News brief: Man’s death in Winlock remains under investigation

September 24th, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The investigation into the death of a 44-year-old man found dead in a Winlock yard last week continues, but it will be awhile before the coroner knows the cause of death.

Deputies began investigating last Thursday afternoon at the 1700 block of Ferrier Road. Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Cmdr. Dusty Breen said the individual had been visiting people on the property.

Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod yesterday released the name, saying James M. Lewis was a Winlock resident.

McLeod indicated he is waiting for test results.

Charging decision expected soon in Onalaska triple fatality wreck

September 23rd, 2015

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The lawyer for the driver who survived a head-on crash that killed three teenagers in Onalaska this summer still hasn’t seen the final accident report, even though his client is involved in a case for allegedly driving under the influence that night.

But the report should finally be available soon, according to Centralia defense attorney J.O. Enbody.

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State Route 508 on July 13, 2015

Joseph W. Rogerson, 36, of Chehalis, appeared before a judge today for a hearing in Lewis County District Court in Chehalis.

Enbody told the judge he’d like to set over the hearing for two weeks. He said Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher asked him to make the request, while prosecutors work on their decision whether to charge Rogerson with a felony.

The parties have been waiting for the report from an investigative team from the Washington State Patrol.

Three teenagers died from the July 13 wreck on state Route 508. The initial report indicated both vehicles crossed the centerline.

Rogerson and his wife were traveling westbound in a Ford Freestar minivan. Eight teenagers were traveling the other direction in a Land Rover Discovery when the vehicles met up near Hyak Road, only two of them were wearing seat belts, according to initial reports.

Dead at the scene were the Land Rover’s driver, Arnold W. Mullinax, 17, and Taylor N. Thompson, 13, both from Onalaska. Dakota L. Dunivin, 18, from Chehalis, died the following day at the hospital.

Most of the young people either attended Onalaska schools, or had in the past.

Depending on the information in the accident report, Enbody knows his client could be facing charges such as vehicular assault and vehicular homicide.

Rogerson’s DUI case has not progressed very far, because of the possibility prosecutors could file those charges in Lewis County Superior Court, on the fourth floor of the Lewis County Law and Justice Center.

Enbody and Rogerson are just waiting. And a decision is expected soon.

“If it’s good news, we’ll deal with a DUI down here,” Enbody said. “If it’s bad news, we’ll deal with it upstairs.”

Rogerson has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence.

He told a deputy he’d had a beer about five hours before the wreck, and declined a portable breath test, but was taken to the hospital to have his blood drawn for testing.

The initial accident report does not include his blood alcohol level.

Among his conditions of release are that he may not drive without an ignition interlock device installed in his vehicle. He may not consume any alcohol and is wearing a court-ordered alcohol monitor bracelet which will detect if he does.

Enbody told Judge R.W. Buzzard this afternoon his client has gotten a drug and alcohol evaluation. He also said Rogerson has 100 percent compliance with the bracelet and requested its removal, in part because of financial considerations.

Deputy Prosecutor Jessica Blye said the state opposed the removal. Judge Buzzard didn’t grant the request.

Today’s hearing was then postponed for two weeks.
•••

For background, read “Surviving driver from fatal Onalaska wreck ordered to wear alcohol monitor while case pending” from Friday July 17, 2015, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

September 23rd, 2015
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•••

Updated at 6:35 p.m.

INTERRUPTED BURGLARY MINERAL

• The owner of the Mineral Grocery store was summoned to his business on the 100 block of Front Street about 3 a.m. today by an alarm and caught a skinny young man inside stealing cigarettes, but the subject ran out the back door, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The 67-year-old chased the intruder down an alley, but lost him when he turned just past the bar, according to the sheriff’s office. The suspect is described as maybe 5-feet 9-inches tall with a scruffy little beard and in his late teens or early 20s. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

BURGLARY CENTRALIA

• Someone pried open a back door at a second-hand store on the 500 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia and stole an unknown amount of money, according to the Centralia Police Department. An officer responded about 3:30 a.m. today and the investigation continues, according to police.

• Centralia police were called to the 400 block of West Center Street at about 4:50 p.m. yesterday following the discovery someone had stolen tools from inside a home that is being remodeled. There were no signs of forced entry and no suspect information at this time, according to the Centralia Police Department.

POSSIBLE CAR PROWLER

• Chehalis police were called about 4 p.m. yesterday to the 500 block of Southeast Washington Avenue where someone had broken the passenger door window to a car in the parking lot. Nothing appeared to be missing, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

FRAUD

• Chehalis police were contacted yesterday by a 26-year-old resident who discovered a couple of thousand dollars worth of expenditures made on her credit card in multiple southern states by someone unknown. She had just returned to the area and it’s not clear where her card may have been compromised, according to the Chehalis Police Department. An officer took a report.

DOMESTIC ASSAULT

• A 48-year-old Randle man was arrested for second-degree assault and third-degree malicious mischief after a series of events reported by his girlfriend at about 1:30 p.m. yesterday. A deputy was summoned to the Randle fire station where the woman said the night before he had choked her and given her a black eye, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. She said she didn’t report it at the time because he threatened to take her dogs away, but as she was loading her truck and trying to leave, he allegedly jumped into the bed of the pickup and began throwing items out of it, according to the sheriff’s office. He also allegedly smashed her truck’s rear window. David R. LaChance and booked in to the Lewis County Jail, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. Prosecutors declined to file the felony charge, but LaChance is scheduled to go before a judge today in Lewis County District Court instead.

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

• Chehalis police responded just after 5 p.m. yesterday because someone called 911 to say they saw a male walking up McFadden Avenue from Southwest 11th Street swinging an ax around and whipping a bull whip. No such person could be found, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

AND FROM MORTON

• Morton police indicated on Monday they are still investigating incidents of four slashed tires on a vehicle from Sept. 15 at the 200 block of Jastad Road and another on Sept. 17 at the 100 block of Fourth Street. Also last week, an officer removed a marijuana plant found growing in a pot along the Tilton River.

ON THE ROAD

• A 67-year-old woman was arrested after allegedly backing up for an unknown reason at a stop light and hitting a vehicle, driving away and then striking another vehicle in a parking lot yesterday in Centralia. The first incident occurred about 1:30 p.m. at Harrison and Belmont avenues and the next at the 100 block of High Street by the Centralia Outlets, according to the Centralia Police Department. The license plate number of the suspect truck led to the registered owner’s residence, according to police. Judy M. Tokstad, 67, of Centralia, said she didn’t recall hitting any vehicles but was issued citations for hit and run, Officer John Panco said. She was then released.

• A 27-year-old Chehalis man is in satisfactory condition today at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after his car crossed into the oncoming lanes of a divided highway about three and a half miles south of Shelton yesterday. Troopers called at 1:20 p.m. to U.S. Highway 101 found that Caleb L. Simons’ 1984 Chevrolet Caprice had been northbound but drifted to the left, hit the cable barrier and continued through the median and struck the driver’s side of a southbound car, according to the Washington State Patrol. The Toyota Corolla was knocked about 30 feet down an embankment. Its driver, James E. Spear, 60, of Bellingham was wearing a seat belt and reportedly not injured but it’s unknown if Simons was wearing his seat belt, according to the state patrol. Simons was airlifted to the Seattle hospital. The cause of the collision remains under investigation, according to the patrol.

• A 19-year-old is in fair condition today after he wrecked a borrowed motorcycle yesterday afternoon at the 700 block of Highway 603 west of Chehalis. David Serrano Mosso was northbound traveling much faster than the 40 mph posted speed limit when he left the roadway at a curve going airborne, bouncing once, striking a fence post and landing about 100 feet off the roadway into a wire fence, according to responders. Aid and deputies responding to the approximately 2:45 p.m. call found him unconscious, according to the Chehalis Fire Department. The Centralia resident was wearing a helmet but it showed it took a severe blow, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The 1995 Kawasaki XZ 1100 was totaled, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said. Mosso was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital and is to be cited for several offenses including not having a motorcycle endorsement, driving with a suspended license and not using an ignition interlock device, according to Brown.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, child custody disagreement, collision on city street, report that a male carrying a gas can in a parking lot near Louisiana Avenue in Chehalis asked somebody for money, report that guys with sleeping rolls on their backs have been seen going into the woods around the Chehalis sewer plant and could even be cooking meth down there … and more.

Cougar removed from Grand Mound family’s tree

September 22nd, 2015
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Deputy Steve Hamilton poses with the young adult female after she is tranquilized. / Courtesy photo by Thurston County Sheriff’s Office

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Wildlife officers captured a cougar yesterday that was discovered in a tree in the front yard of a Grand Mound area residence.

The big cat was about 12 feet up in a Douglas fir, just south of 183rd Avenue Southwest, a few miles east of Interstate 5.

Monique Hibberd, who works nights at a casino, said her husband woke her at about 11:30 a.m.

“My husband was so excited, he said, ‘there’s a lion in our tree’,” she said. “I go, ‘you mean, a cougar’? He’s like, ‘I don’t know. It’s huge.’ ”

So Hibberd went outside near her car, to take a look.

“I could see her face, she was pretty,” she said. “So we just backed out, and called 911.”

The couple stayed inside their house and watched while a team that included a Thurston County sheriff’s deputy and officers with the Department of Fish and Wildlife took care of it.

“They were so good, so gentle with her,” Hibberd said.

The cougar was shot with a tranquilizer dart and after waiting for it to take effect, an officer put a ladder against the trunk, to coax the cougar down, Hibberd said.

The Hibberds were told it was somewhat out of the ordinary for the animal to be found where it was, inside a fenced yard with no livestock.

“The deputy did say there’d been sightings on Danby,” he said.

They think their dogs treed the cougar, as they had been barking, she said.

The young adult female was put into a trailer and taken away to the forest, according to the Thurston County Sherif’s Office.

“The best part is knowing she had a good outcome,” Hibberd said. “The best part is knowing she is able to be released out onto the land.”

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Wildlife officers load female cougar into trailer so she can be taken out into the forest. / Courtesy photo by Dave Hibberd

 

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

September 22nd, 2015
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•••

SWEEPING UP THE HOMELESS

• Police conducting a sweep through Rotary Riverside Park in Centralia yesterday morning for unlawful encampments for the second day in a row arrested a 53-year-old homeless woman for an outstanding warrant. Janie S Weibling was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

RECOVERED STOLEN PROPERTY

• A fishing license and checks found in front of a business at the 1200 block of Lum Road in Centralia yesterday turned out to be stolen from an individual in the Olympia area, according to the Centralia Police Department. Officers will be attempting to locate the person that dropped the items, according to police.

• Centralia police are continuing to investigate after recovering a stolen computer yesterday from a 28-year-old homeless man, in a case associated with the 1000 block of H Street.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Centralia police were called about 7 p.m. yesterday to an vehicle electrical charging station on the 1200 block of Lum Road to take a report of a car prowl. The window was broken out and stolen were several items including including a cell phone and a computer that had been left in plain view, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police took a report yesterday of a combination flashlight-stun gun stolen from a pickup truck on the 300 block of Southwest 13th Street sometime between September 7 and 12.

DRUGS

• A 42-year-old Centralia resident was arrested for possession of heroin yesterday in Centralia. Chato R Ayres was booked into the Lewis County Jail following contact about 1:15 p.m. with an officer at the 1400 block of Mellen Street, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrant, drugs, hit and run, misdemeanor assault, violation of no-contact order, driving with suspended license, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, dispute, harassment, panhandling, vandalism, gas drive off, possible child abuse, barking neighbor dogs, collision on city street, missing bong/pipes, suspected misdemeanor theft regarding failure to return property to rental business … and more.

News brief: Pickup plows through front door of auto parts store

September 22nd, 2015
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Truck comes to rest just inside front door of O’Reilly Auto Parts. / Courtesy photo by Chehalis Police Department

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 19-year-old driver of a shiny red Ford Ranger that crashed through the glass front doors of a business in the Twin City Town Center yesterday told police her accelerator stuck.

Officers responding about 12:30 p.m. to the 1400 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue found the pickup came to rest completely inside O’Reilly Auto Parts, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

Nobody was injured but one witness said he was returning a shopping cart when the truck came over the curb and nearly hit him, police said.

The Centralia teenager told the officer the gas pedal had stuck previously as well, police said.

No dollar estimate of the damage was available. A report was taken for informational purposes, but it didn’t appear the 19-year-old would be ticketed, according to a police department spokesperson.

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The scene at the Twin City Town Center in Chehalis at mid-day on Monday. / Courtesy photo by Chehalis Police Department

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

September 21st, 2015
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•••

Updated at 8:16 p.m.

JUMPED IN CHEHALIS

• Police are looking for two suspects after they assaulted a 46-year-old Chehalis man on the 400 block of Southwest 13th Street about 4 o’clock yesterday morning. It started as an argument at an earlier gathering elsewhere and the victim had to be seen at the hospital for head and facial injuries, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The pair are wanted for second-degree assault, according to police.

THREATENED IN RANDLE

• A 35-year-old Randle man was arrested after initially hiding in a neighbor’s house on Friday for felony harassment in connection with a report from his girlfriend earlier in the day that he had threatened to shoot her and then shoot himself in the shoulder so he could claim self defense. A deputy learned from Providence Centralia Hospital the day before that a 35-year-old woman had been assaulted on two occasions the week before at the 100 block of Paul Avenue, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Jeffry R. Williams was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office. The case includes a referral for two charges of fourth-degree assault, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

THREATENED IN GLENOMA

• A 48-year-old Glenoma man who was reportedly extremely intoxicated was arrested for allegedly producing a knife during an argument and pointing it at his roommate on Friday evening. Deputies responding about 7:30 p.m. to the 100 block of Fisher Road took Charles W. Olmstead to be medically cleared at the hospital and then booked him into the Lewis County Jail for attempted second-degree assault, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Prosecutors declined to file that charge.

BURGLARY CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police were called yesterday morning about a break-in to a shed on the 200 block of Southwest 10th Street where someone stole three marijuana plants.

WALLET LIFTED CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called yesterday evening by an individual who said he’d spent the night at an unspecified location in Centralia and woke up to discover his wallet was missing. The case, associated with the 1000 block of South Tower Avenue, is under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MONEY MISSING

• Centralia police were called to a business on South Gold Street yesterday afternoon about suspected theft of a small amount of cash by an employee, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FRAUD CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police were called on Friday evening by an individual about a suspected fraudulent check.

CAR PROWL

• Police were called just after midnight on Saturday after an individual came out of a convenience store on the 100 block of Southwest Interstate Avenue in Chehalis and discovered someone had stolen suitcases and briefcases from their vehicle.

• Chehalis police were called to the 400 block of Northwest Pennsylvania Avenue in Chehalis on Friday about an overnight vehicle prowl.

• Someone got inside an unlocked car at the 500 block of Northwest Pennsylvania Avenue in Chehalis during the night and stole a pair of sunglasses and an empty purse, according to a report made to Chehalis police on Friday.

• Chehalis police took a report from the 900 block of South Market Boulevard on Friday of a vehicle prowl that had taken place a couple of days earlier to a work van.

TEEN FLEES POLICE

• A 15-year-old boy who ran off from an officer during an “investigative detention” for suspected drug transactions yesterday afternoon in Centralia is going to find the case referred to juvenile prosecutors for a charge of obstruction, according to the Centralia Police Department. The incident took place near the 200 block of West Oakview Avenue around 1:40 p.m., according to police.

DRUGS

• Officers conducting a sweep of Rotary Riverside Park in Centralia around 9 o’clock yesterday morning for unlawful encampments arrested three homeless individuals. Jackie F. Hamilton, 55, and Timothy P. McCann, 45, were booked into the Lewis County Jail for outstanding warrants and possession of methamphetamine,  according to the Centralia Police Department. Mitchell W. Sinclair, 47, was booked for a warrant, according to police. Prosecutors declined to charge McCann with meth possession.

• A 27-year-old Centralia man picked up on an outstanding warrant on Friday night at the 100 block of Southwest Ninth Avenue in Chehalis was subsequently arrested for possession of methamphetamine. Joshua G. Dagris was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• A Centralia woman arrested late last year for coercing a girl into giving her oral sex entered into a plea agreement in which she was convicted of four counts of third-degree rape of a child. Chrystal G. Munoz-Rosales was given a five-year sentence but will spend 12 months in jail and the rest of time in a program that includes sexual deviancy treatment, according to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office. During that time, she’ll be on community custody with the state Department of Corrections, Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said. The deal was made under the so-called Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative, something that can’t be done if the victim and perpetrator are strangers to each other, according to Halstead. “If she fails out at any point, she’ll got to prison for whatever time is left,” Halstead said. A charge of first-degree rape of a child was dropped, relating to an early allegation an incident occurred when the girl was 9 years old. The investigation began when the Centralia Police Department was given information from Child Protective Services regarding a 16-year-old girl last September. The abuse took place in a shared household, according to prosecutors. No assaultive violence was alleged. Munoz-Rosales pleaded guilty several weeks ago in Lewis County Superior Court and was sentenced on Thursday. Sixty months is the top of the standard sentencing range for the offense, involving a child who is 14 years old or 15 years old. Halstead said the victim agreed with the plea deal if Munoz-Rosales was found eligible for the SSOSA, though changed her mind on Thursday and said she’d like the now 38-year-old woman to spend the entire time locked up. Among the list of criteria Munoz-Rosales had to meet was taking a polygraph to prove there were no other victims, Halstead said. Judge James Lawler also ordered Munoz-Rosales to have no contact with any minors other than her own son.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrant, trespassing, possession of liquor by minor, driving with suspended license, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, dispute, shoplifting, vandalism, runaway juvenile, parenting plan disagreement, protection order violation, suspicious circumstances, loud neighbor music, possibly suicidal person, various unfounded reports, intoxicated man with a prosthetic leg on a bicycle suspected of panhandling … and more.