Lewis County Sirens.com

MOTORCYCLIST HURT IN CHEHALIS

• A 33-year-old motorcyclist was airlifted after a collision yesterday on the 1100 block of North National Avenue in Chehalis when he hit the rear of a flatbed tow truck which was backing onto the street. Firefighters called about 2:30 p.m. found the man with broken leg bones, possibly a broken shoulder and not very responsive, Chehalis Fire Department Capt. Casey Beck said. Chehalis police detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said the rider was traveling northbound and the tow truck had been attempting to turn around and its back end was in the street. The Chehalis area man was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital and then flown to Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, according to responders. He’s currently listed in stable, serious condition, according to a hospital spokesperson. Wilson said the wreck remains under investigation.

ON THE LOOKOUT FOR JIM BOB

• Deputies yesterday got a break in a hit and run case from Friday night in Onalaska in which a driver who slowed then stopped for loose pigs in the roadway was struck in the rear end, totaling her Toyota Camry. The 67-year-old woman said it was about 8:30 p.m. at the 300 block of Leonard Road and the white van simply drove around her and continued south, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A similarly described van was later found parked behind an outbuilding off Gore Road and its owner called the sheriff’s office yesterday to say they had brought home a hitchhiker named Jim Bob, who had borrowed the vehicle go buy cigarettes and said he’d run into a ditch, according to the sheriff’s office. The case remains under investigation, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

WINLOCK BURGLARY

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning that a 61-year-old Winlock-area man believes he was either laying down or perhaps was gone to the store when someone came into his residence and stole an HP laptop computer and a digital camera. It happened on then 900 block of Byham Road sometime between 9 a.m. last Tuesday and 2 p.m. on Thursday, according to the sheriff’s office. The loss is estimated at $680.

MISSING XBOX TURNS UP AT GAME STORE

• Chehalis police were called on Friday afternoon to a game shop on the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue in Chehalis when an individual called saying they found their stolen X-box there. The item was taken back to the police department and officers will be working with law enforcement in Thurston County regarding follow up, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Chehalis police detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said it appeared someone sold it to the business which would then resell it.

MISSING MEDS

• Chehalis police took a report yesterday from a customer who said she accidentally left her pain meds at a restaurant on Southwest Interstate Avenue and when she returned to retrieve them, they were gone. The case is under investigation, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

SUSPICIOUS FIRE

• Police are investigating a brush fire that broke out behind the former Chehalis Inn on Friday, prompting 911 calls from motorists on Interstate 5 who reported flames about 10 feet tall along a fence. Firefighters called about 1:10 p.m. to the 100 block of Southwest Interstate Avenue said a maintenance person got out a garden hose and prevented any damage to the wood fence. The burned area was about 10 feet in diameter, Chehalis Fire Department Capt. Kevin Curfman said. The motel is now a Howard Johnson’s.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license,  trespassing; responses for alarms, disputes, misdemeanor theft, misdemeanor assault, collision on city street, german shepherd biting a passing bicyclist, vehicles driving off county roads into yards, unattended backpack in Wal-Mart’s parking lot, an inmate upset about being in jail who smashed a sprinkler head and flooded the floor; complaints of the smell of marijuana in an apartment building, a man at a bar yelling, screaming and dancing around, a large man observed with his jeans around his ankles masturbating on the Lewis County Community Trail off Cabe Road west of Chehalis … and more.

NO PARTY FOR CENTRALIA MAN

• A 27-year-old Centralia resident was arrested last night after he allegedly attempted to shoplift food, a half gallon of pineapple rum, a fifth of cotton candy vodka and a pint of regular vodka from Safeway. Police responding about 9:45 p.m. to the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue booked Lucas D.C. Bryan into the Lewis County Jail for third-degree theft, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MOST OF MISSING CAR FOUND

• A car stolen in April from Centralia turned up last night on a logging road near Curtis; up on blocks and missing three of its wheels, its stereo and several other parts, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The red 1999 Chrysler 300 was recovered around 6 p.m. on the 400 Line off Lost Valley Road, according to the sheriff’s office. It’s value was $500, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

DOG-GONE

• Centralia police were called to Providence Centralia Hospital about 5:30 p.m. yesterday by a man whose 7-month-old Pit bull puppy vanished from his car. The windows had been left down, according to the Centralia Police Department.

WILDFIRE ASSISTANCE

• Three firefighters from Lewis County Fire District 5 returned home yesterday from assisting on the wildfire in Eastern Washington, where they helped with structural containment. Firefighter Maria Kennedy said they headed to Selah on Tuesday night and worked the next day. The Yakima-Herald Republic reports the fire that blackened nearly 9,000 acres outside Selah – believed to have been caused by target shooting in dry grass – was completely contained last night. A group from the Toledo fire department went as well, according to Kennedy.

PRE-FOURTH OF JULY MESSAGE FROM THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL

• The state fire marshal is reminding the public that in Washington, fireworks must be purchased from a licensed retail fireworks stand during the legal sales period. The purchase of fireworks over the internet is illegal, State Fire Marshal Charles M. Duffy says.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license, misdemeanor theft, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarm, disputes, graffiti, possible fraud, collision on city street, driver all over the road, a male taking a nap on someone else’s front lawn … and more.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AT CENTRALIA MOTEL

• A 23-year-old Chehalis man apparently angry because he thought the mother of his child was texting another man was arrested after police were called to Motel 6 in Centralia last night, where he had allegedly blocked her from leaving and then kicked in a door when she took her phone in the bathroom. Officers responding about 11:30 p.m. to the 1300 block of Belmont Avenue learned she was able to get out to her car where he broke the glass before he took off running, according to the Centralia Police Department. She thought he was going to kill her and the 5-year-old child was present when it occurred, police said. Subsequently located and booked into the Lewis County Jail was Nicholas L. Gonzalez, for felony harassment, unlawful imprisonment and second-degree malicious mischief, police said.

POLICE: TRIO BARGES INTO WOMAN’S HOME

• A 45-year-old Chehalis woman was hospitalized after a fracas last night at an apartment on the 200 block of Northwest Chehalis Avenue. Officers called about 10:40 p.m. were told two heavy set females and a male arrived and beat up the woman, according to the Chehalis Police Department. They apparently were trying to retrieve some property that belonged to someone else, according to police. “I don’t know what property they were after but they just barged in and committed assault, which is burglary,” detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said. Arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail were Angela M. Johnson, 27, and Don K. Gonzales, 25, both from Chehalis and Saleana A. Valencia, 19, from Olympia, according to Wilson. Prosecutors declined to charge them and they were scheduled to be released today. Wilson said this morning he was still waiting to hear back from the hospital about the woman’s injuries.

UNPLANNED WARRANT SWEEP

• Centralia police ended up arresting three wanted men after a passenger of a vehicle they were watching at the 1300 block of Belmont Avenue in Centralia jumped out and ran upstairs into a motel room. It happened about 1 p.m. yesterday at Motel 6 and the individual they were originally looking for wasn’t found until later in Bucoda, according to the Centralia Police Department. Dana M. Johnson, 33, a homeless person, was arrested and booked for outstanding warrants and for an earlier investigation of residential burglary, according to police. Sgt. Kurt Reichert said there were three people left in the car, which an officer held at gunpoint and when officers knocked on the motel room, they arrested others there. It appears there were about a half dozen altogether, but Reichert wasn’t certain if the passenger was among those arrested. Booked into the Lewis County Jail were Stephen D. Pierce, 35 of Oakville, for an earlier investigation of burglary; Steven N. Romero, 20 of Centralia, for an earlier investigation of vehicle theft; and Forrest S. McMillian, 27 of Oakville, for several warrants, according to police.

SUSPECT SPEAKING IN TONGUES

• Chehalis police called about a skinny male who seemed to be speaking in tongues at about 12:45 p.m. yesterday arrested a 25-year-old homeless man who allegedly stole a backpack and also was seen on someone’s porch on Southwest Cascade Avenue attempting to take a bicycle which was chained up. Joshua E. Blankenship was arrested for third-degree theft and then released, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

STOLEN LICENSE PLATE

• Centralia police took a report about 5 p.m. yesterday regarding a license plate plate stolen off a vehicle at the 2000 block of Borst Avenue. The Washington state plate reads: B01598M, according to the Centralia Police Department.

ELDERLY PE ELL WOMAN VICTIMIZED BY BURGLAR

• Someone walked through an unlocked front door at a home in Pe Ell and stole a jewelry box from a bathroom in the master bedroom belonging to an 88-year-old woman. A deputy called to the 500 block of North Main Street learned the box contained about $3,000 worth of rings and necklaces, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. It happened between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

DRUGS

• A 38-year-old Chehalis resident wanted on a warrant was arrested after he was seen about 7:30 p.m. near Sixth Street and William Avenue; and a pipe was found with powder in it that field tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Kelly M. Davies was booked into the Lewis County Jail for the warrant and for possession of meth, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

PHONE SCAMMERS

• Centralia police took a report yesterday from the 200 block of Downing Road from an individual who said they got a phone call from someone saying their power bill was past due and if they didn’t pay $1,200, the electricity would be shut off. It was an attempted scam, according to the Centralia Police Department. The advice from police: If anyone calls you asking for money, you ought to first verify the information independently. “Don’t call them at the phone number they give you, look it up,” Sg. Kurt Reichert said.

• Chehalis police took a report yesterday afternoon from an individual on West Main Street about getting a phone call from someone posing as a representative of the Internal Revenue Service, who wanted money. Sgt. Gary Wilson said there’s not much local police can do in these types of situations, in part because sometimes the scammers are calling from a foreign country. “We just warn people, if the IRS calls you, it’s not the IRS,” he said. They contact people by mail, not over the telephone, he said.

CHEHALIS BUSINESS SETTLES VIOLATION OF HAZARDOUS MATERIAL LAW

• The owners of Del’s Feed and Farm Supply Store in Chehalis agreed to pay a fine of $134,400 for failing to report it was storing more than 10,000 pounds of propane at each of five locations, including Chehalis, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. “Emergency responders rely on this information for their safety and to help protect nearby residents during an emergency, such as a fire or an earthquake,”  a spokesperson for the EPA said in a news release yesterday. Tractor Supply Company operates 18 Del’s Feed and Farm Supply Store in Washington and once made aware of the violations, quickly took steps to comply, according to EPA spokesperson Hanady Kader. Propane, sometimes referred to as liquefied petroleum gas, LP-gas, or LPG, is highly flammable. Under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, facilities that store threshold quantities of certain hazardous chemicals are required to submit an inventory of each of those chemicals to the State Emergency Response Commission, the Local Emergency Planning Committee and the local fire department.

WRECK

• Three people were hospitalized after a head-on crash last night in Winlock caused by an intoxicated underage driver that totaled two Honda Civics. A deputy responding about 9:20 p.m. to the 300 block of South Military Road concluded that the car carrying Enrique J. Hernandez, 20, and a 20-year-old passenger was traveling too fast and slid into the oncoming lane, running into a car driven by a 54-year-old man, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. All three are Winlock residents and were transported to Providence Centralia Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to the sheriff’s office. Hernandez was subsequently booked into the Lewis County Jail for driving under the influence, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. He was also cited for not carrying liability insurance, she said.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarm, dispute, shoplifting, broken vehicle window, collision on city street, someone taking a motor vehicle without permission, harassing phone calls, harassing texts, someone said they thought they witnessed a drug deal in a parking lot, a shoeless drunk man in a bar yelling and being rude, a drunken individual knocking on doors at an apartment building trying to get someone to put him up for the night … and more.