Posts Tagged ‘By Sharyn L. Decker’

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Saturday, June 6th, 2015
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RV VANISHES

• Centralia police were called to the 1900 block of Trillium Lane yesterday afternoon where a 36-foot travel trailer had been stolen.

HANDBAG MISSING

• Police were called about 8 p.m. yesterday about a purse stolen from a home on the 500 block of Woodland Avenue in Centralia.

MOWER MISSING

• Chehalis police were called to a hardware store on Thursday afternoon where someone had forced their way into a chain link-fenced area and taken a silver push mower. The loss from the 700 block of South Market Boulevard is listed at $350, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

FLOWERS TAKEN

• Someone stole baskets of hanging flowers at the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue, according to a report made to police about 9 p.m. on Thursday.

FRAUD

Centralia police took a report yesterday morning of suspected credit card fraud at a store on the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia.

WANTED MAN PICKED UP AT PARK

• Several officers from the state patrol, the sheriff’s office and Centralia surrounded an area at Rotary Riverside Park off Harrison Avenue in Centralia on Thursday night after a wanted person ran into the woods after being spotted by police. Just as a K-9 team was being deployed, the individual gave himself up, according to the Centralia Police Department. Marcus E. Prince, 42 of Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for outstanding warrants, according to police.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took a report around 3 o’clock yesterday morning that an unknown person broke a window at a business on the 600 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia.

ATV RIDER BUSTED

• Centralia police issued a citation to Ryan L. Patterson, 34, from Ethel, on Thursday afternoon because he didn’t pull over right away when a police car signaled the driver of the ATV to stop. It was just after 1 p.m. at Ham Hill Road and Gold Street when the officer finally contacted Patterson, according to the Centralia Police Department. While its unlawful to ride a quad on city streets, the ticket given was for failing to stop and give information, according to police.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, disorderly conduct, misdemeanor assault, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, misdemeanor theft, no-contact order violation, collision on city street … and more.

News brief: Inmate’s angry note to girlfriend alarms jail staff

Friday, June 5th, 2015
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Joseph L. Nickols, in red and white striped jail garb, sits at the defense table when he was charged with harassment on Monday in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Lewis County Jail inmate remains held on $500,000 bail for allegedly threatening to kill jail staff and their families in a letter he wrote to his girlfriend which was intercepted at the Chehalis facility.

An attorney for Joseph L. Nickols, 33, of Chehalis, yesterday requested a reduction in the bail amount, but was denied.

Nickols pleaded not guilty yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court to two counts of felony harassment.

According to charging documents, Nickols was on a “watch list” for his mail, and Corrections Officer Jack Haskins was alarmed when he read the letter.

It appeared Nickols was upset because jailers were reading his mail.

Haskins told a detective he’d been threatened by the inmate in the past and based on his criminal history, felt he would carry out the threats, according to the charging documents.

The second alleged victim is a jail employee who didn’t read the letter, but read Haskins’ report about it, according to documents.

In the letter, Nickols suggested he would shoot with their own gun all who messed with his mail, according to the documents.

His past convictions include drugs, theft, burglary, witness tampering and protection order violations.

According to the jail’s roster, he was in custody since the beginning of April in connection with failing to appear in court for a suspended license case as well as violating a no contact order.

Harassment is a class C felony, with a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

News brief: Rochester resident reports exchange of gunfire on the road

Friday, June 5th, 2015

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Thurston detectives are looking for a yellow mid to late 1970s pickup with primer on its hood after a Rochester man reported a road rage incident with gunfire exchanged yesterday.

The 32-year-old Rochester resident called 911 from home just before 2 p.m. to report what occurred, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

The victim, whose name was not released, said he was traveling on McCorkle Road Southeast when the pickup came up behind him and he heard what sounded like two gunshots, according to the sheriff’s office. The pickup then rear-ended his car, and his car’s back window shattered, Lt. Cliff Ziesemer said.

Ziesemer said the victim sped up to get away but the truck got up beside him and tried to run him off the road. The victim said he saw the passenger in the truck holding what looked like a pistol out the window.

As they approached Tilley Road Southeast on 113th Avenue, near Millersylvania State Park, the victim slowed, pointed his pistol out his window and fired several rounds, the leitenent said.

The bullets may have struck the grill of the yellow pickup, according to Ziesemer.

The victim sped away and drove home to Rochester to call 911, he said.

A flagger in the area said she didn’t hear any gunfire, but had to pull over twice when she saw the small red car and then the yellow truck coming at her. She said she observed a male about 30 years old in the truck, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies found five casings in the area where the victim said he fired his weapon.

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating the 1970’s Ford pickup and its occupants.

The truck sat high and may have had a hitch on the front bumper.

If anyone has information, they are asked to please call detective Mitch King at 360-786-5517 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222- TIPS.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, June 4th, 2015
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•••

THREATS

• Centralia police were called to the 500 block of South Oak Street about 11:10 p.m. yesterday where they learned from a 72-year-old resident that his former tenant-roommate had threatened to beat him up and break all the windows out of his house. Police said Randy J. Toups, 52, was upset because his belongings had been thrown out. Toups was arrested for misdemeanor harassment and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

BREAK-INS

• Police responded to an alarm at 5:45 a.m. today at a business on Southwest 13th Street in Chehalis where they found a door and a window open. Some dental floss was knocked over, but it wasn’t yet clear what, if anything, might be missing, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• An officer was called to Southwest Interstate Avenue in Chehalis about 6:40 a.m. today regarding items taken from a vehicle during the night.

DRUGS

• Chehalis police were called yesterday by a woman who said someone else picked up her prescription pain medication at a pharmacy on the 1200 block of Louisiana Avenue. The case is under investigation, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• Chehalis police responded yesterday evening to a report of a person trespassing in a vacant building at Duffy Street and Oregon Way and ended up arresting a 25-year-old Chehalis resident for possession of methamphetamine. An officer found small bag of white crystal, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Drake A. Lorber was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took a report overnight of someone spray painting orange lettering onto a house on the 400 block of South Street. it appears to be gang-style graffiti, according to the Centralia Police Department.

KITCHEN FIRE

• Firefighters were called at 9 p.m. yesterday to the 1100 block of West Main Street in Centralia where a pan of cooking oil left on the stove unattended caught fire. The occupant was able to put it out before the fire department arrived, according to Riverside Fire Authority. A crew used fans to remove the smoke from the residence. The minor damage was confined to the stove and the pan, according to the fire department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, possession of liquor by a minor, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, misdemeanor theft, telephone harassment, protection order violation, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street; complaints of intoxicated male scaring customer, of someone messing with someone else’s car … and more.

Chehalis ATM shakedown case ends with prison for one, jail for other

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The 18-year-old Chehalis man who admitted he was driving the getaway car when an acquaintance robbed a woman at the TwinStar Credit Union’s ATM machine in March was sentenced today to nine months in jail.

James M. Rocha offered an apology in court, on behalf of his family and the victim.

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James M. Rocha

“I am guilty of driving the vehicle,” Rocha said. “And I am guilty of having the suspicion something was going on.”

Rocha pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery, as an accomplice.

Prosecutors lowered the charge from first-degree robbery and agreed to recommend nine months in jail in exchange for his plea.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt went along with it this afternoon.

The victim had gone to the 1500 block of South Market Boulevard in Chehalis to deposit a check in the ATM at about 9:15 p.m. on March 26. A male wearing a black bandana over his face approached her and told her to “empty all your cash,” but when she said she had none, he demanded her cell phone, which she turned over, according to police and court documents. The 42-year-old woman was unhurt.

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Andre F. Santiago

Witnesses in the area recognized the small reddish car and one of them took down its license plate as it sped away. Police first contacted Rocha at his home in the same end of town. Police were also able to “ping” the stolen cell phone.

The 20-year-old friend, Andres F. Santiago, turned himself in about two weeks after the incident and told police he’d forced Rocha and their 15-year-old companion to drive him around that night, and they hadn’t done anything wrong.

Santiago, also from Chehalis, had gotten himself into inpatient treatment to get help with drug addiction, and was working with Cascade Mental Health when he contacted police to confess.

He pleaded guilty as charged – to first-degree robbery – a week and a half ago, and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Santiago had no criminal history. Rocha had a juvenile felony from four years prior.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said the 15-year-old boy who was with them that night was not charged with a crime, as he was asleep in the back seat of the car.
•••

For background, read “Three arrested in connection with Chehalis ATM shakedown” from Friday April 10, 2015, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015
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•••

Updated

DRIVER RESCUED FROM UNDER TRUCK

• A motorist ejected from his vehicle when it rolled off the road overnight found himself trapped beneath the engine compartment, according to Lewis County FIre District 3. “It was a difficult extrication,” Fire Chief Doug Fosburg said. The pickup landed maybe eight feet off the road onto a rock on an embankment, and on its top, Fosburg said. The vehicle was teetering somewhat, but its full weight was kept off the victim by surrounding trees, he said. Firefighters called about 1:40 a.m. to the 200 block of Isbell Road in Mossyrock had to get a tow truck to lift the truck up, according to the chief. The man, 31 years old from Mossyrock, was taken to Morton General Hospital. The 2006 Ford F350 was totaled. A deputy referred the case for a charge of first-degree negligent driving, and infractions of driving too fast for conditions and no seat belt, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

DRUGS

• A 51-year-old woman was arrested for possession of a controlled substance when a police officer was called to the office of the state Department of Corrections yesterday morning at the Lewis County Mall. A white crystal substance had been located and Rita F. Masters, from Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took a report last night of graffiti on a building on the 200 block of North Washington Avenue.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, misdemeanor assault, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, found dog, runaway teen, misdemeanor theft, suspicious circumstances, collision on city street … and more.

Sledge hammer to face incident draws serious charges

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2015

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The 59-year-old Centralia man arrested after reportedly shattering his neighbor’s nose with a small sledge hammer told police the neighbor swung the hammer at him first, according to court documents.

The dispute at the 1300 block of Central Boulevard on Sunday night arose out of the victim playing his music too loud, according to authorities.

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Morris R. Keith Jr. is seated for his bail hearing.

Morris R. Keith Jr. was arrested and then charged yesterday with second-degree assault, first-degree burglary – because police say the assault took place in the victim’s garage – and also felony harassment based on a witness reporting Keith said during the argument he was going to kill them.

According to charging documents, when police responded to the north Centralia neighborhood they found Justin Moon screaming someone had broken his nose.

A witness, Kimberly Brooks, told Officer Angie Humphrey that Keith arrived carrying the hammer, that he thought Moon’s music was too loud and said he didn’t like Moon’s “Ni**er* rapping music.”

Brooks told the officer Keith hit Moon in the crotch with it and the argument continued, according to the documents. She said Keith was screaming and hit Moon in the face with it.

Keith had dropped the sledge hammer and left, according to Brooks, but his wife came over and took it away.

When Officer Humphrey spoke to Keith, he said the hammer was Moon’s, and that Moon swung it at him first.

Charging documents don’t recount any of what Moon may have said to his neighbor. Humphrey noted he smelled of intoxicants.

Moon was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with what was described as a “flattened” nose. The doctor at the emergency room said it was the worst broken nose he’d ever seen.

Felony harassment has a maximum penalty of five years in prison, second-degree assault can bring 10 years and first-degree burglary carries a top sentence of life.

A judge yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court set Keith’s bail at $25,000. His arraignment is set for Thursday.
•••

For background, read “News brief: Loud neighbor music leads to sledge hammer attack” from Monday June 1, 2015, here