Centralia resident finds stranger in her bedroom, unzipping pants

April 4th, 2016
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Michael A. Hedges appears in Lewis County Superior Court this afternoon for a bail hearing.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Bail was set at $50,000 today for a man believed to be the nighttime intruder a 66-year-old Centralia woman woke up to find standing over her bed early yesterday morning.

The victim told police she heard him unzip his pants, then he grabbed her hand and placed it on his private parts.

She got him to leave and following the approximately 2 a.m. call to 911, officers located a bald and shirtless man hiding in a shed at an adjacent trailer park, according to court documents.

Michael A. Hedges, 43, of Chehalis, was brought before a judge today in Lewis County Superior Court, charged with three offenses.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Nelson asked for the bail given the nature of the allegations. Judge Richard Brosey  agreed.

Hedges sported a bandage on the right side of his forehead. Centralia police said he fell head first onto the ground; he told a doctor the police hit him with a flashlight, according to charging documents.

The events yesterday took place at a home on the  600 block of Nick Road,according to the Centralia Police Department.

Responding officers found the victim shaking and “almost tearful”, according to court documents.

Charging documents give the following account of what police learned and what took place:

The woman told police she immediately yanked her hand back and demanded to know who he was and what he was doing.

“She told him he had the wrong house and had to leave,” and she followed him to the front door.

An officer found a hat and hoodie lying on the front porch, and later a neighbor found a nylon bag behind her carport, which contained male clothes, toiletry items and a pill bottle with the suspect’s name on it.

The victim identified the arrested suspect as her intruder.

While being escorted to a patrol car, Hedges allegedly bolted from one officer, toward another, who reached out and grabbed him. Police reported this caused him to lose his balance and fall, causing a bump to his forehead.

Hedges was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital, and when the doctor asked if he had been drinking, tried to spit in the doctor’s face. His mouth was too dry and no spit came out.

Hedges was charged today with first-degree burglary with sexual motivation, as well as indecent liberties-forcible compulsion. Both have a maximum penalty of life in prison.

He was also charged with third-degree assault.

His court file shows a residential address on Nix Lane. He was most recently released from prison in July 2010.

Hedge’s prior convictions include first-degree theft, forgery and theft of rental property in 2008, drug possession in 2003 and numerous property crimes going back to 1996, according to court documents. In 2014, he was convicted of fourth-degree domestic violence assault.

Centralia lawyer David Arcuri was appointed to represent Hedges.

Deputy Prosecutor Nelson also asked the judge to order the defendant have no contact with and stay at least 500 feet from the 66-year-old woman and her home.

His arraignment is scheduled for Thursday in Lewis County Superior Court.

News brief: Two in Winlock treated for knife injuries, investigation ongoing

April 4th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Police are still investigating what took place at a Winlock home in which a man and a woman both were wounded from what was believed to be a small-bladed knife on Friday night.

“We believe it’s a (domestic violence) situation, both got injured, knife injuries,” Toledo Police Department Chief John Brockmueller said this morning. “We’re still trying to figure out who did what.”

Police and firefighters were dispatched about 9:30 p.m. on Friday to the 300 block of Cedar Court for a possible stabbing.

When they arrived, the woman was at a neighbor’s with minor lacerations to her upper extremities, according to Lewis County Fire District 15.

Brockmueller said the two are in their late 30s.

The man had some wounds to his abdomen and was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Brockmueller said.

He has had surgery, but his injuries aren’t believed to be life-threatening, the chief said.

Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Anderson indicated the woman was treated at the scene and declined to be transported by ambulance, but was going to go to the emergency room with a friend.

Police Chief Brockmueller said they got a search warrant and have not yet located the suspected weapon, but were told it was a small bladed knife.

He  said he was not certain yet of their relationship or even if both reside at the home.

“We should have more in a couple of days,” he said.

News brief: Brush fire breaks out west of Chehalis

April 4th, 2016
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Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 6

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Rural Chehalis firefighters were joined by three other fire departments yesterday in putting out a brush fire in the area of Ceres Hill and Meskill Road.

Lewis County Fire District 6 tweeted just before 6 p.m. the site was turned over to personnel from the state Department of Natural Resources.

Photos from the scene west of Chehalis show smoke rising from an area that appears to have been previously logged, with piles of wood debris.

District 6 was assisted by members of Fire Districts 11, 13 and 5, according to the tweets. Further information was not readily available this morning.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

April 3rd, 2016
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•••

Updated

FIREARM DISPUTE

• Deputies called to a family dispute at the 7900 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Glenoma on Friday afternoon ended up arresting a 56-year-old man for first-degree assault. Deputies were told Richard N. Aries pointed a rifle at his wife, while their young child was home, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He admitted he armed himself during an argument, but denied pointing the weapon, according to the sheriff’s office. Aries was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

BURGLARY CENTRALIA

• Centralia police called about 2 o’clock this morning to the 600 block of Nick Road ended up arresting a 43-year-old Centralia resident for first-degree burglary. Michael A. Hedges was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police were called about 2:50 p.m. on Friday regarding a second-degree burglary at the 400 block of South Iron Street in Centralia.

CARPORT PROWLED

• Police were called to the 500 block of West Seventh Street in Centralia on Friday morning regarding a lawnmower stolen from a carport during the night.

JEWELRY MISSING

• Centralia police were called about 1:10 p.m. on Friday to the 200 block of South Pearl Street regarding the theft of jewelry from a display cabinet.

VEHICLE PROWL

• An officer was called Saturday morning to a car prowl at the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia. Some time between 8:40 a.m. and 9 a.m., someone stole a coat along with a notary seal and bag, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MORE FUNNY MONEY

• An officer was called just after midnight to the 1000 block of Belmont Avenue in Centralia where a counterfeit $20 had been passed.

VANDALISM

• Somebody smashed out the window a of a vehicle at the 900 block of South Scheuber Road in Centralia, according to a report made to police on Saturday afternoon.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• An adult female bicyclist sustained a possible arm injury while she was riding her bicycle east along the 700 block of  Harrison Avenue about 6 p.m. on Friday. A vehicle turned in front of the bicycle to enter into a parking lot, according to the Centralia Police Department. The bicycle struck the side of the vehicle causing her to fall to the ground, according to police.

AND MORE

• And, other incidents such as arrests for warrant, second-degree assault, kidnapping, trespassing, shoplifting, misdemeanor domestic assault, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, stabbing, loud party, vandalism, misdemeanor theft, disorderly person, civil issue, suspicious circumstances, collision … and more, among 360 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 48-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

SWAT team summoned after armed Mossy man tells deputies to come and get him

April 3rd, 2016

Updated

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A standoff with a 61-year-old man continued over several hours last night, after he allegedly shoved his live-in girlfriend and then twice fired multiple rounds at his home outside of Mossyrock.

Law enforcement officers eventually deployed pepper spray munitions into the house as well as other diversionary devices and SWAT members entered and took him into custody, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

James C. Long was booked into the Lewis County Jail around 7 o’clock this morning for several offenses.

It happened at the 100 block of Naylor Road, southeast of Mossyrock.

Deputies called about 8:20 p.m. were told of a family dispute in which he and his 52-year-old girlfriend had been arguing about a heater malfunctioning, according to Cmdr. Dusty Breen.

She said she heard him acting strangely in another room and a short time later, found him with her revolver, according to Breen. When she tried to get the gun from him, she was reportedly pushed.

The frightened woman and her mother decided to flee the home and as they did, they heard Long fire multiple rounds.

Breen said deputies were told she went back to see if Long harmed himself, and he hadn’t, and for some reason the 73-year-old mother went back inside the home. The girlfriend called 911 from a neighbor’s.

When deputies arrived, there was a short dialogue with Long, who then fired multiple rounds out of the house, according to Breen. He then told deputies to come and get him, Breen said.

Breen didn’t say where Long was aiming with the gunfire, but noted nobody was struck and deputies fired no shots.

Additional personnel were summoned, including Lewis County Regional SWAT members.

Breen said officers were able to get the 73 year old mother to come to the front door and then rush her to safety.

Lewis County Fire District 3 was put on standby.

“The standoff with Long continued over several hours and he did not comply with negotiators to come out of the residence,” Breen wrote in an email.

Eventually, after Long was apprehended, he was escorted to the waiting firefighters and then transported to Morton General Hospital to be evaluated.

He was arrested and booked for fourth-degree assault, reckless endangerment, third-degree malicious mischief and a violation of the firearms sales and transfers law for taking his girlfriend’s gun, according to Breen.

Chehalis home devastated by nighttime fire

April 3rd, 2016
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Smoke billows from two-story residence along Pennsylvania Avenue early this morning / Courtesy photo by Cara Ebeling

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Crews spent all night battling a house fire in Chehalis.

Nobody was hurt, but the estimated $70,000 in damage means probably the two-story home will have to be rebuilt, according to the Chehalis Fire Department.

Fire Capt. Kevin Curfman said they were dispatched just after midnight to the 700 block of Northwest Pennsylvania Avenue at Vine Street.

“The renters were just getting home, heard a detector, opened the door and saw smoke,” Curfman said. “They believed it was in the bathroom area.”

The arriving crew observed a heavy smoke column and just a little bit of flames showing from the eves, he said.

They found no flames inside and began to put people on the roof, but it began sagging and they had to be pulled off, Curfman said.

It turned out the fire was in a dead space behind a “knee wall,” Curfman said. It was attacked by cutting access holes on the gable ends of the building, he said.

Firefighters were joined by members of Lewis County Fire Districts 6 and 5, Riverside Fire Authority out of Centralia and West Thurston Regional Fire Authority from Rochester, he said.

“It was very stubborn, but eventually we got it extinguished,” he said.

Curfman estimates about half the residents’ contents could be salvageable.

Fire Investigator Ted McCarty said the cause is under investigation.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

April 1st, 2016
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•••

WOMAN FLEES WITH STOLEN TRUCK

• A 28-year-old Centralia woman was jailed after a short police pursuit yesterday evening in the area near Jackson Highway and Forest-Napavine Road south of Chehalis. A relative of an Onalaska man whose 1990 Toyota pickup truck was stolen called 911 about 5:10 p.m. after spotting the vehicle being driven by an unknown female, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The driver fled on foot but was captured shortly thereafter, according to the sheriff’s office. Stephanie L. Case was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle and attempt to elude and then booked into the Lewis County Jail, Cmdr. Dusty Breen said this morning.

SALKUM, ETHEL BURGLARIES SOLVED

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning that a 45-year-old Centralia man confessed to two break-ins early last year, a garage in Ethel belonging to an 80-year-old woman and a residence in Salkum where a 68-year-old lives. The first burglary on the 100 block of Wilcox Road on March 1 involved $7,500 worth of tools, televisions and other household belongings and the victim of April 19 incident at the 100 block of Pinkerton Road lost a jewelry box, spray paint cans and food, according to the sheriff’s office. A deputy got information about who may have done it and spoke to the 45-year-old, Cmdr. Dusty Breen said. A 43-year-old currently incarcerated at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell was also implicated but denied involvement, Breen said. The cases were forwarded to prosecutors for charges of second-degree burglary and residential burglary.

OTHER THEFT

• Police were called about 8:15 a.m. yesterday regarding theft of a wallet in which a suspect had used a debit card from the wallet in the local area. The case associated with the 900 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia is under investigation.

• Centralia police were called about 1:30 p.m. yesterday to the 200 block of North Tower Avenue regarding the theft of jewelry from a display cabinet.

• An officer was called to the 1400 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue yesterday where a retail store reported receiving three counterfeit $20 bills earlier this month, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• An officer was called about 7:15 p.m. yesterday to the 1200 block of Northwest State Avenue following the discovery of a car prowl. The owner had last been out the vehicle about 4:30 p.m., according to the Chehalis Police Department. Taken from under a blanket was a purse, according to police.

• A makeup bag was stolen from a vehicle parked at the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 6 p.m. yesterday.

VANDALISM

• An officer responded to a call to the 900 block of South Scheuber Road in Centralia about 12:10 a.m. today where someone had broken the window out of a vehicle, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A vehicle’s window was smashed at the 700 block of Pioneer Way in Centralia, according to a report made to police just after 10 p.m. yesterday.

EVICTED

• Chehalis police were called out yesterday following the discovery of a camp, with tents and belongings but no occupants, at the 700 block of North National Avenue. No trespassing signs were posted and an officer later made contact with individuals downtown and told them they needed to vacate the site, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• Police were called about 11:15 p.m. yesterday after a vehicle struck a mailbox at the 400 block of North Pearl Street and left the scene. However, its license plate was left behind, according to the Centralia Police Department. The investigation continues.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrant,  shoplifting; responses for alarm, dispute, vandalism, hit and run,  disorderly person, third-degree theft, civil issue, runaway juvenile, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street, Christmas tree blocking road, dog opens gate and runs off, aid summoned for woman with bottle of vodka dragging a walker who falls down … and more, among 148 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 5 a.m. today.