Lewis County Sirens.com

POLICE: GUN IN FACE LANDS DAD IN JAIL

• A 43-year-old Toledo man was arrested yesterday for allegedly pointing a firearm at his 16-year-old daughter’s face in their home on the 100 block of Barnes Drive. Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said it apparently occurred on Saturday and deputies learned of it on Monday from Child Protective Services and investigated. The girl said her father had been drinking with his friends, and the incident was related to a dispute over him making his daughter dance with one of his friends, Brown said. Jose C. Rodriguez was contacted yesterday and then booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree assault, Brown said.

MISSING MEDS

• Centralia police took a report yesterday morning regarding prescription medications stolen from the 900 block of South Tower Avenue.

ANGRY TEEN

• Chehalis police were called about 10:15 p.m. yesterday to a report a female was seen putting sugar in the gas tank of a car at the 300 block of Southwest Third Street. Two girls who were contacted in the area said the woman who owns the vehicle had been harassing them on Facebook, according to the Chehalis Police Department. One of them a 15-year-old, was booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center for second-degree malicious mischief, according to police.

VACANT HOUSE NOT EMPTY

• A 44-year-old homeless man was arrested yesterday when cleaners showed up at a vacant rental home in Centralia and found him sleeping inside. An officer responding about 9:45 a.m. to the 600 block of Alder Street booked Gordon C. Powell Jr., of Chehalis, into the Lewis County Jail for trespassing, according to the Centralia Police Department. Powell said he found the front door unlocked, Officer Patty Finch said.

FORK PEAK FIRE UPDATE

• Authorities report this morning the fire activity on the Fork Peak Fire has been greatly reduced by all the hard work of firefighters, who were assisted by rain overnight on Wednesday. The 126-acre fire is 90 percent contained,  according to the Department of Natural Resources. The forest fire about five miles southwest of Pe Ell began late last week in an active logging area, on private timberland owned by Rayonier. The area has been assessed for hot spots with a hand-held infrared viewer, according to DNR’s morning report. One hundred thirty six personnel are assigned to the fire. Today’s objective continues to be to keep fire south of A-Line, north of the 7820 Road, west of the F-line and east of the Weyerhaeuser ownership, according to the report.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, disorderly conduct, misdemeanor theft, misdemeanor assault; responses for disputes, shoplifting, suspicious vehicle … and more.

A map from DNR shows the footprint of the Fork Peak Fire. Click here to open a PDF of this image.

Updated at 6:34 p.m.

BANK FRAUD

• Centralia police yesterday took a report from the 200 block of North Pearl Street regarding fraudulent checks being written at a bank.  The case is under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS

• Centralia police arrested  25-year-old man yesterday morning for possession of heroin and a warrant. Panther W. Risling of Centralia was booked into the Lewis County Jail after contact with an officer at the 1200 block of Alder Street about 9:30 a.m., according to the Centralia Police Department.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE: NAPAVINE’S NAKED DRIVER LOCATED

• Jeremy R. Hamilton was charged only with attempting to elude police for the Napavine incident in which he allegedly slipped away as he was being handcuffed and fled through a field into the night, barefoot and completely unclothed. The 39-year-old Napavine resident is expected in Lewis County Superior Court tomorrow for his arraignment; he was charged on Monday following his arrest over the weekend. According to charging documents, Napavine Police Chief Chris Salyers discovered Hamilton was in the jail on outstanding warrants. The Sept. 5 incident began about 10 p.m. when police were called by a resident on the 400 block of Eighth Avenue who said a person was in a car parked in front of her house, she asked him to leave and he refused, according to the documents. Police said as a patrol car approached, Hamilton drove away without turning on his headlights, and  a short pursuit ensued, basically around the block and ended back in front of the original home. Officer Noel Shields drew his Taser and ordered Hamilton from the vehicle, which he did, charging documents state. Hamilton was naked and struggled away after he was partially handcuffed, according to police. He escaped over a fence, but Shields identified him by the Washington State identification card in the wallet on the ground next to his car, charging documents state. The court papers offer no explanation as to why he was driving around nude, nor if he was acquainted with the woman whose house he was parked in front of. However, among his past criminal offenses are harassment, a drug violation, a protection order violation and a warrant for an unresolved indecent exposure offense from 2009, according to court documents. He remains in the jail on $25,000 bail.

FORK PEAK FIRE UPDATE

• The seventh day of firefighting on timberland outside Pe Ell began with the Fork Peak Fire at 80 percent containment. The forest fire has spread over 126 acres since it was discovered, about five miles southwest of town in Pacific County, according to the Department of Natural Resources. The property is owned by Rayonier. DNR reported this morning it continues to smolder, with low spread potential. Two hundred and twelve personnel are assigned to the fire. On today’s plan of action was to keep fire south of A-Line, north of the 7820 Road, west of the F-line and east of the Weyerhaeuser ownership, according to the report.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor theft; responses for disputes, suspicious circumstances, drug investigation, telephone harassment, dead deer across from Southwest Moonlight Lane in Chehalis, a vehicle stuck on railroad tracks on Floral Street in Centralia, naked man sitting in the bushes near Best Western Hotel in Chehalis who turned out to be sleepwalking; complaints about landlord, people laying on outdoor benches, vehicle owner’s behavior when contacted by a repo man … and more.

Updated at 9:32 p.m.

WIDOW VICTIMIZED DURING MEMORIAL GATHERING

• A 72-year-old Chehalis area woman called the sheriff’s office after discovering someone went through her purse during a gathering at her home following her husband’s funeral yesterday. A deputy responding to the 700 block of North Ford Road reports the loss of cash and several prescription medications comes to $250, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. There are persons of interest in the case, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

TOBACCO TAKEN IN BURGLARY

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning that a red sport utility vehicle was seen leaving a home on the 2700 block of Graf Road in Centralia on Sunday when the resident returned home to discover 15 packs of Marlboro cigarettes missing.

MOWER MISSING

• A deputy took a report yesterday from the 700 block of Tucker Road in Toledo that sometime since Saturday someone pried a hasp from a door and stole a red Sears self-propelled lawn mower, in new condition.

FRAUD

• Centralia police were called to the 800 block of North Washington Avenue last night regarding fraudulent charges on a card at several local businesses. The case is still under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS

• A 28-year-old Centralia woman arrested on a warrant was also arrested for possession of methamphetamine last night when an officer searched her and found suspected meth. The approximately 1 a.m. arrest came after neighbors on the 1600 block of Winterwood Drive called police about a suspicious vehicle parked in the area, according to the Centralia Police Department. Michelle A. Gibson was  booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Centralia police took a report yesterday of a safe stolen from an unlocked pickup truck while it was parked at an apartment complex on the 2800 block of Russell Road last Wednesday. Among the valuables inside the Sentry brand safe were birth certificates, vehicle titles, jewelry and coins, according to the Centralia Police Department.

COLLISIONS

• A 22-year-old driver escaped injury when he swerved to miss a deer and struck a power pole yesterday afternoon on the 400 block of Yates Road in south Chehalis. A deputy responding about 4 p.m.  found the Chehalis man was not hurt but his 2002 Toyota Tacoma was totaled, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• A 54-year-old Chehalis man totaled his pickup truck when he ran off the road at the 2500 block of Jackson Highway south of Chehalis yesterday, entered a ditch and then struck a tree. His injuries were minor but he was taken to the hospital for a pre-existing medical condition following the approximately 5:50 p.m. wreck, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said it may have been a medical condition which caused the driver to leave the roadway.

• A 38-year-old motorcyclist was hospitalized after he called 911 from Forest Service Road 25 in East Lewis County after he lost control, was ejected and slid beneath a gate, possibly breaking his arm. It happened about about 11 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The Lynnwood man was transported to Morton General Hospital, according to the sheriff’s office.

MOSSY BARN FIRE APPEARS AN ARSON

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday the fire that burned down an old barn in Mossyrock last week is being investigated as an arson. Authorities said it was third fire in three weeks on the approximately 20-acre parcel at the 100 block of  Mossyrock Road West. Twice before the blaze last Wednesday night, the fire department was called out for small fires in the tree-line on the north side of the property, according to Chief Doug Fosburg. Several juveniles have been in the area causing problems, sheriff’s office Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said yesterday. Authorities say there was no power to the building and no reason it would have caught fire on its own. The 6,000 square-foot barn built in 1942 was destroyed, with a loss to its owner estimated at $20,000, according to the sheriff’s office.  It contained only very old hay and  various pieces of haying equipment. The barn is owned by a 70-year-old Mossyrock woman, Brown said.

FIREFIGHTER RECOMMENDS DEFERRING LAWN MOWING

• More than eight acres of pasture burned yesterday west of Tenino, apparently sparked by a tractor mower. Thurston County Fire District 12 called about 1:50 p.m. to the 17000 block of Marsh Road Southwest found about an acre of grass on fire and spent the next four hours chasing flames, according to Battalion Chief James Fowler. “It was wind-driven, and every time we’d get one part out, it would start up in another place,” Fowler said. Fowler said an individual at the racing horse farm had been mowing and turned to make another pass and noticed grass on the mower deck was on fire. He drove to a water source and extinguished it, Fowler said. Members of four other fire departments responded to help, he said. The owner and employees moved about a half dozen horses to a field in the front of the property and they were unharmed, according to Fowler. “Nobody was hurt, no houses or other property was damaged, other than the grass burned up,” he said. Fowler suggested its simply too dry out to risk mowing right now and others might think about putting the task off for awhile.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants; responses for alarms, disputes, disorderly person, hit and run, collision on city street, collisions on county roads, suspicious circumstances, a bloody arrow found in a yard … and more.