Lewis County Sirens.com

Robert T. Lusk sits in between attorneys Thomas Keehan, on his right, and Erik Kupka, not pictured, in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – His lawyer assured the judge his client has taken full responsibility for his actions, for providing the heroin to 23-year-old Tyson J. Anderson who died of an overdose.

“Mr. Lusk learned something very important,” Defense attorney Erik Kupka said. “He lost a friend; he lost a companion.”

Anderson died April 22, 2013 at a Centralia apartment where he was staying with his girlfriend. She called 911 when she awoke after the two shared drugs, and found him unconscious, according to court papers. Arriving medics could not save him.

Robert T. Lusk, now 37, was arrested and charged last summer with controlled substance homicide. The Chehalis man pleaded guilty two weeks ago.

Even though attorneys on the two sides agreed about how much time he should spend in prison, they went into detail to Judge James Lawler about their recommendation yesterday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.

Kupka told the judge he’d learned some about the heroin drug culture.

“People help each other in this culture, they help each other with their addictions,” he said.

When asked if he’d like to speak on his own behalf, Lusk stood and addressed the judge.

Nobody was supposed to get hurt, he said.

“It’s hard to explain how bad I hate heroin now,” Lusk said. “It’s tragic.”

The offense doesn’t include any elements of maliciousness or intent for a person to die. Only that one delivered the heroin to a person, that the person used the heroin and the person died from the heroin.

While the maximum penalty is 10 years, Lusk faced a standard sentencing range, given his criminal history, of 68 to 100 months of incarceration.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead indicated to the judge the lawyers believed the low end of the range was appropriate, because the same range also applied to individuals with more significant criminal backgrounds.

Lawler, when he prepared to decide the sentence, explained what that meant to persons in the audience. Present were Lusk’s parents, but not Anderson’s parents.

The judge said he knew the attorneys worked to make a deal for both sides.

“I will respect that process and follow the agreed recommendation,” Lawler said.

Lusk was given the five years and eight months, with credit for the more than nine months he has been held in the Lewis County Jail since his arrest.

For the deal, a charge of delivery of heroin related to the same incident was dropped, a charge Halstead said would have been “folded in” anyhow.

He was also given 364 days, with 70 of them suspended, for first-degree driving with a suspended license, to be served concurrently.
•••

For background, read “Heroin overdose for one leads to prison for another” from Thursday March 19, 2015, here

An Amtrak passenger train idles as detectives investigate the the death of a pedestrian a few blocks north of the depot.

Updated at 4:27 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CENTRALIA – A passenger train hit and killed a man walking on the tracks this morning in Centralia.

It happened just before 11:30 a.m. a few blocks north of the Centralia Train Depot.

The southbound Amtrak was heading into the station, and presumably slowing to make its stop, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Firefighters responded but he was declared dead at the scene.

Police Sgt. Kurt Reichert said he understood the man was on foot heading south, with his back to the engine.

“They saw the guy, they were trying to slow, hitting the horn,” Reichert said. “He didn’t get out of the way, for whatever reason.”

Detectives were on the scene, taking measurements and gathering evidence. Both sets of tracks were shut down.

Such investigations usually take two to three hours, Reichert said.

Centralia police cars were gathered just beyond the north end of Railroad Avenue off East Hanson Street, at the edge of the BNSF rail switching yard. The Amtrak was idled there.

It was not a railroad employee, Reichert said.

He described the victim as a middle-aged man, in his 40s or 50s.

“He appears to be someone we know,” he said.

Reichert said the point of impact was in between the Sixth Street viaduct and where the patrol cars were parked.

There are no public crossings of the tracks in that area, Reichert said, although there is a private crossing for BNSF just below the viaduct.

On average, 50 trains pass through the area each day, according to a BNSF spokesperson. Rail traffic was restored about 1 p.m.

This is the seventh death this year in Washington of a trespasser on BNSF rail lines, spokesperson Gus Melonas said.

Updated

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The man arrested for breaking into a real estate business, stealing a computer tower and setting a fire before leaving just got out of jail two months ago.

Darren G. Waggoner, 33, was charged yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court with second-degree arson and second-degree burglary for the Sunday night incident that damaged the interior of the RE/Max office on Johnson Road near Caveness Drive.

Waggoner lives just up the road in the trailer court off Harrison Avenue.

Centralia Police Department detective Sgt. Pat Fitzgerald said they don’t know why the computer component was taken or why the fire was set.

“It was a crime of opportunity, as far as we could tell,” Fitzgerald said.

Firefighters called about 11 p.m. on Sunday to the building extinguished the flames quickly, and concluded the fire was started in some paper in a corner, and spread from there, according to authorities.

An arriving police officer spoke with Waggoner, who was standing across the street watching the fire, charging documents state. Police Sgt. Stacy Denham noted Waggoner smelled of intoxicants.

When detectives subsequently looked over security video, they saw a person wearing clothing similar to what Waggoner had been wearing that night, walk past Les Schwab carrying a computer tower, according to charging documents.

The computer tower – the case that houses the hard drive of a desktop computer – was found in some bushes about halfway between RE/Max and Waggoner’s residence, Fitzgerald said. A cell phone was found near it, but they don’t know yet who that belongs to, he said.

The fire department says damage at the one-story wood framed building is estimated at $10,000.

Waggoner went before a judge yesterday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.  The judge granted prosecutors request he be held on $100,000 bail.

Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher noted Waggoner’s previous criminal convictions; second-degree burglary and trafficking in stolen property in 2001, forgery in 2002, second-degree theft and taking a motor vehicle without permission in 2007, and then felony shoplifting near the end of last year.

Waggoner was sentenced to 90 days in the Lewis County Jail after an incident at nearby Rite Aid in November, where he headed out the back emergency exit with merchandise including two notebook computers, according to authorities.

His arraignment is scheduled for tomorrow. He is represented by Centralia lawyer David Arcuri.
•••

For background, read “News brief: Local resident arrested for RE/Max office arson fire,” from Tuesday March 31, 2015, here

The finalists are: left to right, John Banning, Ken Cardinale, Joseph Clow, Jim McGarva and Brad Paulson.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Once again the city of Chehalis has a group of fire chief candidates to interview and introduce to the public.

This time there are five finalists. Last autumn there were three and – following a nationwide search and extensive interviews – none were hired.

The five men being eyed to lead the Chehalis Fire Department are from as close as Tumwater and as far away as Fairbanks, Alaska. In the brief descriptions of their backgrounds shared in a news release from the city this morning, one of them is not associated with any city.

On Monday, the candidates will undergo a series of interviews with representatives of city management, the fire department, neighboring fire agencies and members of the community.

A reception open to the public is scheduled for that afternoon, where attendees can meet them and hear brief overviews of their backgrounds and experience, according to the news release.

It will be held from 4:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. in the meeting room in the basement of Chehalis City Hall at 350 N. Market Blvd.

City Manager Merlin MacReynold selected the finalists.

At the end of the previous attempt to replace half-time Fire Chief Jim Walkowski, MacReynold said he was disappointed they didn’t find the right person.

Chehalis Police Department Chief Glenn Schaffer has been overseeing the operations of both departments. The Chehalis Fire Department last had a full time chief in April of 2013, when Kelvin Johnson retired.

The finalists are:

• John Banning
• Ken Cardinale
• Joseph Clow
• Jim McGarva
• Brad Paulson