Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

July 18th, 2016
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CAMPOUT GOES BAD IN MINERAL

• A deputy on Saturday investigated an assault at the Lion’s Club Campground in Mineral in which a 26-year-old man allegedly broke his friend’s eye socket and left cuts on his scalp by repeatedly hitting him over the head with a folded up lawn chair. It happened around 1 a.m. on Saturday and reported that evening, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The victim, a 26-year-old from Bonney Lake, got stitches at Morton General Hospital and then went to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle to get his eye injury treated, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies were unable to locate the suspect, Buck R. Mc Bride, from Carbonado, so are referring a case of second-degree assault to prosecutors, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning.

POLICE: TAKING GRANDFATHER’S BANK CARD

• A 39-year-old Chehalis man was arrested on Friday for allegedly taking his grandpa’s debit cards and using them at multiple locations in Lewis County and Thurston County, racking up $5,842 in losses. Richard L. Dawson and his girlfriend, Melissa A. Alderman, 32, also from Chehalis, were booked into the Lewis County Jail for two counts of second-degree theft and 11 counts of identity theft, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies obtained surveillance images showing purchases as well as withdrawal of money from an ATM, and even more charges could be forthcoming as the investigation continues, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning.

YARD PROWLER

• Centralia police were called to the 100 block of B Street yesterday afternoon where they were told sometime during the night someone entered a backyard and stole a Graco paint sprayer.

BURGLARY CENTRALIA

• Centralia police responded about 5:30 a.m. yesterday to the 1000 block of Caveness Drive and arrested  Joel A. Towne, 36 of Centralia, for second-degree burglary. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AUTO THEFT

• Centralia police yesterday afternoon located a vehicle stolen several days prior, associated with a location on the 1100 block of South Silver Street.

HEAVY SHOPLIFTING

• Centralia police were called about 5:30 p.m. yesterday to the 1400 block of Lum Road after three individuals entered a store at the Centralia Outlets, stole over $800 worth of merchandise an fled in a silver car with Oregon license plates.

• An 18-year-old Chehalis woman was arrested on Friday and booked into the Lewis County Jail for organized retail theft. Chehalis police say Angela M. Crowe was involved in a shoplifting incident at the Lewis County Mall a few days earlier and has been associated with similar offenses three other times going back to mid-June.

LIGHT SHOPLIFTING

• A 23-year-old Centralia woman was arrested for possession of methamphetamine after a shoplifting call to Sears on Friday at the Lewis County Mall. Sabrina L.R. Towne allegedly tried to steal $30 worth of men’s underwear, according to the Chehalis Police Department. When contacted and searched, suspected meth was found, according to police. Towne was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police responded to to a call just before 10 a.m. on Friday to the 2600 block of Howard Avenue where  several residents in the area report thefts of fuel from their vehicles overnight. Three batteries were also stolen, according to the Centralia Police Department.

BAD BILLS

• Centralia police were called to the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue just before 6 a.m. today for a counterfeit $100 bill being passed at a business.

• Chehalis police were given a counterfeit $100 bill on Friday they were told was passed at the 1400 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue.

OUT-OF-CONTROL CAMPFIRE

• Centralia police were called just before noon yesterday to the 800 block of Field Avenue to investigate a reckless burning incident in which an unattended campfire had begun burning a surrounding area.

ANIMAL ABUSE

• Morton police were called just after 2 p.m. yesterday when a woman said she saw a dog in her front yard and then shortly after that saw it in the neighbor’s yard, where a male driver arrived and repeatedly punched the chocolate Labrador and twice picked it up from the ground by its legs, the second time throwing it in the back of a truck. The 911 caller followed the truck to a driveway and police went to check it out but could locate neither the man nor the dog, according to the Morton Police Department.

DEAD BUNNIES

• Morton police are investigating the discovery of several rabbit carcasses left in a dumpster at at the 600 block of Airport Way. An officer called about 4:20 p.m. on Friday concluded it occurred sometime in the previous few hours.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• Two people were hospitalized after their Ford Focus tried to make a left turn out of Morton onto U.S. Highway 12 at about noon yesterday and collided with westbound pickup truck pulling a travel trailer. The driver, Rebecca E. Battle, 27, and her passenger, Michael I. Turner, 29, both from Auburn, were transported to Morton General Hospital, according to the Washington State Patrol. Battle was then flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. according to the state patrol. The car was totaled, the investigating trooper reports. The driver of the Doge pickup was reportedly uninjured. He is from Oregon City, Oregon.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting,  misdemeanor domestic assault, driving with suspended license, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, disorderly person, third-degree theft, suspicious circumstances, barking dogs, a small baggie of a brown substance found on the ground… and more, among 131 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

News brief: Three injured in three-vehicle wreck on I-5

July 17th, 2016
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Responders on the scene at southbound Interstate 5. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff’s Office

Updated

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Two people in a Ford Focus were airlifted after their car was sandwiched in between a pair of vehicles in a rear-end collision Interstate 5 south of Chehalis yesterday.

Troopers called to the southbound lanes near milepost 70 just after 1 p.m. found all three vehicles were totaled, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The Ford Focus, occupied by a driver from Hillsboro, Oregon and a passenger from Seattle, was stopped behind a pickup truck for traffic when 21-year-old Ashley M. Smith from Centralia rear ended them, according to the state patrol.

Smith was driving a Honda Civic and was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital with unspecified injuries, the investigating trooper reports. Her passenger Jordan C. Smith, 24, was reportedly unhurt.

The driver of the pickup was reportedly also uninjured..

LifeFlight flew Jody M. Bagnariol, 63, and Elisabeth R. Rudolph, 50, to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, according to the state patrol.

The collision is under investigation.

Update: Both occupants of the Ford Focus subsequently died at the hospital, according to the state patrol.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

July 16th, 2016
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Flames consume vacant Griel Road house. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 1

ONY HOUSE FALLS VICTIM TO STORED DYNAMITE

• Onalaska area residents may see smoke for a couple of days rising from property along Griel Road after last night’s disposal of old dynamite in a long uninhabited house. Family going through and sorting items inside the structure came across several boxes of old dynamite, according to Lewis County Fire District 1. Fire Chief Andrew Martin said the state patrol came out and concluded the safest way to deal with the explosives was to light that section of the house on fire. Members of neighboring fire districts joined in the effort to burn the building while keeping the surrounding vegetation from igniting, according to Martin. The chief said no explosions occurred because of the dynamite.

AUTO THEFT

• A black 2007 PT Cruiser was stolen out of a locked garage at the 1100 block of South Silver Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 2:40 p.m. yesterday.

SCAMMED ONLINE

• Centralia police were called yesterday afternoon to an address on the 900 block of G Street where a woman reported she’d befriended a male online, that he had sent her checks asking her to cash them and send him the money. The checks were returned as forged, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, probation violation, misdemeanor domestic assault, driving under the influence, third-degree malicious mischief; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, loud party, third-degree theft, suspicious circumstances … and more, among 178 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

July 15th, 2016
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Updated at 6:17 p.m.

WRENCH TO HEAD BRINGS FELONY CHARGE

• A 34-year-old Morton woman was arrested last night after allegedly hitting her former boyfriend in the head with a 12-inch long “breaker bar” wrench. A deputy called to the 100 block of Chapman Road outside Morton spoke with the victim who said he and Cassaundra L. Dugger had been arguing earlier in his shed about her boyfriend leaving her. He said he came out to the shed and saw her, with a wrench in hand and when he asked what she was doing, she struck him, according to court documents. The victim was taken to the hospital with a gash in his scalp that required several staples, Lewis County Chief Deputy Criminal Prosecutor Brad Meagher wrote in charging papers. When the deputy spoke with Dugger, she said she didn’t know why she did it, Meagher wrote. Dugger was arrested, booked into the Lewis County Jail and charged earlier today with  fourth-degree domestic assault, but that charge was dismissed and a new one of second-degree assault filed in Lewis County Superior Court. Judge Nelson Hunt set her bail at $20,000 but changed it to a no-bail hold when conversation continued between Dugger and the defense attorney after her matter was finished. Hunt said if she wouldn’t sign the documents, he would impose a no-bail hold and then after a moment, did so.

BURGLARY CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police were called just before 7:30 p.m. yesterday about a break-in to a garage on the 700 block of Southwest Cascade Avenue. The victim arrived home, noticed a gate and a door open and discovered an old Dell desktop computer and a “flat screen” missing, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

AUTO THEFT

• Centralia police were called about 6:44 p.m. yesterday about a black 1995 Honda Accord stolen from the 1400 block of Lum Road.

• Chehalis police were called just before 8 a.m. yesterday about a Honda Civic stolen from in front of the victim’s residence at the 300 block of Southwest William Avenue. Police were notified later by the Tumwater Police Department the car was located, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

SCAMMED ONLINE

• Centralia police were called yesterday morning to an address on the 900 block of G Street where a woman in her 40s said she’d been tricked out of $600 to $700. The fraud was related to an online offer of a loan, the receipt of a check and a request to cash it and return money to the issuer, according to the Centralia Police Department. The check had been forged, according to police.

CAR PROWL

• Chehalis police were called to the 400 block of Southwest William Avenue about 6:10 p.m. yesterday following the discovery of a vehicle prowl. Taken during the night from the unlocked vehicle was an overnight bag, a GPS device and a CB radio, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

POSSIBLE THEFT

• An officer was called to apartments at the 500 block of North Rock Street in Centralia yesterday afternoon where someone had broken the lock off of a payment drop box.

NUDE OUTSIDE THE NEIGHBOR’S PLACE

• A 50-year-old man who allegedly walked outside into the yard naked at the 500 block of East Main Street yesterday was arrested for indecent exposure. Officers called about 12:15 p.m. were told it happened in front of a 4-year-old girl, according to the Centralia Police Department. Johnathan M. Davis, of Chehalis, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

DRUGS

• A 36-year-old Olympia man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine last night after police were called about two people who didn’t seem to belong at a vacant house on the 1400 block of Southwest Mills Street in Chehalis. An officer responding to the approximately 8:45 p.m. call contacted the couple,e who said they were hired to take care of things at the house, but he had a misdemeanor warrant and a search subsequent to the arrest of Melange L. Dietz turned up paraphernalia and a baggie with suspected meth, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Dietz was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

• A 36-year-old woman was arrested for possession of methamphetamine yesterday afternoon when police went to the 3300 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia with an arrest warrant. A deputy found a plastic baggie that field-tested positive for amphetamine in the possession of Ann M. Velazquez, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. She was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office.

• A 29-year-old Centralia woman was arrested for ingesting toxic fumes yesterday afternoon after Chehalis police were called to a parking lot at the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue. The officer found a “Dust Off”-type can, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Natalie J. Hall was cited and then then released pending her court date, according to police.

VANDALISM

• The rear window of a vehicle was smashed out at the 200 block of Jackson Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 10:15 a.m. yesterday.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• Centralia police responded to an approximately 12:45 p.m. call yesterday for a vehicle versus pedestrian collision at the 1600 block of South Gold Street. The injury was minor, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A 22-year-old Winlock driver escaped serious injury when he wrecked his car yesterday morning near Vader, after swerving to miss debris in the road. The 2001 Saturn SC1 ended up hitting a ditch and was totaled, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy called just before 11:30 a.m. to Winlock-Vader Highway at Annonen Road reported the driver sustained a minor abrasion to his right hand and was seen by aid at the scene but not taken to the hospital, according to the sheriff’s office.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, vandalism, hit and run, third-degree theft, noisy neighbors, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street   … and more, among 192 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

Unauthorized marijuana production enterprise shut down in Chehalis

July 14th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A $25,000 arrest warrant has been issued for a Pierce County man alleged to be behind an unlicensed marijuana growing operation in a rented building in Chehalis’s industrial district.

Steven D. Smith, 39, and two individuals who told police they worked for Smith tending the plants are charged each with one count of manufacture of marijuana.

Christopher M. Hannigan and Regina V.S. Champaco, both 41 years old and both residing at the same address in Tacoma, appeared before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday afternoon. They were allowed release on unsecured signature bonds.

Charging documents in the case identify the building only as on State Street in Chehalis, with no address, and note it shares a common wall with a neighboring business. Documents indicate a case number associated with the Lewis County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team.

A Chehalis detective was contacted in March about the possible marijuana growing there and the investigation led to a traffic stop for a broken windshield of a suspect vehicle as it left the building’s parking lot on Match 17, according to court documents.

The Tacoma couple said they were working for Smith, according to court documents. Hannigan said he’d built grow rooms and was paid $2,000 a month for the work, according to court documents.

When law enforcement searched the building, they found more than 400 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, charging documents allege.

Among the early clues, listed in court documents: the detective went to the manager of the neighboring business, which shared a wall, and learned there was mold growing in his building and who said when he spoke about it to Richard Na, the son of the building’s owner, Na just laughed it off.

When the Chehalis detective visited the exterior of the building, he could smell the odor of fresh marijuana outside and located items in the trash such as a broken fan, a broken thermostat, fertilizer and potting soil.

Detectives checked the power usage for the building and discovered a tremendous increase when January of this year was compared with September of 2014.

Police could not find either a Chehalis business license or any application to the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board on file.

The building’s owner is not named in the court documents.

On March 23, the detective contacted Na directly, who said he rented to Smith for $5,000 per month and Smith pays the electric bill which runs about $1,300 each month, Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello wrote in charging documents.

Na indicated Smith told him he had medical authorizations to grow for multiple people and would have no more marijuana than was allowed by law, according to Masiello.

When told there were over 400 plants and not the 75 Na had anticipated, Na appeared surprised, Masiello wrote.

Law enforcement tried to locate Smith at his home in Lakewood, but were unsuccessful.

On June 23, Lewis County prosecutors filed charges against all three, sought and secured the arrest warrant for Smith, and also requested court summons to be issued for Hannigan and Champaco.

They were late to their court hearing yesterday afternoon and the judge had already authorized warrants for their arrest, but essentially tore them up, defense attorney Joely O’Rourke said.

Manufacture of marijuana is a class C felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Hannigan and Champaco were ordered to return to court on July 21 for their arraignments.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

July 14th, 2016
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SHERIFF’S OFFICE: MAN BEATS GIRLFRIEND

• A 25-year-old man who told deputies he was too drunk to recall was arrested yesterday for allegedly tackling his girlfriend to the ground and trying to strangle her as well as slapping her and stomping on her head and face. Deputies were called yesterday to the residence along Wildwood Road in Curtis and told the assault occurred about 10 p.m. the night before. The girlfriend said he was asleep on the couch and when she tried to wake him up to feed him, he slapped the plate from her hand making a mess and the attack happened as she tried to clean it up, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. During the incident, a $50 mirror was damaged and Travis D. Kohler suffered a bite to his index finger, according to the sheriff’s office. Kohler, of Curtis, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree assault, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

SHERIFF’S OFFICE: MAN BEATS WIFE

• A 67-year-old Winlock man was arrested last night for allegedly throwing his wife to the floor, putting his bare foot on her throat and trying to shove her through an indoor dog gate before throwing her out of their house. The victim called 911 about 10:30 p.m. from elsewhere and said her husband had been drinking and was really tired when she arrived home and punched the television set breaking its screen before attacking her. Daniel L. McFarlane was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree assault, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

SHERIFF’S OFFICE: MAN SHOVES FATHER

• Deputies were called about noon yesterday to a Savio Road home near Randle, where a 73-year-old man said his grown son showed up after being released from prison, demanded money, blamed him for getting locked up and pushed him down threatening bodily harm before fleeing. Deputies checked numerous locations for the 34-year-old son but were unable to find him, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being referred to prosecutors for a charge of violating a no contact order, according to the sheriff’s office.

DRUGS

• Deputies called about 9:30 p.m. yesterday about a possible vehicle prowler in the area of the 300 block of Gish Road in Onalaska instead found a 34-year-old Chehalis who allegedly had been hiding in his truck in connection to walking to his girlfriend’s RV nearby. A deputy contacted Christopher B. Holten and discovered from the girlfriend and another individual he’d been staying with her the previous two nights, in violation of a no contact order, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He was booked for that into the Lewis County Jail, where a white substance that field-tested positive for meth was found in a piece of paper in Holten’s wallet, according to the sheriff’s office.

POSSIBLE SQUATTERS

• The 91-year-old owner of a vacant residence at the 1800 block of state Route 506 near Vader reported yesterday windows were broken and it appeared someone had been staying there.

VANDALISM WITH EGGS

• Centralia police took a report yesterday several vehicles “egged” overnight in the area of the 700 block of South Silver Street.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• A 43-year-old Randle man was arrested for attempting to elude after he allegedly sped away from a deputy along Savio Road near Randle yesterday evening, and wrecked his motorcycle then he tried to turn near Glenoma Road and U.S. Highway 12. It began around 5:20 p.m. yesterday and Jake N. Dunaway then reportedly tried to run away but was caught, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Dunaway faces possible charges of reckless driving and driving with a suspended license as well, according to the sheriff’s office.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, third-degree theft, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, civil issue, vandalism, stolen bicycle, disorderly person, violation of anti-harassment order, parking lot fender bender, collision on city street   … and more, among 150 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

Police: Playing with fireworks inside garage sparks blaze

July 14th, 2016
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Smoke rises from detached garage in Centralia. / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Young people playing with fireworks is the cause of a fire that broke out overnight at the 1100 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia.

“There was a mortar tube lit inside the garage, for whatever reason,” Centralia Police Department Sgt. Kurt Reichert said.

Firefighters called about 12:20 a.m. found the detached garage fully involved in flames and quickly extinguished it, Riverside Fire Authority reported this morning.

No other structures were involved and nobody was hurt, Fire Capt. Terry Ternan indicated.

Reichert said police talked with several juveniles there.

A case for reckless discharge of fireworks will be referred to prosecutors for the 16-year-old boy who lives there, he said.