took a report that an unknown person entered a residence and stole a backpack.

VEHICLE THEFT

• A pickup truck stolen in Centralia turned up about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday parked on 11th Street in Chehalis. The owner came and retrieved it, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning that sometime during the last two weeks, someone stole a 2007 Suzuki 250 dirt bike from an unlocked garage on the 500 block of Avery Road West south of Chehalis. The bike is valued at $4,000, according to the sheriff’s office.

PROWL, PROWL, PROWL

• Chehalis police were called just before noon yesterday to the 600 block of Southwest Chehalis Avenue where a truck in a driveway had been prowled. Among the missing items are a Sears brand tool box containing sockets and wrenches, two Nintendo games and two portable television screens, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• Just after 10 a.m. yesterday, police were called to the 1400 block of Southwest Kelly Avenue in Chehalis following the discovery of a vehicle prowl in which an Occidental tool bag containing carpentry tools was stolen from a pickup truck parked on the street, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• An officer responded to an approximately 9 a.m. call yesterday following the discovery of a vehicle prowl on the 1400 block of Southwest Johnson Avenue in Chehalis in which more than $1,400 worth of tools were stolen. The truck had been parked on the street, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Among the missing property is a plumbing wrench, a yellow and black DeWalt sawzall, a vacuum and green and black Ryobi tools such as a drill, a finish nailer, a staple gun, batteries and charger, according to police.

• Chehalis police were called about 6 p.m. on Saturday to the 600 block of Northwest Gertrude Street in Chehalis where someone had broken into a Jeep and stole keys on a ring, a blue child’s backpack with two fishing poles and a folder containing personal information, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• Chehalis police took a report late Friday afternoon from the 200 block of Southwest John Street that someone had stolen a set of golf clubs from a vehicle. The bag is green and black, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called about a vehicle prowl on the 400 block of Northeast Adams Avenue at 11:45 a.m. on Friday. Someone broke a window of the car parked on the street and took some cash, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

UNDERAGE DRINKING

• Nine young people were arrested and then released for minor in possession and/or consumption of alcohol after deputies responded about 11:25 p.m. on Friday to the 400 block of Chilvers Road outside Chehalis for what was described as a large party. A deputy was told people were walking in the roads and cars were in an out of the property, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Portable breath tests were administered in the case involving two 17-year-olds, four 18-year-olds, two 19-year-olds and one 20-year-old. All are from Chehalis and all were males except for the 17-year-old girl, according to the sheriff’s office.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• A 77-year-old Chehalis resident was ticketed for speeding when his Dodge pickup truck rear ended a Kia Sorento, and his 22-foot boat left the trailer he was pulling coming to rest against a telephone pole on Saturday morning in Mason County. Troopers called at 9:19 a.m. to Highway 101 north of Shelton noted nobody was injured but both vehicles were damaged. Robert G. Johnson, 77, from Chehalis, was traveling at speeds too fast for conditions when he came up on the sport utility vehicle which was stopped to make a turn onto Hamma Hamma Road, according to the Washington State Patrol.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, drugs, shoplifting, disorderly conduct, no-contact order violation, domestic malicious mischief, misdemeanor domestic assault,  driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, hit and run, third-degree theft, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street … and more, among 305 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 48-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

News brief: Teen lost during hike spends night outdoors

Monday, July 25th, 2016
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A picture taken just before he went missing on Sunday was shared on social media.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A teenager who got separated from his father while hiking yesterday afternoon south of White Pass was located in good shape this morning.

The White Pass Ski Resort began tweeting just before 1 a .m. today they needed volunteers first thing this morning to help search for 15-year-old Robby Kershaw.

They tweeted he was found just before 10 a.m. and thanked the hundreds of volunteers who responded.

They had been hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail by Hogback Mountain near the Lewis-Yakima county border.

The boy was in good condition when he was found, according to the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office.

News brief: Victim found injured, alone at scene of two-vehicle collision in Winlock

Monday, July 25th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Law enforcement is looking for the driver who walked away from a head-on collision in Winlock early yesterday morning after telling an injured woman in the other vehicle he would call for help.

A passing citizen who came upon the wreck on the 200 block of North Military Road called 911 about 5:30 a.m., according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The 50-year-old Winlock woman at the scene sustained serious injuries including broken bones in her face and back, according to the sheriff’s office. She was airlifted to a hospital in Vancouver and then transferred to a Portland hospital for further treatment, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning.

Her pickup truck and the other car were both totaled, Brown said.

The victim said that before the man left, he tried once to open her door, asked her if she could move and said he would call police or an ambulance, according to Brown.

Deputies searched but could not locate him, Brown said.

His 2007 Acura four-door, with Utah license plates, was impounded to be checked for finger prints and DNA evidence, Brown said.

He is described as a white male with dark hair and around 5-feet 9-inches tall. Brown said he could have injuries to his face or arm.