News brief: Police investigate stabbing in Centralia McDonald’s restaurant lobby

July 5th, 2016

Updated at 3:31 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Several customers as well as the victim of a stabbing inside a Centralia McDonald’s restaurant jumped the attacker, disarmed him and held him until police arrived today.

Police called at 12:10 p.m. to the 1200 block of Lum Road near the Centralia Outlets arrested the suspect.

Centralia police say the suspect walked into the lobby of the business after previously being told he should leave by a customer for being abusive to an employee at the counter.

At least two customers got involved in kicking him out and one of them, a man in his 50s, was the target of the ensuing knife incident.

“The victim was transported to Providence Hospital Centralia and at last report, is being treated for his injuries,” Centralia police stated just before 2:30 p.m.

The suspect was also transported to the hospital and was treated for the injuries he received when he crashed into a window during the fight, police said. Calvin Beck, 50, was subsequently booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

Detective Sgt. Carl Buster indicates Beck is transient as far as he can tell.

No other participants were injured.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

July 4th, 2016
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BREAK-IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police took a report yesterday afternoon of a burglary to a shed at the 500 block of Jefferson Street. Keys and change were taken, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VEHICLE THEFT

• Centralia police report a stolen motorcycle was recovered at a residence yesterday and returned to its owner, in a case associated with a location on the 500 block of Jefferson Street.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called at 1:50 a.m. today to the 900 block of South Buckner Street where an individual reported that sometime around 20 minutes earlier, unknown persons entered their unlocked car which was parked the driveway and stole a wallet, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FIREWORKS MISHAP

• West Thurston Regional Fire Authority reported yesterday a 40-year-old man was severely injured by an arial firework that exploded when he attempted to relight it in a launch tube. The patient was flown to Haborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to the fire department. The incident occurred at the 10400 block of Littlerock Road just before 11 p.m. on Saturday. The department indicated he suffered a serious hand injury and the entire front of his body was struck by multiple fragments.

STRUCTURE FIRE

• Firefighters were called just before 11 p.m. yesterday to a barn fire south of Rochester. It occurred at the 21000 block Wendenfeld Road Southwest, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority.

News brief: Mayfield Lake drowning victim not located today

July 2nd, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Today’s attempts to find and recover the body of a Rochester man who slipped beneath the surface of Mayfield Lake late yesterday afternoon ended without success, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department’s dive team assisted in the effort that began this morning.

Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters who responded yesterday to the call for help at Ike Kinswa State Park learned the man became tired swimming back from a buoy, and although his wife tried to save him, she couldn’t keep him afloat.

The sheriff’s office said he is a 43-year-old who was camping with his family. His name has not been released.

Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said this afternoon the search will resume on Tuesday, with different equipment.
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For background, read “News brief: Rochester father, husband believed drowned in Mayfield Lake” from Saturday July 2, 2016 at 9:17 a.m., here

News brief: Fire at tow yard extinguished quickly

July 2nd, 2016
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Ford F150 after the fire is extinguished. / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A truck parked in a Centralia tow yard for about an hour this afternoon burst into flames and the cause is under investigation.

Firefighters called about 3:20 p.m. to B n H Towing on the 1100 block of West Reynolds Avenue found fire coming out of both the engine and passenger compartments, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

The fire was quickly brought under control but destroyed the 2000 Ford F150, according to Capt. Scott Weinert. Damage to a tow truck parked adjacent was minimal, according to Weinert.

“The vehicle had not had any previously noted mechanical problems and had been driven approximately an hour prior to the discovery of the fire,” Weinert stated.

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BnH compound before fire department arrives. / Courtesy photo

News brief: Rochester father, husband believed drowned in Mayfield Lake

July 2nd, 2016
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Ike Kinswa State Park sits at the northwest shore of Mayfield Lake in central Lewis County. / Image created from Lewis County GIS Mapping

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A dive team from Pierce County is expected this morning to begin searching for the body of a man who slipped under the water at Mayfield Lake late yesterday afternoon, despite his wife’s attempt to keep him afloat when he tired out from a lengthy swim.

Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters who responded to the 5:15 p.m. call to the boat launch at Ike Kinswa State Park searched but had not located the man as of about 9:25 p.m.

He is identified as a 43-year-old Rochester resident.

The family had been camping in the park since Tuesday and swam in the lake several times without issue, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said the father and his 17-year-old son had decided to swim to a buoy about 200 feet from shore, but both swimmers began getting tired on the way back. Brown said the 43-year-old was having difficulty staying above water and called to his wife for help.

“The wife swam to her husband to try to help but could not keep her husband afloat,” Brown stated in a news release last night. “He went underwater and has not been located as of this release.”

Ike Kinswa State Park is at the northwest edge of Mayfield Lake in central Lewis County.

Sentenced: Mossy man gets eight months for felonies, two years for misdemeanors

July 1st, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The 61-year-old Mossyrock man who returned to his home with an ax in violation of a no-contact order – because of a previous hours-long standoff there in which he fired several rounds including after deputies arrived – has been sentenced to two years in jail.

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James C. Long

James C. Long was first arrested on April 3 after scaring his girlfriend and her mother out of the home on the 100 block of Naylor Road. Law enforcement officers eventually deployed pepper spray into the residence and SWAT members entered and took him into custody.

Long lived there with his girlfriend.

Charges in that case, all misdemeanors, were handled in Lewis County District Court.

Less than three weeks later, within hours of Long being released from jail, he was arrested after allegedly breaking through the back door of the home, wielding an ax and a screwdriver.

His girlfriend had two friends staying over, one of which intercepted Long and ended up with small cuts and scrapes.

For that, Long was charged in Lewis County Superior Court with felony assault and felony burglary as well as a violation of a court order.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said today they made a deal in that case that gave Long eight months in jail. He made a so-called Alford plea on June 2 to  third-degree assault and residential burglary. He simply pleaded guilty to the court order violation.

The Alford plea means he believed if a jury heard the state’s evidence and believed it, they would find him guilty.

On Wednesday, he was sentenced in Lewis County Superior Court to eight months in jail. Halstead said the deal included that the sentence would run concurrently with whatever time he got in the District Court standoff case.

On Wednesday, in Lewis County District Court, the judge gave Long 364 days each for reckless endangerment and third-degree malicious mischief, with the time to run consecutively.

Long was given credit for 81 days already served. He is ordered to have no contact with his girlfriend for 10 years.

Until these cases, he had no criminal convictions.

News brief: Mossyrock woman still missing after search

July 1st, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Deputies spent several hours with search dogs scouring the Mossyrock property where 56-year-old Myrna R. LeBeau lives but didn’t find her, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said this morning.

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Myrna R. LeBeau

LeBeau was reported missing on Sunday by her boyfriend who she resides with southeast of Mossyrock.

She was last seen leaving her home on May 26 and walking on Green Mountain Road.

Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said the property is about 80 acres and deputies spent most of the day looking for her on Wednesday, checking a few trails and also down to the lake.

Brown said LeBeau’s boyfriend reported to LeBeau’s healthcare provider within a couple of days that she was gone, and they did some checking.

“But because she’s an adult who walked away on her own and took some meds with her, they chose not to pursue it,” Brown said.

A friend asked him recently if he had contacted law enforcement, prompting his call on Sunday, Brown said.

When the boyfriend saw her last, she was wearing a green windbreaker, sweatpants, white tennis shoes and carrying a blue purse. She is described as a white female, 5-feet 6-inches tall, 130 pounds with brown hair, and green eyes.

The sheriff’s office has said she may suffer from mental health issues and also that she has a history of leaving, and has friends in Yelm.

Anyone with information that can help locate LeBeau, is asked to please contact detective Jeff Humphrey at the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office at (360) 748-9286.