Posts Tagged ‘news reporter’

Centralia rape case ends with plea deal

Wednesday, March 21st, 2018
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Jeremy L. Francis, seated, faces a judge in Lewis County Superior Court

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  A 35-year-old Centralia man arrested in November for rape after an encounter that began as consensual but turned violent was sentenced today to 14 months in prison.

Jeremy L. Francis went before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court where his attorney and a deputy prosecutor made the agreed recommendation to the judge. Judge Andrew Toynbee went along with their advice.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said the plea deal was made with the approval of the victim. She just wanted to make sure he would have to register as a sex offender, he said.

Francis pleaded guilty last month to third-degree rape. He had been originally charged with second-degree rape.

He was arrested on Nov. 11 after the mother of a 23-year-old woman called 911 to report to Centralia police her daughter had been raped.

Francis was represented by defense attorney Shane O’Rourke. After his release, he will be on community custody for three years.
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For background, read “Centralia man charged with rape, held on $100,000 bail” from Tuesday November 14, 2017, here

Centralia man rolls out of moving vehicle to escape driver

Wednesday, March 21st, 2018

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 44-year-old man wearing body armor was arrested yesterday in Randle after allegedly telling his passenger he was going to run his vehicle into a tree and kill them both.

The 50-year-old victim told deputies that when the car slowed along the 9800 block of U.S. Highway 12, he rolled out, ran for help and called 911.

Deputies called about 1:10 p.m. located the suspect vehicle on the 200 block of Silverbrook Road, but the driver ran off into the trees, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

A Taser was deployed but was ineffective because of the body armor, however, a deputy and a trooper took the suspect to the ground and into custody, Chief Deputy Bruce Kimsey said.

John Desmarais, 44, from Goldendale, allegedly tried to stash a small vial of a white powdery substance while enroute to Morton General Hospital, Kimsey said. The substance field-tested positive for amphetamines, Kimsey said.

Kimsey said it’s unclear how the two knew each other, but at one point authorities were told they may have been headed to the Cispus area to camp.

The threat occurred somewhere along U.S. Highway 12 when Desmarais allegedly made statements to his passenger that he was angry about his ex-girlfriend and other things going on his life, that he was going to cut off his hands and crash the vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.

The victim is a 50-year-old Centralia man.

Desmarais was booked into the Lewis County Jail for unlawful imprisonment and a violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

He had outstanding warrants from the Yakima area for attempt to elude and from Klickitat for malicious mischief, according to Kimsey.

Centralia gas station targeted with credit card skimmers

Wednesday, March 21st, 2018

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Centralia police are investigating after credit card skimmers were discovered on two pumps at a local gas station yesterday.

The case is being investigated as possible fraud and theft, but it is unknown if there are victims at this time, according to Officer Angie Humphrey.

Police were called to the Chevron at the 1200 block of Mellen Street just before 12:15 p.m. yesterday when the devices were found by a state inspector.

Humphrey said at this point, they have no idea how long the skimmers were in place. They were on outside pumps, she said.

Police collected the two devices and are contacting a specialized team with the Washington State Crime Laboratory to examine them. She said she doesn’t yet know if credit card information would have been collected remotely or if whoever installed them would have had to physically retrieve the skimmers to get customers’ data.

Humphrey recommends the public to be vigilant with their accounts.

Anyone who detects a false charge should contact their credit card company immediately and also report it to police, she said. Humphrey also advises people to check their credit reports on a routine basis.

The gas station owner is putting extra security measures in place, she said.

The inspector with the weights and measures unit who found the items told Humphrey he has found a couple of other skimmers in Lewis County in the recent past.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, March 20th, 2018
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•••

BURGLARY RANDLE

• A deputy was called to the 800 block of Peters Road in Randle about 11 a.m. yesterday following the discovery someone had forced open a shop door at the Cowlitz Falls Campground, gone inside and left with numerous tools. It happened sometime since 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Among the items stolen were a Makita drill bit set, two Makita socket sets, a Skil sander and a saw attachment, according to the sheriff’s office.

AUTO THEFT

• Centralia police were called about 1:20 a.m. today regarding a vehicle stolen from the parking lot area of the Centralia Outlets at the 100 block of West High Street sometime after 4 p.m. yesterday. The vehicle was recovered about a block away with no signs of forced entry and returned to the owner, according to the Centralia Police Department.

GUNS STOLEN VADER

• A Vader woman reported about 2:40 p.m. yesterday that someone stole two firearms and as many as a dozen boxes of 12-gauge shotgun shells from her home sometime since Oct. 17. A deputy responding to the 300 block of Annonen Road learned one of the missing guns was a 38 special revolver and the other a silver pistol with a seven-round magazine, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is about $800, according to the sheriff’s office.

CAR PROWL

• Chehalis police were called about 4:20 p.m. yesterday to the 1500 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue where a woman said she had left her purse and her dogs inside her vehicle and when she returned, the purse was missing.

DRUGS

• A 39-year-old Centralia resident was arrested for possession of a controlled substance when a suspect Oxycontin pill was located on his person during a search incident to arrest for a warrant about 8:30 p.m. yesterday and South Gold and Chestnut streets in Centralia. Clim G. Grant was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

•  A 15-year-old boy was arrested for possession of methamphetamine after he was contacted by the police about 11:10 a.m. yesterday about an outstanding warrant at the 800 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, resisting arrest, trespassing, probation violation, driving with suspended license, fourth-degree domestic  assault, operating motor vehicle without required ignition interlock device; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, hit and run, disorderly person, vehicle collision, protection order violation, suspicious circumstances … and more among 148 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, March 19th, 2018
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•••

Updated

BURGLARY CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called about 6:45 p.m. yesterday by an individual who reported their garage had been broken into and some items were stolen at the 1100 block of West Main Street. The case is under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VEHICLE THEFT

• Centralia police were called about 3:20 p.m. yesterday regarding a white 2003 Ford F350 stolen from the 1500 block of Lum Road. It was later recovered in Thurston County, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A deputy looking for a stolen 1998 Ford Ranger missing from the 700 block of West Plum Street in Centralia came across the vehicle about 3:45 .m. yesterday on the 2500 block of Salzer Valley Road and contacted the 25-year-old Centralia man behind the wheel who was driving with a suspended license, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Benjamin Stenberg, the son of the vehicle’s owner, was arrested for taking a motor vehicle without permission and then was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office.

FAKE NAME

• A deputy responded to the Lewis County Jail this morning to investigate after finger print information was returned and showed a 23-year-old Chehalis man had allegedly provided a fictitious name from Minnesota when booked earlier this month by a trooper for driving with a suspended license. Michael L. Johnson was arrested and re-booked for identity theft and forgery, based on his signature on booking paperwork, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

DRUGS

• A 44-year-old Chehalis woman arrested at the 700 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia about 8 a.m. on Saturday for an outstanding warrant was allegedly found to be in possession of heroin. Genaveve R. Webb was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A 24-year-old Mossyrock resident was arrested for possession of methamphetamine following contact with a deputy on Friday night at the 2000 block of state Route 505 in Toledo. The deputy was responding to a report of a black pickup truck possibly driving where it should not in the cemetery, stopped the suspect truck and discovered Luke R. Mosteller was driving with a suspended license, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A search incident to his arrest turned up the suspected drugs, according to the sheriff’s office. He was was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

UNRULY STUDENTS

• Centralia police called to the 800 block of Eshom Road about 1:25 p.m. on Friday arrested a 14-year-old boy and two 15-year-old boys for disrupting a school, school activities or meetings. They were booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VANDALISM

• A 53-year-old Rochester man was arrested after Chehalis police were called to the park and ride lot on the 800 block of West Main Street about 11:20 a.m. on Saturday on a report someone broke windows on a Chevrolet Blazer. Donald R. Fletcher was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree malicious mischief, according to the Chehalis Police Department, but prosecutors today declined to file the felony charge pending further investigation.

ASSAULT

• Officers responded to the 100 block of Westlake Avenue in Morton following an approximately 1:10 p.m. call on Friday for a third-degree assault. A juvenile suspect was located later on Knittles Way and booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center, according to the Morton Police Department.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• A 66-year-old man in a wheelchair who was struck by a vehicle in a parking lot at the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue about 10 a.m. on Saturday was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital to be examined, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

POSSIBLE CHILD LURING ATTEMPT

• Morton police reported today they responded on March 9 about 3:25 p.m. after a girl told her mother a male tried to lure her into his vehicle for a ride home with an orange cat at Third and Adams avenues. The suspect vehicle was described as a 2015 charcoal Honda Accord with black metallic rims, according to the Morton Police Department. Officers checked the area but were unable to located anyone of the description, according to police. The information was passed on to the other local police agencies.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, obstructing, harassment, resisting arrest, malicious mischief, reckless endangerment, driving with suspended license, driving under the influence, fourth-degree assault, protection order violation, minor in possession and/or consumption of alcohol; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, trespassing, hit and run, disorderly person, vehicle collision, misdemeanor theft, suspicious circumstances … and more among 418 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 72-hour period ending about 7 a.m.

Chehalis man may have died of “natural” causes

Saturday, March 17th, 2018

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Coroner’s Office says the man who was found dead laying on the ground next to a dumpster in Centralia is 49-year-old Michael S. Christin of Chehalis.

The preliminary autopsy results indicate his death was from natural causes – from the natural disease process – but a final determination has not been made, according to Coroner Warren McLeod.

Police were alerted to the discovery of Christin’s body next the Good Health Nutrition Center building on Harrison Avenue by a passerby about 7 o’clock on Thursday morning, according to police.

Centralia resident Chandra Shilley who conducts outreach to the less fortunate through the group Open Arms said Christin was living out of his truck, although she also knew him from several years ago through his job.

“He had a wife, a family, a home,” Shilley said of earlier times. “Like all of us, he was one paycheck away (from homelessness.)”

He was found about 25 feet from the sidewalk that runs alongside the strip mall parking lot that includes Centralia Goodwill, near the Skookumchuk Bridge.

McLeod indicated today the official cause and manner of death won’t be known until after getting back the results of toxicology tests. That can take up to 90 days.

Centralia police have said the death didn’t appear suspicious.
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For background, read “Centralia: Dead man’s identity, cause of death still not released” from Friday March 16, 2018, here

Centralia: Dead man’s identity, cause of death still not released

Friday, March 16th, 2018

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Police say the man found laying dead next to a dumpster outside a Centralia business yesterday morning was still warm to the touch.

The 49-year-old’s body was discovered by a passerby, about 25 feet from the sidewalk along the 500 block of Harrison Avenue, a main arterial in town. Centralia police were alerted at 7:08 a.m., police Sgt. Tracy Murphy said.

Murphy said there were no obvious signs of foul play or trauma, but the cause of death is unknown.

“We just have to wait for the autopsy results to come back,” he said today.

His identity has not yet been released.

Police said yesterday the man has a Chehalis address. He has a couple of different addresses, one on his license and one from the law enforcement database, Murphy said.

He had a backpack on, but did not have a bedroll with him or any other bags of belongings that might suggest he was living on the streets, Murphy said.

Temperatures dropped to 30 degrees during the night previous.

Centralia resident Chandra Shilley, who with her husband Chris Shilley distributes meals every Wednesday afternoon at the Amtrak station, said she knows the man who died. He was living out of his vehicle, she said.

“It’s sad, it’s incredibly sad,” she said.

Shilley estimates there are easily 150 people locally living on the streets.

The body was released to the Lewis County Coroner’s Office for autopsy and formal identification.

Last winter, in mid-December, a homeless man was found dead of hypothermia after a night of freezing temperatures, with his backpack and all of his belongings at Rotary Riverside Park off Harrison Avenue. Jerry Allen Grimm was 57 years old.