Lewis County Sirens.com

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By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Trial is set for September for four individuals charged with second-degree robbery for a Centralia incident authorities alleged involved a ruse to obtain heroin that resulted in a struggle inside a car with bear spray and a box cutter.

The suspects are: Andrea Parker, 34, of Chehalis; Jon Parker, 32, transient; Robert Plasencia, 29, Napavine; and Kiana J. DeLaRosa, 18, of Chehalis.

“The allegation is the set up of a drug deal,” Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher told the judge when their bail was addressed. “We’ve had people get really hurt in this county on drug deals.”

The bail hearing was held last week. Judge Richard Brosey set bail at $50,000 for three of the defendants. He made it $25,000 for DeLaRosa, who has no criminal history.

Police got involved when they were called to the 1600 block of North Scheuber Road in Centralia at about 6:45 a.m. on Saturday, July 30

Early information was a purse and backpack were stolen after a threat with a knife.

The two victims, a male and a female, told of a request to get some heroin for DeLaRosa who claimed to be “drug sick.”

Charging documents go on to describe when they arrived, DeLaRosa got into the backseat of the car, reached forward and took the keys from the ignition.

The three other suspects allegedly came out of the residence and DeLaRosa told them the victims had stolen $100 from her.

Another one got into the back seat and began fighting with the male victim who was sprayed, and the victim later admitted taking a box cutter to a suspect.

The two victims both called 911 and the Parkers allegedly admitted to finding a small amount of heroin in the bags and using it.

They all were given court appointed attorneys. Their arraignments were all scheduled for last week. The trial is set for the week of Sept. 19.
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For background, read “News brief: Centralia robbery suspects apprehended” from Monday August 1, 2016, here

Robert Hicks is shown his seat in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The man arrested yesterday for hit and run in connection with a head-on crash in Winlock that left another driver seriously injured allegedly showed up at a Winlock woman’s home that morning looking a little beat up with blood on him, asking for a ride to Kent.

The woman told detectives Robert A. Hicks told her not to tell anyone, and also left blood on her passenger seat, according to court documents.

The early morning wreck on July 24 left 50-year-old Mechelle Crosse with broken bones in her face and elsewhere. Her sister-in-law said she was just released from the hospital on Tuesday.

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“She’s still in a lot of pain,” Carla Ladino said. “She’s got no teeth, she just got off a feeding tube, she has a broken back and broken feet

“It’s going to take some time for her to heal, and I hate seeing her in so much pain.”

Hicks, 28, was arrested hours after the story and his photo gained region wide attention, through Washington’s Most Wanted.

When he was brought before a judge yesterday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court, his temporary defense attorney said it was his understanding all the media attention prompted Hicks to contact police.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher asked bail be kept at the $500,000 amount listed on the arrest warrant.

“We’re very concerned he’d be a flight risk and take off,” Meagher said.

Defense attorney Shane O’Rourke said it appeared Hicks’ income did not qualify him for a court appointed lawyer, as he earns about $4,000 a month as an electrician. But if he’s held  in jail and can’t work, he has no other source of income so he probably could not afford an attorney, O’Rourke indicated.

Judge Nelson Hunt set bail at $250,000.

Hicks, who recently moved to Winlock, was charged with vehicular assault plus hit and run.

Charging documents in the case state that detectives concluded the 2007 Acura four-door Hicks was driving was traveling south along the 200 block of North Military Road when it crossed the centerline and hit Crosse’s pickup truck.

Detectives suspect he was texting or talking on his phone.

Crosse told deputies that after the collision, a male asked her if she could move, tried once to open her door, and told her he was going to call for help.

He left walking south, and five to 10 minutes later, a motorist came across her and called 911.

The investigation led to his ex-girlfriend in Kent, the owner of the car, who Hicks reportedly told the car was stolen, but also told her he was texting, according to charging documents.

Lewis County sheriff’s detectives have obtained cell phone records for Hicks’ phone, which reportedly show texts and phone calls to two Winlock women between 5:11 a.m. and 5:52 a.m. that day.

Crosse, who resides in Winlock, was on her way to work at Safeway in Chehalis that morning, and the 911 call from the passerby came in at about 5:26 a.m.

Ladino attended the court hearing, and left feeling empathy for the man accused of leaving her injured sister-in-law alone on the road.

She said she suspects the reason he ran off is because he was scared.

“At first I was pissed, but today I’m feeling sorry for the guy, cause he’s so young,” she said.
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For background, read “Update: Wanted driver who allegedly fled Winlock accident scene arrested” from Wednesday August 10, 2016, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 17-year-old boy accused of stealing the Chehalis police chief’s patrol car, knocking down a trooper who tried to stop him and leaving two damaged vehicles in his wake as he fled onto Interstate 5 could be tried as an adult.

The un-named juvenile from Lacey was arrested yesterday afternoon, captured by a police dog after a nearly hour-long track in the tree line just north of Chehalis, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

The chief’s unmarked Chevrolet Impala had been abandoned along the freeway near milepost 81, with a damaged front tire, according to a department spokesperson.

A detention hearing was scheduled this afternoon in Lewis County Juvenile Court and a “decline hearing” will be held in the next couple of weeks, according to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said if a person is 17, and commits this type of crime, the court has the discretion to move the case to adult court.

The suspect’s name was not released by police because he is a juvenile.

According to Chehalis Police Department spokesperson Linda Bailey, the string of events began with troopers attempting to make a traffic stop of a vehicle speeding on Interstate 5.

Law enforcement caught up with the car in the parking lot of Riverside Golf Course, on the 1000 block of Airport Road in Chehalis, but it’s driver fled, according to Bailey.

The passenger, a 15-year-old girl, was taken into custody and booked for a probation violation, according to Bailey.

As officers searched for the driver, the suspect driver got into the unmarked police car, Bailey said.

As officers approached the car, the suspect put it in reverse, striking a trooper with the open door, Bailey said.

“From what I understand, the trooper was knocked down, knocked down to the ground,” Baileys said.

The trooper was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Then the suspect sped away, headed over the Chamber Way overpass to enter northbound I-5,  and struck two civilian vehicles along the way.

Bailey said an occupant of one of those vehicles complained of back pain and went to the hospital as well.

Chehalis Officer Warren Ayers and his partner Reign were summoned shortly before 1 p.m. and eventually found the suspect, according to police. The suspect was taken to the hospital for a dog bite, before booking at the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center.

Bailey said Chehalis police were looking at charges of first-degree assault and eluding as well as hit and run, but other agencies could have other offenses to add.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The last time Mindy D. Nogues was convicted of first-degree theft for stealing from her employer, she was given a sentence of 30 days.

This time, a judge gave the former manager at Jeremy’s Farm to Table six months.

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Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler said his inclination was to make her sit in jail, but he acquiesced to her attorney’s request she be allowed to serve her time on work release.

The judge said he didn’t want to deprive the victim of the chance for her to pay him back.

Nogues, 32, appeared in Lewis County Superior Court today to be sentenced, after pleading guilty last month to first-degree theft.

She worked at the Chehalis restaurant on West Main Street from May until October of last year, and was arrested in January following an investigation by the Chehalis Police Department.

She was also ordered today to repay former owner Jeremy Wildhaber $9,232.29.

Charging documents alleged she pocketed hundreds of dollars per shift, using various schemes to attempt to cover it up.

The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office initially worked out a plea agreement with Nogues in which they would recommend she serve only four months in jail if she paid $2,500 of the restitution by the end of July, according to Deputy Prosecutor Melissa Bohm.

Her lawyer, Jakob McGhie, told the judge this morning she didn’t willfully fail to meet that obligation, but she did fail.

His client hadn’t been working regularly until July, he said, when she took a job at National Frozen Foods.

“She was in a long term relationship, and in the past couple of weeks the relationship ended,” McGhie said. “Her partner completely drained their shared account and took off.”

Judge Lawler imposed the top of the standard sentencing range, which the two attorneys agreed upon in their recomendations.

“The fact that you’ve stolen from an employer, you’ve done this twice, now that’s shocking to me,” Lawler said. “I don’t know what’s going on with that business, I’m not sure if it’s going to make it; but I’m sure that didn’t help.”

The judge ordered Nogues to report to the Lewis County Jail by next Tuesday.

It was June 2013 when Nogues pleaded guilty to first-degree theft, in a case involving the Travel Lodge in Centralia where she had worked as a manager. She served her time on house arrest, also known as electronic home monitoring, according to court documents.

The judge in that case ordered her to pay restitution to the business in the amount of $52,187.05.
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For background, read “Manager at Jeremy’s restaurant charged with stealing thousands of dollars” from Tuesday March 15, 2016, here