Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office says it learned an expert witness it used multiple times was untruthful about her credentials, including on the witness stand in court.

Toni Nelson has worked in Lewis County as a victim’s advocate, and has testified in at three least trials, primarily about delayed reporting in sex crime cases, according to Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer.

Meyer said in the past Nelson had indicated she graduated from a specific college, but he now knows she attended there but left before earning her degree.

Meyer said she also had said she had a nursing degree and was a certified teacher, both of which she admitted to him were not true.

The prosecutor said he was given information tipping him off in early January, did some research and then two weeks ago met with her and asked her specific questions.

“We’re just trying to figure out how widespread this is, ” Meyer said today.

Nelson has worked for the White Pass Community Coalition, the Human Response Network and at one time was associated with Fresh Start, according to Meyer.

The statute of limitations for bringing charges of perjury is three years, and has passed, he said. The last time prosecutors had her testify was 2010, he said.

Meyer said so far they have found Nelson had involvement in approximately five dozen cases with the prosecutors office.

He said now he’s primarily working to contact and make sure victims and defendants are notified.

“She’s had training, but the problem is, once you’re not truthful on the stand, that taints everything you say,” Meyer said.

Centralia attorney Shane O’Rourke is representing Nelson, but indicated he’s restrained from saying specifically when or why he is hired in any client’s case.

“My function is to represent somebody who is presently having significant allegations brought,” O’Rourke said this afternoon.

O’Rourke said he understands how the prosecutor’s office, if they believe they have something like they say they do, would need to look back over cases to try to determine if it could have drastic consequences.

“I can’t talk about any of the particulars at this point,” he said. “There may come a time when I can not be vague.”

He said he’s known Nelson as a professional acquaintance for about eight years, as an individual working in social services, someone known for things such as getting up at 2 o’clock in the morning to give people rides to shelters.

“I think you’d be hard pressed to find many people who have anything negative to say about her involvement,” he said. “And people would attest to the fact that this is a person who has dedicated a huge chunk of her life and career and doing what she could to help other people.”

The audience rises to its feet as Sheriff Snaza speaks of detective Tom Callas’s career and retirement during an awards presentation at Bethel Church.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

NAPAVINE –  Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza honored two officers with an award for portraying the guardian spirit.

Corrections Officer Bill Wood was recognized for his heroic actions when he pursued and apprehended a just-convicted defendant who fled a courtroom last October.

“Basically he got into a fight,” Snaza said, of the chase that began on the fourth floor of the Lewis County Law and Justice Center, continued down a back stairwell and out onto the street in Chehalis.

Snaza spoke of Wood’s tenacious attitude when he presented him on Thursday with the Guardian Award.

“He wasn’t gonna let that guy go,” he said.

The high praise was offered during a gathering of members of the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office at Bethel Church in Napavine. The annual meeting is held to recognize outstanding work by employees.

A second Guardian Award was given to detective Gene Seiber, a person Snaza said had gone unrecognized for too long.

Seiber was part of the command staff under former Sheriff Steve Mansfield. After Snaza was elected sheriff, he moved Seiber into a newly created position, a detective focusing on the east end of the county.

Snaza spoke of Seiber’s consistent dedication and outstanding performance in the daily execution of his duties.

“Exceptional service with an excellent attitude,” he said.

Numerous honors and awards were presented, including a Distinguished Service Medal for detective Tom Callas whose retirement began that afternoon. Callas started at the sheriff’s office in 1988.

Snaza, with Undersheriff Wes Rethwill assisting in the ceremony, called three civilians to the stage as well.

Cameron Church, accompanied by his girlfriend Skyler Grimes, was given a Citizen Service Medal.

On Nov. 14, when a senior citizen drove her car onto a flooded Forest Service Road 25 south of Randle, Church put aside his own personal safety and rushed in to pull  her from her water-filled car.

“They then kept her warm while waiting for aid to arrive,” he said.

Snaza then gave a certificate of bravery and courage to Aiden Readman, a young man who called 911 when his mother was being assaulted, and helped protect his mother and sister.

The sheriff spent some time during the meeting sharing the office’s priorities and goals during his first year in office and also for the coming year.

His list for 2016 contains 47 items.

“When I thought of running for sheriff, I want to make sure you guys are taken care of,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.

In closing, the sheriff told the employees, there’s no “I” in their organization.

“I cannot be successful without you,” he said. “We can be successful together.”

Among the awards presented were also, Employee of the Year, which went to:

• Field Operations Bureau – Deputy Justin Rodgers
• Corrections Bureau – Corrections Sgt. Joyce McCoy
• Corrections Bureau Support Technician – Ramona Romine
• Services Bureau – Support Technician Debra Hensley

The light blue Mazda pickup and yellow Jeep rest on state Route 6 near Adna. / Courtesy photo by Washington State Patrol

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The cause of the collision on state Route 6 yesterday remains under investigation but the Washington State Patrol reports the pickup truck carrying two individuals who died was T-boned in its passenger side by the Jeep Wrangler.

Both vehicles had been traveling in opposite directions, about two miles west of Chehalis, according to the state patrol.

Firefighters from Chehalis and Lewis County Fire District 6 responding to the approximately 4:50 p.m. call near Highway 603 found the man and woman deceased and the driver – and sole occupant – of the Jeep in serious condition, according to authorities.

Glennon G. Stinson, 69, from Rochester, was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital.

The state patrol identifies the driver of the 1989 Mazda B2200 pickup as Joseph A. Schwartz, 23, of Pe Ell. His passenger was Katharina M. McKenna, 27, from Chehalis.

The investigating trooper describes the incident as Schwartz traveling eastbound and for whatever reason, he lost control of his truck and slid across the centerline into the westbound lane. The front of the westbound Jeep struck the passenger side of his truck, according to the state patrol.

The roadway was closed for nearly four hours, according to Trooper Will Finn.

All three individuals had been wearing seat belts, according to the state patrol.

It’s unknown if drugs or alcohol were involved, according to the initial information. No charges are expected.

Both vehicles were totaled, towed and impounded.

This might look a little bit like an ugly fishing lure, but it’s almost two feet long. / Courtesy photo by Pe Ell Marshals Office

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  The Washington State Patrol Bomb Squad was called to Pe Ell yesterday evening after a large military mortar was found under a chicken coop.

“The homeowner was putting in a fence, dug in close to the chicken coop and noticed something hard and tapped it a couple times,” Pe Ell Marshal Mike Hartnett said.

It turns out the nearly two-foot-long object was live, he said.

“It’s firing mechanism was intact and its safety pin was gone,” Hartnett said. “One abrupt bump on the nose of that, could have set it off.”

The marshal said he understood it would have a “kill radius” of up to 50 meters.

One meter is a little longer than three feet.

Hartnett said two of his deputy marshals were on duty, and they evacuated a couple residents and blocked off the area. It was in the backyard of a residence on East Pe Ell Avenue, near the edge of the city limits, he said.

It was about 5:45 p.m. and the bomb squad came out and ended up putting it in their bomb trailer and hauling it back to Shelton to dispose of it, he said.

Hartnett said he was told it was an 82 mm mortar.

“Probably an old Vietnam-era mortar, is our best guess,” he said.

How it got a backyard in Pe Ell, they don’t know. It’s an older home, that’s had a few owners, he said.

“Either somebody brought home a souvenir, even off a military firing range and thought it was a dud,” he said. “Maybe someone didn’t want it anymore and poked it under the chicken coop.”