Posts Tagged ‘By Sharyn L. Decker’

Convicted drug dealer threatens lawsuit over confiscation of defense documents

Wednesday, January 20th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A $1.5 million claim has been filed against Lewis County, by a former inmate who said he was left with no option other than entering into a plea agreement after his attorney-client-protected documents were removed from his cell before trial and handed over to a prosecutor.

Forrest E. Amos says the actions rendered his fair trial rights meaningless, violating his rights under the federal and state constitutions.

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Forrest E. Amos

Amos is serving a 12-year sentence in connection with trafficking in prescription pain pills.

Law enforcement estimated that in 2011 when Amos was aggressively dealing Oxycodone, he was the main supplier of the synthetic opiate within Lewis County, possessing and dealing thousands of pills a month.

Amos was held in the Lewis County Jail from December 2013 until the following August.

He writes in his claim that at the request of his lawyer, he prepared case notes, narratives, witness synopsis and questions, along with trial strategies and other materials intended to assist in preparing his defense.

He states that on June 18, 2014, two corrections officers stood by as a pair of Centralia police officers with a search warrant unlawfully went through all of his documents and seized them.

Amos contends that rather than place the materials into an evidence locker at the police department, the officers gave them to Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead.

His lawyer, Don Blair, attempted to view the documents so he could continue to prepare to interview witnesses prior to trial but was denied access by both the prosecutor’s office and the police department, according to Amos.

Amos filed a similar claim against the city of Centralia on Nov. 23. The city has turned the claim over to its insurer, according to its personnel director Candice Rydalch.

Lewis County Risk and Safety Administrator Paulette Young indicated today the county has taken no action on it yet.

She received Amos’s claim last week, mailed from Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen.

Amos, formerly of Napavine and Chehalis, was 30 years old in December 2013 when he was brought before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court, charged with organized crime and a multitude of other offenses. Centralia police contended Amos’s illegal activities dated back to 2011 and continued while he was in prison.

New charges of witness intimidation filed June 18, 2014 – which were subsequently dismissed – included allegations that while in the Lewis County Jail, Amos used his”legal mail” to continue his criminal intentions without detection.

Amos’s claim against the county states that Centralia Officer Adam Haggerty secured the search warrant for his jail cell from Judge R.W. Buzzard, but it omitted a fact which would have caused Buzzard not to grant the warrant.

Amos writes that Haggerty had earlier persuaded jail officials to copy all of his incoming and outgoing mail, and forward them to the Centralia Police Department.

In August 2014, he entered into a plea deal involving far fewer charges that gave him a dozen years behind bars and included a promise not to appeal his convictions or sentence in any way.

Amos writes also that he plans to file a lawsuit for invasion of privacy and abuse of process. He is representing himself.

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For background, read “Local oxycodone dealer goes back to prison” from Thursday Aug. 21, 2014, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, January 20th, 2016
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Updated at 2:04 p.m.

POLICE: GIRL WIELDS KNIFE TO RETRIEVE CELL PHONE, FROM MOM

• Centralia police arrested a 12-year-old girl yesterday who allegedly threatened her mother with a large butcher-type knife after the mom had taken the child’s cell phone away from her. Officers called about 4 p.m. to the 1100 block of South Pearl Street were told the girl confronted the 37-year-old mom who had been asleep in bed, according to the Centralia Police Department. She got her phone and ran off but was located in an alley and taken into custody, according to police. The 12-year-old was booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center for first-degree robbery, Sgt. Kurt Reichert said. Nobody was hurt, Reichert said.

UNWELCOME VISITOR DETAINED BY CITIZEN

• A 28-year-old Morton man was held at gunpoint early yesterday morning by a 72-year-old homeowner who woke up to the sound of tires spinning in his driveway and a loud crashing noise around his front porch. Deputies called about 5:15 a.m. to the 900 block of Davis Lake Road in Morton found the accused trespasser sitting in the passenger side of a vehicle in the driveway, appearing to be “heavily” under the influence of an unknown substance, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Law enforcement learned that when the resident confronted him, the subject was talking but not making any sense and went and got into the vehicle where he waited until deputies arrived. Brenton D. Michels was arrested for second-degree criminal trespass and booked into the Lewis County Jail, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

MONEY MISSING

• Chehalis police were called yesterday afternoon to the 1000 block of Northeast Kresky Avenue for a report that all four receptionists tills were taken from the medical department at Valley View Health Center. Police are waiting for further information from the victim, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

EMPTY RESIDENCE BURGLED

• Centralia police were called about 12:30 p.m. yesterday and told an unknown person broke in to a vacant residence on the 1300 block of Windsor Avenue. A loss has not been determined, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FRAUD

• Centralia police were called about 8 p.m. yesterday to take a report that a cell phone account was opened using a victim’s information. The case is associated with the 3000 block of Borst Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Someone smashed out a window of a vehicle at the 1200 block of Lum Road in Centralia and rifled through its glove box, according to a report made to police about 11:30 p.m. yesterday.

DRUGS

• Chehalis police were called to Green Hill School yesterday after a plastic baggie containing powder suspected to be be cocaine was found during a room search. The substance field-tested as such, but will now be sent off to the crime lab for analysis, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• A 26-year-old Vancouver man was arrested for second-degree malicious mischief after police were called to the 500 block of Southeast Washington Avenue yesterday regarding an estimated $3,000 damage to the fire suppression system in a room at the drug and alcohol treatment center. Christopher M. Rew was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

LOST AND FOUND

• Chehalis police were contacted by a woman in Shelton last night who said she got a phone call telling her that her dog which was stolen last year had been located in Chehalis, but the caller would only release details to a police officer.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• A 27-year-old Centralia woman was arrested for driving under the influence after she missed a curve and rolled her pickup truck last night at the 3600 block of Cooks Hill Road outside Centralia. Deputies responding about 9:15 p.m. found that neither Megan R. Lynch nor her two passengers were injured, but the truck sustained major damage, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Lynch was booked into the Lewis County Jail, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants; responses for alarm, dispute, misdemeanor theft, collision on city street, suspicious circumstances … and more.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, January 19th, 2016
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Updated at 2:43 p.m.

MAN ACCIDENTALLY SHOT IN RANDLE

• A 69-year-old Randle resident who was accidentally shot while cleaning a gun yesterday was transported to Harborview Medical Center, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said the man was home alone at the 100 block of Morris Road when he was injured in his left forearm by a Derringer 410 and then drove himself from  to the Randle Medical Clinic about 3:40 p.m. He was taken by ambulance to Morton General Hospital, before being transferred to the Seattle hospital, Brown said.

DOMESTIC ASSAULT

• A 23-year-old Chehalis area resident who allegedly choked his girlfriend until she couldn’t breathe suffered cuts to his arm and leg when she grabbed an object off the bed and began hitting him, not realizing the object was a knife. Deputies called about 9:30 p.m. on Friday to the 100 block of Mountain Estates Drive learned the pair had been arguing about text messages from another woman, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Chief Deputy Stacy Brown didn’t describe how serious the injuries were to Mikal S. Osborne, but noted he was arrested for second-degree assault and booked into the Lewis County Jail.  Instead of charging the felony, prosecutors moved Osborne’s case to Lewis County District Court.

• A 53-year-old Chehalis area man was arrested for second-degree assault after allegedly hitting his teenage son in the face multiple times, leaving him with what looked to be a broken nose on Friday. Deputies called about 4:40 p.m. to the 100 block of Borovec Road were told the two were arguing about the 17-year-old’s job, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The son went out the door, the dad told him to be home for dinner and the son’s reply of something like “FU” preceded the alleged assault, according to the sheriff’s office. Randy J. Granger was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office.

DETAINEE ASSAULT

• Chehalis police were called to the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center about 9:30 p.m. on Friday where a 15-year-old boy allegedly shoved a female employee. The teen is facing a possible charge of custodial assault, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

BURGLARY

• Officers responding to an alarm at the Twin City Town Center at about 5 a.m. on Sunday found the front door open at a business and several thousand dollars worth of merchandise missing. Police are still waiting for a detailed list of what was stolen, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called on Sunday to the 600 block of Northwest State Avenue where someone had busted through the back door of a business and left with various items, including grow lights.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning that someone broke in to a shop at the 300 block of Fawn Hill Drive outside Chehalis some time between last Tuesday and Wednesday and stole a Stihl chainsaw, a 20-gauge shotgun and something described as a Fluke multimeter. The loss is estimated at $750, according to the sheriff’s office.

AUTO THEFT

• Chehalis police called about 2 p.m. on Friday regarding an unlocked van with its keys left in it stolen from the 600 block of South Market Boulevard were able to direct the victim to the vehicle discovered earlier abandoned in an alley. The victim was able to retrieve the van from the area near the 300 block of Southwest 16th Street, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Chehalis police were called regarding a vehicle prowl about 9:30 p.m. on Sunday in the area of Washington Avenue and Sixth Street.

POWER CUT

• Police were called just after 7 a.m. yesterday to the 300 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia where sometime since the previous evening, someone had cut through a power cable at a business.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, trespass, shoplifting, disorderly conduct, urinating in public, driving with suspended license, making false statement to an officer; responses for dispute, misdemeanor theft, barking neighbor dog, child custody issue, warning for a panhandler, collision on city street, stranger standing in driveway, someone sleeping in the entryway of a church, request for advice on how to get two vehicles unstuck from each other following minor parking lot encounter … and more.

Centralia to send some offenders to Yakima County Jail

Monday, January 18th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The city of Centralia will begin sending some of its arrestees to Yakima County, instead of using the Lewis County Jail, after negotiating a price for bed space that is substantially cheaper.

Centralia, similar to other cities and towns in Lewis County, has long used the services of the only jail in Lewis County. It’s run by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Centralia Police Chief Carl Nielsen told the city council last week the fees the city has been charged increased significantly for the first time in several years, from $52.50 per bed night to $60.34.

As 2015 came to a close, the Centralia Police Department noticed a marked increase in the number of bed spaces they had been using, and began to look for alternatives, according to Nielsen.

The police department found that if they send individuals sentenced to more than 14 days to Yakima, the city could save approximately $10,000 over the course of the year, according to the chief.

Nielsen said the Lewis County Jail is still one of the cheapest places in the state to house offenders, but if he can find that kind of savings, he wants to do it.

Individuals arrested by Centralia police will continue to be booked at the Lewis County Jail, in Chehalis. And those convicted and then sentenced to less than 14 days, will continue to serve their time there, according to Nielsen.

The price negotiated with the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office is $54.75 per bed night, and includes the costs of transporting each inmate to Yakima, according to Nielsen. The chief said he wasn’t certain if the price included bringing them back.

Additionally, the police department is working with Centralia Municipal Court, to find circumstances in which they can avoid booking some arrestees into jail at all.

Nielsen said, for example, if a person is arrested on a municipal court warrant, perhaps instead of getting booked into jail, an officer will be able to re-cite them, with a new court date.

“Some (bookings) are mandated,” Nielsen said. “But if it’s a minor offense that we don’t have to, we’re trying to alleviate it for the minor offenses.”

The Centralia City Council approved Nielsen’s request to enter into an agreement with the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, January 18th, 2016
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BREAK-IN CENTRALIA

• Police were called about 8:40 p.m. yesterday to a burglary at the 700 block of South Pearl Street in Centralia. A bag of hand tools were taken from the garage and someone also attempted to steal a car parked at the location,  according to the Centralia Police Department.

AUTO THEFT

• Centralia police were called about 3:50 a.m. today to the 1500 block of Lewis Street to take a report that a black Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck had been stolen. It has a license plate reading C17258D, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A 27-year-old Centralia resident was arrested on Saturday for theft of a motor vehicle in a case associated with the 400 block of East Pine Street in Centralia. Yolanda Ramirez was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called yesterday to the 400 block of South Silver Street where sometime since the previous evening, someone broke out the passenger window to the victim’s vehicle while it was parked in their driveway. Nothing was noted as missing, according to police.

• Police were called yesterday morning regarding a vehicle prowl at the 1600 block of Military Road in Centralia. Sometime since the previous evening, someone entered the unlocked vehicle and took a set of keys and some other unspecified items,  according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police were called about 5:30 a.m. yesterday where a resident of the 200 block of West Chestnut Street had yelled from their home at someone inside their unlocked vehicle, but the suspect had fled. The car stereo and other items had been removed, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police were called about 4:20 a.m. yesterday to the 500 block of South Silver Street when a car alarm activated when someone broke out its window. There was nothing immediately noticed as missing from the vehicle and officers were not able to find the suspect, according to the Centralia Police Department.

OTHER THEFT

• Centralia police took a report from a taxi service about 12:30 p.m. on Saturday after a woman got a ride from Chehalis to Centralia and then ran off without paying. The case is associated with a location at Silver and Summa streets, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, assault, trespass, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, vandalism, misdemeanor theft, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street … and more.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Saturday, January 16th, 2016
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VEHICLE THEFT

• Centralia police were called about 7:10 a.m. yesterday about a Yamaha 225 motorcycle stolen from the 100 block of North Oak Street sometime during the previous 24 hours. The Yamaha, non-functioning, was found abandoned on the 200 block of North King Street, according to the Centralia Police Department.

OTHER THEFT

• A wallet and a set of keys were reported stolen from a home on the 300 block of Kearney Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday evening.

• Centralia police were called about 6:25 p.m. yesterday about jewelry stolen from a room at a motel on the 1000 block of Eckerson Road.

• Police took a report yesterday from the 500 block of North Rock Street in Centralia regarding the fraudulent use of a credit card.

MORE FROM MORTON COUNTRY MARKET ARRESTS

• Morton police are working with other law enforcement agencies to contact at least 32 victims whose property was found inside the stolen Toyota Scion recovered in the parking lot at the Country Market in Morton last Monday. The driver, 19-year-old Jocelyn R. MacFarland, told the police chief the car was borrowed from a person in Tacoma and that not everything in the car belonged to her and her boyfriend. Besides a stolen firearm located in the glove compartment, police found credit cards, EBT cards, checks and personal banking and financial accounting documents, according to the Morton Police Department. Unspecified medications were recovered as well, according to police. Morton police have determined people in  four cities were victimized and are working with the Tacoma Police Department, the Puyallup Police Department and the state Department of Social and Health Services to find the rightful owners, according to information released yesterday. MacFarland, and Austin L. Hedges, 23, both from Morton, were charged on Tuesday in Lewis County Superior Court with taking a motor vehicle without permission and other related offenses. Morton police subsequently searched a residence on Third Street associated with the case and turned up more suspected unlawfully possessed credit cards and identifications as well as a “contraband weapon.”

LEWIS COUNTY CRIME STOPPERS

• Crime Stoppers of Lewis County and the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office are seeking the public’s assistance with an arson investigation relating to the 200 block of Aubrey Lane,  east of Chehalis. On the night of Jan. 1, someone entered a garage on the property and set a fire in a vehicle. The loss is estimated at $5,000. Crime Stoppers is looking for tips and notes that anonymous calls can be made to 1-800-748-6422 or information may be shared online at www.lewiscountycrimestoppers.org

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, January 15th, 2016
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SUPER SHOPLIFTING

• Chehalis police were called about 7:35 p.m. yesterday to the 500 block of South Market Boulevard after an alarm sounded at a rear emergency exit at Rite-Aid and then employees discovered “a lot” of alcohol missing from a back storage room. Two male suspects were described as in their 30s or 40s, one white and one black, according to the Chehalis Police Department. A dollar value of the loss was not yet available, police said.

• A trooper happened to be in the area when a man wheeled a big screen television out of Wal-Mart yesterday afternoon, without paying, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Donny L. Clark, 55, of Olympia, was contacted then arrested for third-degree theft in connection with the merchandise, a 55-inch TV valued at $620, according to police. He was then released pending his court date, according to police.

• A call to the parking lot at Wal-Mart for suspicious circumstances, a man seen looking into a vehicle, happened about the same time yesterday morning that a woman pushed a shopping cart of merchandise outside the store without paying and led to one arrest, according to the Chehalis Police Department. It turned out the two had arrived together and he was released, but she was detained, according to police. Elicia A. Thebiay, 40, from Oakville, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for a drug violation, as a glass smoking device was found, according to police. A case for third-degree theft was also forwarded to prosecutors, according to Deputy Chief Randy Kaut.

SHOPLIFTING SCUFFLE

• Two individuals were detained for alleged shoplifting at Sun Bird Shopping Center and a third person reportedly punched an employee and fled late yesterday afternoon. Officers responding to the approximately 5:35 p.m. call to the store on North National Avenue let the female go and arrested 35-year-old Jose A. Pulido for third-degree theft in connection with a flashlight taken, according to the Chehalis Police Department. He was then released pending a court date, according to police.

AUTO THEFT

• Two stolen vehicles were recovered in Centralia yesterday morning, one parked on the side of the street at the 400 block of South Diamond and the other abandoned in a lot on the 300 block of South Street.

LOCKER ROOM THEFT

• An Apple watch was reported stolen yesterday from a locker room at the 800 block of Eshom Road in Centralia.

MAIL THEFT

• Centralia police were called yesterday afternoon to take a report that someone stole mail two days in a row from a mailbox on the 1500 block of Fairview Lane.

CAR PROWL

• Cash was stolen from a vehicle parked at the 300 block of Southwest Third Street in Chehalis sometime in the half hour previous to an approximately 7 p.m. call to police yesterday. One door had been left unlocked, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• Police were called about 10:25 a.m. yesterday regarding an unlocked vehicle prowled at the 700 block of Gold Street in Centralia. Nothing appeared to be missing, according to the Centralia Police Department. An officer took another report a while later from the same area of someone stealing the rear view mirror from inside another, unlocked, vehicle, according to police.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called yesterday to the 600 block of West Cherry Street where someone had slashed two truck tires sometime during the night.

DOMESTIC DISPUTE

• A fight over a plate of food being knocked out of one person’s hands led to a 59-year-old man arrested last night for fourth-degree assault. Officers called about 10:50 p.m. to the 2600 block of Fords Prairie Avenue in Centralia booked Eric J. Underwood into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, hit and run, suspicious circumstances, blankets on the backside of a building as though someone may be sleeping there … and more.