News brief: Mossyrock firefighters save downtown building when fire breaks out

October 7th, 2014

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A fire at a downtown Mossyrock business last night did several thousand dollars worth of damage but it seems as though the building can be saved, according to Lewis County Fire District 3.

Firefighters were called just after 9 p.m. to the truck repair business on the 300 block of East State Street.

“It was all locked up, we had to force our way in,” Chief Doug Fosburg said. “We got it knocked down fairly quickly, within 45 minutes to an hour; I finally left at about 1:50 a.m.”

The building is large, probably 80 feet by 50 feet, he said, and the fire was contained to an enclosed office area inside and storage loft above it.

None of their equipment or several vehicles parked inside the building were damaged, he said.

Mossyrock firefighters were joined by members of Lewis County Fire District 8, according to Fosburg. Nobody was hurt.

He estimated $80,000 to $90,000 worth of damage and the need for the roof to be replaced.

The cause is under investigation.

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Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

October 6th, 2014

Updated at 6:47 p.m.

CHEHALIS MAN SERIOUSLY INJURED IN MOSSYROCK CRASH

• An unbelted Chehalis resident who was launched from the back seat of a car into its windshield when it skidded into a tree over the weekend in Mossyrock was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for possible reconstructive surgery on his face, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It was about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday when a deputy found the car parked in the middle of the road at Mossyrock Road West and Birley Road with some individuals inside and two males standing outside, one with a bloody face, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy at first was told it happened at a fight at a party, but subsequently discovered the Volkswagen Golf had wrecked nearby at the end of the county road, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Brown indicated the driver was suspected of being intoxicated and was arrested for vehicular assault. Cody A.M. Trepanier, 22, Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Brown. She said his injuries were minor and didn’t know the extent of the injuries to the other two occupants. Everyone but the 26-year-old Chehalis man had been wearing seat belts, she said. The car was described as totaled.

GLASS DOOR SMASHED, SPIRITS STOLEN

• Two people were arrested yesterday after a night time burglary at a distillery on the 700 block of North Tower Avenue, one of them discovered hours later passed out with empty bottles nearby, a couple of blocks from the business, according to the Centralia Police Department. An officer called about 6:50 a.m. to Blind Pig Spirits recognized Gordon C. Powell Jr.’s image on surveillance video, according to Officer Patty Finch. The 44-year-old allegedly threw a large chunk of concrete through the glass front door, went inside and left with about $90 worth of liquor, according to police. Police say Powell told a friend about it and the friend went to Blind Pig and helped himself to about $180 worth of alcohol and flasks. Tyson D. Ball, 24, was discovered around noon sleeping near the railroad station, Finch said. Powell, from Chehalis, and Ball, from Centralia, were both booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree burglary, according to the Centralia Police Department.

TEEN FLEES STORE WITH HARD LIQUOR

• A 16-year-old boy was arrested after he allegedly stole a bottle of vodka and a bottle of whiskey from a drug store in Chehalis on Saturday, and fled into a nearby backyard where the resident detained him. An officer called just before 1 p.m. to the 500 block of South Market Street learned the teen was missing out of Spokane with a juvenile probation warrant, and he was intoxicated, according to the Chehalis Police Department. His companion was not arrested, according to police.

POLICE: MOSSY BURGLARY ARREST

• Morton police said they arrested a 34-year-old Joe P. Padrick of Mossyrock yesterday afternoon for second-degree burglary after he allegedly admitted breaking into a home on  Mossyrock Road West and stealing money and a credit card.

AUTO THEFT

• A Wal-Mart employee finishing his shift this morning discovered the car he’d parked in the lot last night was gone. Chehalis police called about 7:15 a.m. to the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue found security footage that showed the 1990 Acura Integra leaving the premises about 12:30 a.m., according to the Chehalis Police Department. The stolen car was subsequently found, minus all four tires and wheels, on the 100 block of Boistfort Road in Curtis, according to police. The stereo was missing as well, department spokesperson Linda Bailey said.

• A deputy took a report on Friday of a 1990 Ford Econoline van missing from the 12000 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Packwood. Its owner, a 44-year-old Lacey man, said he went to pick it up after leaving it there a year and a half ago, and it was gone,  according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The resident told a deputy he thought the owner picked it up, as it was gone back in June, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called about 11 p.m. on Saturday to a parking lot at the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue where they were told by a woman that she stepped away from her vehicle for just a couple of minutes and when she returned, her purse was gone, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• An iPod and a Canon Rebel camera were reported stolen from a vehicle parked on the 800 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

• Centralia police took a report about 9:30 a.m. on Saturday of a vehicle prowl at the 900 block of Vienna Lane. Cash was taken, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning they are looking for a 53-year-old Packwood resident for an alleged second-degree assault involving his girlfriend on Friday afternoon. A deputy responding to the 100 block of Saddle Horse Lane was told they had been arguing when he threw her onto a bed and used his forearm to pin her neck down, according to the sheriff’s office. The woman said she could not breathe until she bit him in the arm to get free, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Brown said as Kevin L. Battrick was leaving, he shoved a 70-year-old woman at the doorway, causing her to lose her balance.

FIRE AT GAS STATION QUICKLY DOUSED

• Firefighters were called about 9:50 p.m. yesterday about a vehicle on fire at a gas station on the 1300 block of Rush Road in Napavine. Someone had already put it out with a portable fire extinguisher before they arrived, according to Lewis County Fire District 5.

SPEED RACER WANTED

• Centralia police said yesterday they are looking for information about a reckless motorcycle rider who eluded officers on Saturday evening, speeding and running several stop signs. The dirt bike-style motorcycle was last seen in the area of North Tower Avenue and Sixth Street, according to the Centralia Police Department.

YARD DRIVER WANTED

• A deputy was called about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday to the 3500 block of Jackson Highway outside Chehalis after a neighbor heard what sounded like an accident and the resident found tire tracks that left the road and went through his yard. On the way through, the vehicle struck a garbage can, a fence post and fir tree, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

BUILDING HIT AND RUN

• Morton police reported this morning that about 11 a.m. last Tuesday an officer was called because a vehicle ran into a building during the night at the 100 block of Main Avenue. An exterior wall was damaged in an amount to be determined, according to the Morton Police Department.

DUI WRECK

• A 48-year-old Chehalis resident was arrested for driving under the influence after his 1993 Dodge truck went over a steep embankment and rolled onto its side on the 200 block of Pleasant Valley Road outside Winlock on Sunday night. A deputy responding to the approximately 8:45 p.m. incident booked Nicholas J. Rademaker into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, forgery, shoplifting, trespassing, resisting arrest, misdemeanor assault, negligent driving, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, disorderly person, misdemeanor theft, restraining order violation, possible suicidal person, dog in distress in a parked vehicle, collisions on city streets, wrecks on county roads including one with a deer … and more.

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Law investigating death of toddler from Vader residence

October 6th, 2014

Updated at 12:32 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The sheriff’s office is investigating a death after an aid call late yesterday afternoon to a Vader home where CPR was underway on a child.

Paramedics, firefighters and EMTs from five departments, plus deputies responded to the approximately 5:15 p.m. call at the 400 block of Main Street, according to Cowlitz-Lewis Fire District 20 Chief Richard Underdahl.

“I don’t have much I can say,” Underdahl said this morning. “Anything I can say, is the sheriff’s office is conducting an investigation on it.”

Crews were told by a 911 operator that it was a 3-year-old with breathing difficulty and someone there was performing CPR, according to Underdahl.

After responders arrived to the house, they continued CPR and conducted other life-saving medical interventions, he said. The child was transported to the hospital, he said.

Underdahl referred questions about the child’s sex and if the situation involved an injury as well as who was present at the house when they arrived, to the sheriff’s office.

Lewis County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said only that detectives are investigating the death of a 3-year-old boy with suspicious circumstances.

Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said an autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow morning.

“It was a bad day” Underdahl said.

“When something like this happens, everybody comes out of the woodwork,” he said, explaining why responders from as far away as Chehalis joined them, indicating it was the type of situation that calls for a lot people power.

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Pedestrian survives getting hit by train in Centralia

October 5th, 2014

Updated

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Centralia police and aid were called just after midnight to the railroad tracks near East Summa Street after a woman was struck by a passing freight train.

Forty-four-year-old Brenda V. Jones-Gonzales survived with what the Centralia Police Department called non-life-threatening injuries. Jones-Gonzales was bending down when she was hit in the shoulder and head, according to police.

Riverside Fire Authority Capt. Terry Ternan said the woman was just next to the tracks about 200 feet south of the crossing when firefighters arrived, and able to talk.

“When we found her, she was sitting next to a pool of blood,” Ternan said. “She said she didn’t get hit, she thought she fell down.”

The patient had a serious laceration on her head, but her biggest complaint was her shoulder, he said.

Ternan said his understanding was the conductor on the northbound train had seen her bending over by the track and then stumble; they tried to slow down, they stopped and called 911.

They knew they hit her, he said.

Some hair found on the end of what’s sometimes referred as a cow catcher at the front of trains was believed to be hers, he said.

Jones-Gonzales was cited for criminal trespass for being on the tracks, according to police, and then released.

She was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital where she was treated and then was transferred to an undisclosed hospital.

It’s a good reminder of why it’s trespassing to walk along or cross train tracks in undesignated areas, Ternan said.

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Three in Randle family treated for burns following explosion

October 5th, 2014

Updated

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A father and his 12-year-old son were seriously injured when something exploded on their small family farm in Randle yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters called about 4:10 p.m. to the 100 block of Peters Road found the two burn patients and the mother at the house.

The two males were flown by a LifeFlight helicopter to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, which has a burn center, according to Lewis County Fire District 14.

Fire Chief Jeff Jaques said the mother, who is a member of the volunteer fire department, was taken to Morton General Hospital with burns on both her hands from trying to help them.

“I don’t know for sure what happened,” Jaques said last night about 9 p.m. after returning from notifying other relatives.

It appeared to have occurred outside near a shop building, as when they arrived, they also found a car burning, Jaques said. Jaques said he suspected they were working on or with some equipment or tools.

Eight Randle firefighters handled the patient care and they let a crew from Glenoma deal with the burning car, he said.

Jaques was informed by the hospital last night the males’ conditions were critical, he said. Someone was going to be taking the mother down to be with them, he said.

The chief said he planned to return to the scene once it was light again to continue his investigation.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office responded as well and said they believe the incident involved a plasma cutter, a power tool used to cut metal.

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Prosecutors: Bookkeeper, girlfriend of small business owner took thousands of dollars with secret debit card

October 4th, 2014

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A lawyer representing the Chehalis woman accused of stealing more than $50,000 from a concrete business where she was the bookkeeper told a judge the alleged victim and the defendant were in a relationship and the allegations came up after they broke up.

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Angela D. Sawyer

Angela D. Sawyer, 39, was arrested and jailed on Wednesday after the Chehalis Police Department finished an investigation that began this summer, following a report from Jerry Nixon, the owner of Apex Mobile Mix.

Sawyer was charged in Lewis County Superior Court on Thursday with first-degree theft and first-degree identity theft.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher requested high bail, telling the judge Sawyer was suspected of wrongdoing involving a number of debit cards from other individuals.

Defense attorney for the day Joely O’Rourke countered that the allegation involved just one card belonging to one man and requested unsecured bail in the amount of $10,000. Meagher apologized and said he must have misread the filing, drafted by another prosecutor.

Judge Richard Brosey agreed with the unsecured amount.

Sawyer, who now works with the Area Agency on Aging, resides in Chehalis with her teenage son, according to O’Rourke.

According to charging documents, Nixon contacted police on July 27 after recently signing up to receive Internet bank statements and saw several transactions he did not make or authorize, including some for cash. He told the officer he learned from his bank they were made on a debit card he did not know existed.

Detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said the owner of the business with locations in Napavine and Chehalis was asked to gather up financial records.

Charging documents go on to give the following account:

Nixon told police he found out the debit card had been mailed out and he learned Sawyer had the card. He said she admitted to having the card and returned it to him.

Late last month, Nixon brought the various documents to the police department and showed receipts he said had nothing to do with company purchases totaling $51,772.89.

“Also in the papers Nixon brought were questionable checks written by Sawyer,” prosecutors wrote. “These checks appeared to be paying for Sawyer’s personal bills and needs.”

The total comes to more than $72,800, missing from between July 2012 and the end of this past July.

Nixon told a police detective that Sawyer and he were in a relationship, but she was never a co-signer on the account.

He said Sawyer told him she got into drugs and was using the money to support her habit.

Sawyer has no criminal history, according to prosecutors.

Because she earns only $1,300 per month, she qualified for a court appointed attorney. Her arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.

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Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

October 4th, 2014

MAD DAD TAKES PURSUIT OFF ROAD

• A Centralia father was arrested after he reportedly chased his teenage step-daughter and her boyfriend with his car down a city sidewalk yesterday evening. The 19-year-old had called police about 7:50 p.m. from the 200 block of South Pearl Street near Visiting Nurses Thrift Shop about a dispute and when officers arrived, they learned David D. Nelson had pursued the couple on the east sidewalk with his Chevrolet Cavalier, nearly hitting them, according to the Centralia Police Department. Nobody was hurt and nothing was damaged beyond some crushed blades of grass, according to police. The disagreement involved concern about her child, Sgt. Kurt Reichert said. The young mother is described as transient, the 35-year-old boyfriend is a Centralia resident, according to police. Nelson was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree assault, according to police.

FIRE ESCAPES BURN PILE

• Firefighters were called yesterday afternoon to a backyard in Adna for a brush fire. It was about 2 p.m. on Glenview Lane, according to Lewis County Fire District 6. “The burn ban has been lifted and somebody was burning and it got a little out of control,” Firefighter Steven Busz said. The fire spread to an area of about 100 feet by 100 feet, burning grass and a small tree or two before it was extinguished, according to Busz.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, malicious mischief, misdemeanor assault, protection order violation, driving with suspended license; responses for vandalism, misdemeanor theft … and more.

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