Lewis County Sirens.com

CHILD ASSAULTED

• Police were called about 4:30 p.m. yesterday to the 200 block of West Main Street in Centralia after an 11-year-old boy was assaulted by a male who punched him in the ribs. The suspect is described as having stars shaved into the back of his head and police are still attempting to find out who he is, according to the Centralia Police Department. Officers have no motive, according to police.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police took a report yesterday regarding a vehicle prowl at the 2000 block of Ahlers Avenue. Taken sometime between 6 p.m. on Friday and 7 a.m. on Monday was a tool bag and a racquetball bag with their contents, according to Officer Patty Finch.

• Chehalis police were called about 5:30 p.m. yesterday regarding a vehicle prowl on the 200 block of Southwest Second Street where two chainsaws were taken from the bed of a pickup truck.

ILLEGAL KNIFE

• A 29-year-old Centralia man found himself in further trouble when he was arrested for a warrant yesterday and he was discovered to have a butterfly knife concealed, according to police. Jeff D. Prindle, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for his warrant and for possession of a dangerous weapon after contact with an officer about 5 p.m. at the 600 block of Centralia College Boulevard in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CHAT INVESTIGATION

• Centralia police took a report yesterday about a man attempting to befriend young boys online, in connection with the 300 block of West Summa Street. The case remains under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

WRECK

• Police and aid called about 7:40 p.m. yesterday to a wreck at North Gold Street near Ham Hill Road in Centralia found the vehicle on its side in the water of a creek there. The driver declined aid but was cited for negligent driving, according to authorities. The incident was caused by driving too fast, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, disputes, suspicious circumstances, misdemeanor theft, collision on city street, request for assistance from inside a gas station store after picking up a hitchhiker in Onalaska who was “freaking out” in the caller’s car outside … and more.

SAFETY MESSAGE OF THE DAY

• The end of daylight saving time on Sunday prompts a reminder about the dangers on the roadways. Nearly half the state’s pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities last year happened between October and January, according to the state Department of Transportation. With increased foggy and rainy weather, and darkness coming earlier, visibility is a challenge, but there are ways to reduce the risk of collisions, DOT says.

Here are their suggestions:

Pedestrians and Bicyclists:

• Be seen – Wear bright or reflective outerwear, carry a flashlight, add lights to your bike or helmet and cross at lighted intersections when possible.

• Make eye contact – Know that the driver is aware of your presence so keep hats, hoods and umbrellas clear of your vision.

• Walk and bike where it’s safest – Use sidewalks and bike lanes when they are available, and if not, walk at the edge of the road facing traffic, and ride with the flow of traffic.

• Cross the roadway at intersections – Crossing in mid-block, or jaywalking, is a contributing circumstance in pedestrian collisions. This applies in parking lots and garages.

Drivers:

• Stop for pedestrians – It’s the law. Drivers must stop for pedestrians at intersections, whether it’s an unmarked or marked crosswalk. It’s also illegal to pass another vehicle stopped for a pedestrian at a crosswalk. Failure to yield to pedestrians is the leading motorist-contributing circumstance in pedestrian collisions.

• Put the phone down – Hand-held cell phone use and texting is prohibited for all Washington drivers and may result in a $124 fine for first offense.

• Watch for pedestrians near schools, community centers and recreation areas – Children aged 1 through 19 are most at risk to be involved in a pedestrian fatality. Senior adults (age 71 or more) make up the other high at-risk age group.

• Drive the posted speed limit – If a driver hits a cyclist or pedestrian at 20 mph or less, there is an estimated 95 percent survival rate compared with much lower rates if the cyclist or pedestrian is struck by vehicles traveling at higher speeds. The extra minutes saved by speeding could cost a life.

Updated at 2:26 p.m.

GUN IN FACE

• Centralia police were called about 10:30 a.m. yesterday to a residence on the 500 block of North Ash Street where a 43-year-old woman allegedly pointed a pistol at her boyfriend’s head during an argument. Jesse M. Lestat was subsequently arrested for first-degree assault, according to the Centralia Police Department. Responding officers were told the 43-year-old man had left the room and gone into another room at their home when Lestat came in with a gun and pointed it at his face. “He was able to take the weapon from her,” Officer Patty Finch said. Lestat was described by officers as possibly under the influence of drugs and extremely hostile, Finch said. She was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

THEFT

• Centralia police took a report yesterday afternoon regarding a burglary at the 2300 block of Eureka Avenue that occurred in the previous “couple of days”, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called about 11:30 a.m. yesterday about food stolen from a utility room on Southwest 19th Street.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday someone smashed a game cam in a tree and tried to open two roof vents on a travel trailer at the 100 block of Sherwood Lane in Packwood. A deputy who took at the report on Saturday noted the damage was about $400, according to the sheriff’s office.

SUSPECTED FRAUD

• Centralia police were called yesterday afternoon to the 900 block of South Schueber Road to take a report of a forgery to obtain medications.

MAN VERSUS TRAIN

• An intoxicated homeless man was arrested last night after he reportedly stood in front of a moving freight train and then jumped onto its catwalk and headed toward the engine’s cabin. It happened about 10:45 p.m. near the 200 block of Railroad Avenue in Centralia, as the train departed the rail yard, according to the Centralia Police Department. The BNSF freight train employed an emergency stop, according to police. Anthony D. Webb, 49, from Longview, was contacted and denied getting on the train, but was identified by the crew, police report. A department spokesperson said it wasn’t clear what his motivation might have been. Webb was booked into the Lewis County Jail for trespassing and obstructing a train, according to police.

NIGHT TIME DISTURBANCE

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday a 40-year-old Centralia man was arrested after a middle-of-the-night incident at the 2900 block of Yahtahay Lane with an individual walking around a home’s front and rear porch yelling obscenities. Deputies responding to the 3:40 a.m. Sunday call located Zachary K. Greene in the backyard of a vacant neighboring house, according to the sheriff’s office. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree trespass, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

TREE CATCHES FIRE NEAR SKATE PARK

• Firefighters called to Rotary Riverside Park in Centralia about 10:30 p.m. yesterday found a tall hollow tree on fire, burning from the inside out. It appeared to have a cavity large enough for someone to hide out in if they wanted to, but firefighters pulled it apart and put about 500 gallons of water on it, according to Riverside Fire Authority. Police think it was set on fire and are investigating.

LOG TRUCK WRECKS NEAR PE ELL

• The Washington State Patrol says a 1998 Kenworth log truck was totaled when it ran into a ditch along state Route 6 this morning and struck a culvert. Troopers called about 8:35 a.m. to the scene roughly nine miles east of Pe Ell report the driver was injured but not transported to the hospital. The load of logs spilled onto the eastbound lane, according to the state patrol. Vic A. Johnson, 59, from Hoquaim, was headed eastbound when his rig left the roadway, according to the investigating trooper. He was to be cited for “improper lane travel.”

TREE IN ROAD CAUSES WRECK

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday a 34-year-old Onalaska man was uninjured when he was driving in the dark along the 100 block of Shanklin Road near Salkum and hit a downed tree. It happened about 5:30 a.m. last Thursday, and the 2008 Ford F350 traveled down a large embankment and rolled onto its side, according to the sheriff’s office. The driver was able to get  himself out and was unhurt, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

VAN VERSUS POLE

• A 38-year-old Winlock man said he didn’t know what happened when he ended up wrecking into a utility pole and totaling his Chevrolet van on the 100 block of Knowles Road near Winlock on Saturday, according to the  Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy responding about 2:45 p.m. cited the driver for wheels off the roadway and driving with a suspended license, the sheriff’s office reported.

STEERING BREAKS

• A 38-year-old Onalaska man was reportedly uninjured when he totaled his work truck last night southeast of Chehalis. Deputies called about 7:10 p.m. to the 300 block of Middle Fork Road found the 2007 Dodge Ram had overturned. The driver said he was traveling along when it felt like something broke in his steering and he lost control of the pickup, which went into the ditch and then struck the bank, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor theft; responses for disputes, hit and run, no contact order violation,  suspicious circumstances, collisions on city streets, report of a person “snooping” through a cemetery … and more.

Remains of log truck on state Route 6. / Courtesy photo by Washington State Patrol

Updated at 3:33 p.m.

CHEHALIS POLICE RESPOND TO FALSE REPORT OF HOSTAGE SITUATION

• Chehalis police responded to an approximately 7 a.m. 911 call today to a residence in which they were told by a male his father flipped out, was threatening to shoot everyone and had taken his mother and visitors into a back room. When officers arrived to the home on the 600 block of Northwest Prindle Street, however, a dad and his two children were the only ones present and were just waking up, according to police. None of it happened, detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said. It appeared, for whatever reason, the call was a fake, which would be a crime, Wilson said.

BREAK-IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called yesterday to the 500 block of West Pear Street regarding a burglary that occurred sometime during the previous week.

• A passport was stolen from a residence on the 200 block of North Buckner Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police at about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

• Centralia police took a report on Friday afternoon of tools stolen from a business on the 600 block of Harrison Avenue.

• Computer cables were reported missing from the 900 block of South Schueber Road in Centralia at about 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, according to police.

BREAK-IN CHEHALIS

• Someone got into a shed on the 100 block of Northwest Airport Road in Chehalis and stole property including children’s’ clothes, chairs and possibly a drum, according to a report made to police about 5:40 a.m. today.

BREAK-IN PACKWOOD

• A deputy took a report yesterday from the 100 block of Holiday Lane in Packwood regarding a theft in which two chainsaws and an Amico 3500 watt generator were taken. It happened sometime between 4 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. yesterday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

AUTO THEFT

• Centralia police took a report about noon on Saturday regarding the theft of a maroon 1991 Toyota pickup truck with a license plate reading B25903V.

• A Chevrolet Blazer was stolen from the 800 block of Marion Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 2:45 a.m. on Saturday.

CAR PROWL

• Someone stole long horns from the hood of a pickup truck on the 900 block of K Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday. Also taken when the vehicle was prowled was a sub-woofer, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A backpack and a pool cue were stolen from a vehicle parked at the 100 block of West High Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police just after 6 p.m. on Saturday.

• Chehalis police were called to the parking lot at Wal-Mart about 6:15 p.m. on Saturday where the victim said someone had stolen a bag of new purchases and must have been smoking when they did it. Ashes were dropped inside the vehicle, and it smelled like cigarette smoke, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Chehalis police were called about 10 a.m. on Saturday to a motel on the 500 block of Southwest Parkland Drive where a bullet hole was discovered in a window.

• Chehalis police took a report on Saturday regarding a truck parked on the 300 block of Southwest Third Street in which someone smashed its windshield.

ASSAULT INVESTIGATION

• Centralia police were called about 7:50 p.m. on Saturday to the 1800 block of Cooks Hill Road about an injury to a child. Detectives are investigating, according to the Centralia Police Department. Further details were not readily available.

DISORDERLINESS

• Officers responded to a business in the 200 block of Westlake Avenue in Morton about 11 p.m. last Wednesday for a report of some disorderly customers. Upon contact, the customers stated that they had misplaced their room key and were trying to get the attention of the manager to get them a new key, according to the Morton Police Department.

• A 43-year-old Centralia man who was reportedly disrupting traffic by being in the middle of the roadway in Centralia at about 9 a.m. on Friday morning was arrested for disorderly conduct. Michael A. Kellogg was booked into the Lewis County Jail after contact with officers regarding Mellen and Yew streets incident, according to the Centralia Police Department.

COLLISION

• A 24-year-old Chehalis resident was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with a broken eye socket and facial cuts following a two-vehicle head-on crash at an intersection northwest of Napavine at about noon on Saturday. The young man was a passenger in a Ford Explorer utility vehicle that was struck by a 1993 Volvo 850 which attempted to cut the intersection corner at Harmon and Carroll roads, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Both vehicles were totaled, according to the sheriff’s office. Also injured were the  21-year-old driver of the Explorer, with laceration to his face, the 51-year-old Chehalis woman who was a passenger in the Volvo who was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. The 66-year-old man from Chehalis driver the Volvo declined aid, Brown said.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, trespassing, shoplifting, burglary, misdemeanor assault, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license, failing to transfer a vehicle title within 45 days; responses for alarms, dispute, public disorderliness, suspicious circumstances, protection order violation, collisions on city streets, someone scratching a parked vehicle, noisy neighbor music … and more.

Intersection at Harmon and Carroll roads outside Napavine on Saturday. / Courtesy photo by Stan Craig

BURGLARY CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police were called yesterday to a burglary at an apartment on the 300 block of Southwest Third Street in which Oxycodone pills and social security cards were taken. There was no sign of force entry, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• A Nintendo and games were reported stolen from a residence on the 500 block of South Market Street in Chehalis, according to a report made to police yesterday.

BURGLARY WINLOCK

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning they are investigating a break-in to a residence on the 100 block of Sergeant Road in Winlock in which coins, a fossil and a checkbook were stolen. The 86-year-old victim said it happened between Oct. 9 and Tuesday, according to the sheriff’s office.

AUTO THEFT

• A deputy was called yesterday to the 100 block of Young Road in Randle where someone had stolen a 1994 Toyota truck out of its driveway overnight, sometime between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. The key had been left in the ignition of the unsecured vehicle, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is $10,000.

• A stolen Honda was located abandoned in an alley in Centralia yesterday. The 10:48 a.m. incident is connected with the 1000 block of Gold Street, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Someone stole two large wrenches and stainless steel vice grips from an unlocked log truck parked at the 800 block of Byham Road in Winlock sometime between Monday and yesterday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

MISSING MAIL

• Centralia police took a report about 4:25 a.m. today from the 300 block of South Buckner Street regarding mail stolen from a mailbox.

DRUGS

• A 15-year-old student at Onalaska High School was sent home on Wednesday when a bag of marijuana was confiscated from him,  according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy spoke to the principal and to the student and the case is being referred to juvenile prosecutors for potential charge, according to the sheriff’s office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, negligent driving, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarm, dispute, public disorderliness, collisions on city streets … and more.