Posts Tagged ‘By Sharyn L. Decker’

News brief: Attempt to disarm deputy lands Toledo man in jail

Monday, January 4th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 41-year-old man who allegedly grabbed onto a deputy’s gun with both hands during an encounter in the Toledo-area was taken to the ground and then booked into the Lewis County Jail.

It happened after emergency medical responders asked for assistance with a combative patient at the 5300 block of Jackson Highway around 2:50 a.m. on Friday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

It’s not clear why medics had been called, but deputies were told Dale R. Smith had made statements to his family that made them very concerned for his welfare, according to the sheriff’s office.

Smith, who appeared heavily intoxicated, was persuaded to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance, but then he made a statement like, “Let me see that gun” and pushed the deputy in the stomach, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

When Smith put his hands on the gun, the deputy used defensive tactics to make him let go and then took him into custody, according to Brown.

The weapon was in the deputy’s holster, Brown indicated.

Brown said Smith also tried to strike the deputy. Smith, a Toledo resident, was arrested for third-degree assault.

News brief: Possible eye loss from New Year’s fireworks

Monday, January 4th, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The fireworks that severely injured a 30-year-old man in Silver Creek over the weekend appeared to be small legal mortars and rockets, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said this morning.

Deputies and firefighters responding to the approximately 12:20 a.m. call on Friday at the 2400 block of U.S. Highway 12 aren’t sure exactly what happened as no one saw it occur and the victim didn’t recall, according to the sheriff’s office.

An individual at the scene said he was intoxicated and left the residence to shoot off some fireworks, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

Brown said the Silver Creek man lost a lot of blood and would likely lose at least one finger as well as possibly his right eye. His hearing was damaged as well, she said.

He was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, with possible plans for a transfer to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

News brief: Snow tapers off, but schools start late today

Monday, January 4th, 2016
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Check current conditions and the forecast from the National Weather Service, here

Updated at 8:03 a.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Most of the interior lowlands of Western Washington will see light snow or flurries this morning, but little to no accumulation is expected, according to the National Weather Service.

Roads will be slippery as temperatures will likely stay near freezing, the weather service says. This includes the Interstate 5 corridor from the north end of the Pierce county line southward.

White Pass schools are closed today, with most other school districts in Lewis County reporting they will start two hours late. School districts in Toledo, Winlock and Castle Rock are closed today as well.

Precipitation is expected to change over to rain by late morning.

Temperatures in Chehalis are 34 degrees this morning, having climbed from a low of 18 degrees yesterday morning.

Some, but not all, Lewis County schools share late start or closure information on the website Flash Alert, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Sunday, January 3rd, 2016
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POLICE: DOMESTIC DISPUTE

• A 22-year-old man was arrested yesterday for unlawful imprisonment and other offenses after he allegedly blocked a door refusing to let his ex-girlfriend leave his Centralia home and took her car key off its ring and threw it in a creek behind the residence. An officer was flagged down just before 2 p.m. at the 400 block of Yew Street by a neighbor who pointed out the couple on the corner were arguing, according to the Centralia Police Department. Police contacted them and learned the female convinced him to go outside with her by lying and saying he could leave with her, according to police. Dakota S. Plaas was booked into the Lewis County Jail also for third-degree theft and violation of a protection order, according to police.

TIRE TAKEN

• An officer took a report of the theft of a spare tire from a utility trailer at the 300 block of North Washington Avenue in Centralia after an 8:30 a.m. call yesterday, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Police were called about 3:45 p.m. yesterday to a parking lot at the 500 block of Harrison Avenue where someone got inside an unlocked vehicle and stole various items including a purse.

• Centralia police were called about 11:35 a.m. yesterday about  vehicle prowl at the 1300 block of St. Helens Street in which someone got inside an unlocked vehicle and stole only the registration.

• Police were called yesterday to the 800 block of Park Way in Centralia about an overnight vehicle prowl.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, trespassing, driving under the influence, domestic incident; responses for alarm, dispute, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street … and more.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Saturday, January 2nd, 2016
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Updated at 11:46 a.m.

PROWLER PULLS KNIFE

• Centralia police were called about 11:30 p.m. yesterday for an interrupted vehicle prowl at the 1100 block of Borthwick Street in which the suspect reportedly threatened the individual with a knife and then fled the area. The suspect is described as a white male in his 20’s, short with a slender build and wearing a grey hoodie sweatshirt, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was not located.

UNRULY PASSENGER

• A passenger who tried to intervene during field sobriety tests allegedly threatening an officer and grabbing his wrist was arrested last night for third-degree assault. It happened around 8:40 p.m. at Sixth and Pearl streets in Centralia. Michael D Cairns 47 of Onalaska, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department. The incident occurred as Anthony M. Colson, 21, of Tumwater was being arrested for driving under the influence, according to police. Colson also was booked into jail.

DRUGS

• After Centralia police contacted a motorist on suspicion of driving under the influence just after 2 o’clock this morning, she allegedly struggled against officers as she was put in to a patrol vehicle, in an attempt to discard a bag of methamphetamine. Chrystal S. Zelazny, 47, from Chehalis, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of meth, according to the Centralia Police Department. The contact with officers occurred at Maple and Pearl streets, according to police.

FIREWORKS INJURY

• Deputies, firefighters and medics were called about 12:20 a.m. yesterday to Silver Creek where they found man on the ground with fireworks around him and injuries to his hand and eye. Lewis County Fire District 8 Chief Duran McDaniel said he didn’t know the extent of the injuries himself, but they called for an airlift right away. It happened in a gravel parking lot adjacent to a restaurant on the 2400 block of U.S. Highway 12, he said. Because of the fog, a helicopter was going to be delayed, so the man, in his early 30s, was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, McDaniel said. He understood they planned to transfer the patient to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

AND MORE

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

Centralia resident arrested after roughly 100-mile police chase

Friday, January 1st, 2016

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A traffic stop in Centralia shortly after the bars closed last night led to a police pursuit that ended in Oregon.

Centralia police report an officer attempted to pull over a suspected drunk driver at North Pearl and First streets about 2:20 a.m. but the vehicle sped away.

Troopers took over at Interstate 5 and the suspect led law enforcement officers on a high speed chase that came to a stop in Portland, only after the vehicle hit spike strips, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Henry Herrera-Montealegre, 29, from Centralia, faces potential charges of eluding, first-degree driving with a suspended license and driving without a required interlock device, according to police.

Booking information for the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office shows a 29-year-old Henry Herreramontealegre booked at 3:33 a.m. today for attempting to elude by vehicle and released on his own recognizance.

The Washington State Patrol and other law enforcement agencies have officers working overtime for the New Year’s weekend, with an emphasis on taking impaired drivers off the roads.

KATU news got photos. See them here

Lewis County Jail to stop charging fee for visiting with inmates

Thursday, December 31st, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – For the past two years, going to the Lewis County Jail to visit an inmate has cost money, but that’s about to change.

The facility installed an Internet-based system for visitation that allowed for family or friends to avoid the drive to Chehalis to see their loved ones, by logging in and paying a fee.

The same technology is used however, with inmates chatting from their cell areas to a video screen while their guests are viewing another screen in the lobby area of the same building. The cost is 50 cents per minute.

Jail Chief Kevin Hanson said he hopes free visits in the jail lobby can begin again in mid-January. It will take some programming changes by the vendor, he said.

Part of the reasoning for the switch, Hanson said, is he got advice during a course on incarceration legalities he attended that suggested charging money to people who come in to the jail to see inmates was a practice on somewhat shaky legal ground.

When he and other administrators of the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office shared the news with the county board of commissioners earlier this month, Sheriff Rob Snaza said it was something they’d been talking about doing for awhile. The sheriff’s office runs the jail.

“It only makes sense,” Snaza said. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Defendants can be sentenced to up to 364 days in the jail. For those awaiting trial, their stay in some cases has been even longer.

Hanson is aiming for the change to take place around the second full week in January.

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For background, read Northwest Public Radio’s Jan. 13, 2015 piece about the Homewav video visitation system as used in Lewis County, here