Lewis County Sirens.com

Erin Stiebritz waits her turn to go in front of a judge this afternoon at Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 36-year-old woman accused of having sex in her office at Green Hill School with a student-inmate was arrested yesterday and charged today with a felony.

Erin Stiebritz, who also goes by the last name of Snodgrass, worked as a counselor at the state institution in Chehalis.

Prosecutors allege the two had a sexual relationship during the latter half of 2014, before Stiebritz was placed on an alternative assignment based on allegations of inappropriate behavior with students, especially the alleged victim.

A detective with the Washington State Patrol investigated the case during 2015.

Stiebritz denies the allegations.

She was booked into the Lewis County Jail yesterday and brought before a judge late this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court. She is charged with first-degree custodial sexual misconduct.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Nelson asked she be held on $25,000 bail, citing community safety concerns.

Defense attorney Joely O’Rourke told the judge she didn’t see that as an issue, as the alleged victim was 18 and the relationship alleged was consensual.

Judge James Lawler set bail with a $25,000 unsecured bond.

It’s not clear if Stiebritz is still employed at Green Hill.

Her court documents show she resides in Centralia but court documents in another case describe her as living in Cinebar with her husband in early 2015.

Charging documents give the following account of the investigation:

In February of last year, employees at Green Hill intercepted a letter suspected to be from Stiebritz to the student-inmate, detailing a sexual relationship.

A detective contacted the postmaster in Chehalis and confirmed the return address was a post office box she had rented two days after she was reassigned to a new position.

The student-inmate’s room was searched and approximately 30 letters and cards were found, with the same return address, discussing their relationship.

“A few of the letters describes how there is a pregnancy and (the student-inmate) is the father,” Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wrote in the court documents.

In July, the detective interviewed her and she denied a relationship, writing the letters and renting a post office box.

The detective was able to listen to phone conversations made by Stiebritz to a different inmate at Walla Walla State Penitentiary during 2015 in which she allegedly spoke of the relationship and the post office box. The other inmate knows the alleged victim.

Two days before Christmas, the detective interviewed the alleged victim at Green Hill School, and he stated they had sex a few times in her office inside the Green Hill facility.

He told the detective initially she was helpful and concerned about him, but once he turned 18, she began to pursue him in a sexual manner.

Green Hill is run by the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, which  is part of the Department of Social and Health Services. It’s a medium to maximum security fenced facility that provides older, male offenders education and vocational training.

First-degree custodial sexual misconduct is a class C felony, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Stiebritz’s arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 21.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A stranger nearly drove off with a vehicle occupied by four children while their parents were unloading groceries at their Centralia home yesterday evening.

The 28-year-old father jumped into the passenger side of the vehicle and yelled at the man, who apologized and ran off, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

It happened about 4:50 p.m. at the 1600 block of Windsor Avenue, at the north end of town, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

Deputies searched the area and a dog track was conducted, but the subject was not found, Brown said.

According to Brown, the family had just got home from grocery shopping and planned to head to the laundry, so the parents were taking their purchases inside and bringing laundry outside, while the children waited.

The father saw the man and thought he was coming to the door, but saw him get into their van instead and start driving away, Brown said.

He didn’t get very far.

The father ran and caught up to the vehicle and climbed into the passenger seat, she said.

When he asked the man what he was doing, he responded by saying he was not right in the head, and he didn’t want any trouble, Brown said. Then he fled.

The children were not harmed, she said.

The suspect spoke Spanish and was described as heavy set, with a mustache and wearing a hat and blue shirt and probably between 40 to 50 years old.

Brown said it’s not clear if the man was just attempting to steal the van and didn’t realize it had kids in it, or what.

The K-9 track did turn up some evidence, she said The sheriff’s office continues to investigate, she said.

The man is now wanted for attempted vehicle theft and kidnapping, according to Brown.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Centralia man who should have been released from prison tomorrow for a nighttime burglary in which he exchanged gunfire with a business owner is among those mistakenly let out early because of a software coding error at the state Department of Corrections.

Todd R. Chissus was 30 years old when he was arrested in April 2004 several days after the break-in at Sunny Valley Sales on South Gold Street in Centralia.

Chissus was released on September 28 – more than three months too soon – but is now back in custody, according to to information released yesterday by the state Department of Corrections.

Last month, Gov. Jay Inslee revealed the discovery that as many as 3,200 offenders may have been released early over the course of 13 years.

The problem affected offenders with sentencing enhancements, who were over-credited with good time.

Early estimates from the governor’s office indicated the median number of days offenders were released from prison was 49 days before their correct release date.

As of yesterday, Chissus was among 77 individuals either apprehended or who turned themselves in and were returned to a correctional facility.

The governor last month ordered a halt to releases of potentially affected inmates, until a hand calculation was done to ensure their correct release date.

Also yesterday, DOC said at least 27 individuals committed new crimes during the time while they should have still been locked up.

Chissus was not on that list.

Eight of those 27 are alleged to have committed new felonies while out, including first-degree murder and vehicular homicide.

So far, prison officials have reviewed releases going back to Dec. 17, 2011. The computer error dates back to 2002.

Chissus was convicted in 2005 in Lewis County Superior Court of first-degree burglary with a firearm enhancement.

Nobody else convicted in Lewis County is shown on the documents currently available from the ongoing review.

DOC first learned there was a problem in 2012 and began the process of a sequencing fix, but for reasons undergoing an independent investigation, the repair was repeatedly delayed.