Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office has concluded it could only prove, if it went to trial, that now-23-year-old Kyle Davison negligently caused injury to a 4-month-old baby when it began choking while in his care.

The child, now 17 months old, has shown slight improvement, but has severe brain damage, according to Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead.

“She can’t talk, we don’t think she can see, we’re not sure about her hearing,” Halstead said. “She has a lot of other medical issues she had prior.”

The baby, identified in court documents as A.F.J.L., was airlifted to Marybridge Children’s Hospital and placed on life support after the incident in early October of last year. She’s back home with her mother since August, Halstead said.

Davison was arrested and charged in Lewis County Superior Court at that time, and remains held in the Lewis County Jail.

Doctors disagreed about what caused the injury.

A doctor at the hospital told police that tests indicated inter-cranial hemorrhage, consistent with shaken baby syndrome, according to charging documents.

A second doctor concluded the symptoms were indicative of previous problems, and what happened when the baby started choking, according to Davison’s lawyer, Sam Groberg.

Davison and the baby’s mother, Llacye Faye Link, told police he was watching her when she began choking and stopped breathing and he tried to revive the infant – by patting her back, and then he got scared and shook her – then carried her to a neighboring apartment to get help, according to court documents.

Link and her daughter had been visiting Davison, her former boyfriend, at his home in Mineral, then went to dinner and back to her Morton apartment. Link said she stepped out to buy a bag of pot.

Prosecutors initially charged Davison with first-degree assault of a child, alleging  that Davison intentionally hurt the child, inflicting great bodily harm.

When Davison took the infant next door, it either wasn’t breathing, or wasn’t breathing the way he thought it should be, depending on which of the two lawyers you ask.

A deal made last week resulted in Davison making a so-called Alford plea on Thursday morning to third-degree assault of a child. The two sides stipulated the baby was more seriously injured than what would normally accompany that level of assault.

Halstead said he doesn’t have any proof Davison picked up the baby and shook it violently trying to hurt it. The mom doesn’t want to see anything happen to Davison, he said.

Third-degree assault of a child is related to negligence, Groberg said.

“Here, if you’re trying to help, a reasonable person would have done something different,” Groberg said “But he didn’t do it out of maliciousness.”

While the two sides now agree on what would be the proper charge, they disagree about the penalty.

When he is sentenced, Halstead will be asking for the maximum of five years in prison.

The standard sentencing range for the offense is four to 12 months. Groberg said he will recommend his client be sentenced to time served, about a year.

“He feels horrible,” Groberg said. “He probably will always feel horrible.

“He feels like he didn’t do things right; like maybe if he had learned CPR, things would have turned out differently.”

Groberg said the case offers a lesson, for anyone.

“Don’t shake a baby. At all. Under any circumstances,” he said. “Learn CPR.”

Davison will appear in court again on Wednesday to get a hearing scheduled for sentencing.

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For background, read “Lawyer seeks second opinion on brain trauma in Morton child assault case” from Monday April 14, 2014, here

Updated at 12:56 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A pickup truck pulling a trailer that stalled on the railroad tracks in Napavine last night met up with the lead locomotive of a freight train.

Nobody was hurt, and the husband, wife and their dogs were out the vehicle before the train arrived, according to Napavine Police Chief Chris Salyers.

Responders said the truck was knocked to one side of the tracks and trailer loaded with a small tractor was thrown upside down into  ditch on the other side. It happened on Washington Avenue near the fire station.

Firefighters responded around 5:30 p.m., when they saw what was happening, according to Lewis County Fire District 5.

“We heard the vehicle spinning their wheels, we ran toward that, we could hear the train coming,” fire department spokesperson Lt. Laura Hanson said.

Hanson said there was a handful of people trying to get the rig unstuck, and firefighters got them to move back out of the way. She could already see the headlights of the train coming down the tracks, Hanson said. They asked dispatch to notify personnel on the train to try to stop, she said.

“It all happened rather quickly,” Hanson said.

BNSF spokesperson Gus Melonas indicated there was some damage to the locomotive. Salyers said he is continuing his investigation this morning.

What caused the Napavine area couple to be stopped on the tracks he did not know yet, Salyers said.

The tracks and road were closed for awhile, Salyers said. Firefighters remained on the scene helping clear debris until nearly 10:30 p.m., according to Hanson.

Firefighters were relieved nobody got hurt, Hanson said.

It’s something she hopes doesn’t happen again, but offers this advice for anyone whose vehicle gets stuck on train tracks:

The first call should be to 911, Hanson said.

“The quicker that call goes out, the quicker the railroad is called,” she said. “And they can attempt to get the train stopped.”

David Briscoe, right, and his lawyer David Brown listen to the judge during Briscoe’s sentencing hearing in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The now-former manager at Yard Birds who admitted to police he pocketed thousands of dollars on the job saying he’d gone bankrupt and was behind in his medical bills offered his regret in open court yesterday for stealing.

“I know I made a big mistake, I’d like to apologize to Darris and his family,” David E. Briscoe told the judge. “I know there’s nothing I can do to take it back.”

Darris McDaniel, owner of the expansive Chehalis business on North National Avenue that holds a grocery store, a swap meet area and numerous vendors, wasn’t present. But McDaniel outlined in a letter to the judge the effects the ongoing theft had on employees and himself.

“Mr. McDaniel in his letter talks about the people having to forego the possibility of bonuses,” Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey said. “He had to put money of his own into Yardbirds to keep it going.”

Briscoe was arrested this past spring and charged with first-degree theft. He’s been for the past six months or so saving up money to begin to repay the debt, according to his lawyer. He pleaded guilty as charged in August, in a deal that gave him time to come up with cash.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Mark McClain told the court yesterday the amount stolen is nearly $42,000.

Briscoe’s lawyer David Brown said his client had $10,000 to hand over before his sentence was decided. Brown has indicated Briscoe and his father either sold or were working on selling property.

The Centralia man worked at Yard Birds-Shop ‘n Kart for several years, and was responsible for managing the swap meet area, vendors, storage units and recreational vehicle spaces, according to police.

He admitted to the court previously that he  collected rent payments and kept them, and that it went on for three years.

McClain told the court that a check for $5,000 now and another for $5,000 next week wasn’t all that persuasive.

“My recommendation throughout is Mr. Briscoe should serve a year and a day (in prison),” McClain said.

Defense attorney David Brown told the judge his client still has other property for sale, and has been working in a trailer park in exchange for free rent and a couple hundred dollars each month.

“The people were very good to him, and he betrayed that trust,” Brown said. “He really wants and hopes the court will issue a standard sentence.”

The standard range under the law for Briscoe would be zero to 90 days in jail. The crime, with the major economic offense enhancement, carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Judge Brosey said the crime didn’t call for a sentence within the standard range.

When someone violates a position of trust within a small business, it often results in irreparable harm, the judge said.

“Frankly, this goes on way too much,” Brosey said.

Brosey ordered Briscoe to serve 12 months, in the county jail. He didn’t say explicitly, but alluded to the fact he couldn’t earn as much good time there toward a possible early release as he might in state prison.

Brosey ordered Briscoe to deliver a $5,000 check by noon, and the second $5,000 before he checks into the jail on Tuesday.

He said if he qualified for work release, he could do that. He declined to impose jail costs, saying any money Briscoe has should go to restitution.

The judge also ordered ongoing restitution payments of no less than $100 each month.
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For background, read “Former Yard Bird manager pleads guilty as charged in theft from business” from Wednesday Aug. 27, 2014, here