Lewis County Sirens.com

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE …

• Firefighters are gathering in the Boistfort Valley this morning to burn down a house. It’s a practice event, with a donated residence on the 100 block of Lost Valley Road, according to Lewis County Fire District 13. Chief Gregg Peterson says they expect to wrap up about 3 o’clock this afternoon.

PARKS, GUNS AND THE LAW

• Chehalis police were called about 7:25 p.m. on Wednesday to Recreation Park about a man with a gun. It turns out the city of Chehalis has a ban on carrying firearms in city parks, but it’s not enforceable. The officer was caught a little of guard, Chehalis Police Department Chief Glenn Schaffer said. When the officer arrived to the 200 block of Southwest 13th Street, a citizen had pulled up the city’s municipal code on their phone and showed it to him, Schaffer said. “We hadn’t dealt with it in so long, we didn’t realize it was still on the books,” he said. There was a time when it was prohibited, he said, but court rulings in a Seattle case a few years back made it clear cities don’t have the authority to ban guns in parks, he said. The chief said he was going to talk with the city attorney right away and get the ordinance repealed. In the past, the offense was a misdemeanor. “They didn’t arrest him, they did the right thing,” Schaffer said. “Just had a conversation.”

TWO WANTED AFTER GUN PULLED ON WIFE’S BOYFRIEND IN PE ELL

• A 39-year-old woman escaped apparently unharmed when she intervened in an armed dispute involving her estranged husband and her boyfriend last night in Pe Ell. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office says the couple arrived to pick up a child at the 500 block of Main Street when an enraged 43-year-old Jeremy J. Smith came walking across the yard carrying a baseball bat, but then produced a handgun which he pointed at her boyfriend who was about 20 feet away. He threatened to blow his “f’ing head off, according to the sheriff’s office. The woman was close enough to Smith she was able to push him to the ground and a brief struggle ensued, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Smith then left the area on foot, according to Brown. Brown said the dispute was regarding something to do with one of the children, and Smith had made a similar threat to the 41-year-old boyfriend earlier during a game at the baseball field in Pe Ell. Deputies called to the west Lewis County town at 8 p.m. weren’t able to find Smith, who is now wanted for two counts of first-degree assault. A deputy was told the weapon at one point during the struggle was pointed at the 39-year-old woman, who expressed she fear she would be shot, Brown said. The sheriff’s office is also looking for Smith’s girlfriend, Melissa A. Nacht, 37, also of Pe Ell, as they believe she hid his gun in a car for him. The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who has information on the whereabouts of Smith or Nacht to contact them, or contact Lewis County Crime Stoppers.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called about 9:15 a.m. yesterday to the 400 block of Jackson Street for an overnight vehicle prowl in which some change was stolen.

YARD ART THEFT

• A statue was stolen from a yard on the 200 block of Hemlock Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday. This follows two recent thefts from Centralia porches of a stone lion and a ceramic frog.

FIVE-VEHICLE COLLISION

• A 22-year-old Winlock woman was arrested last night after she was allegedly intoxicated and behind the wheel of a co-worker’s vehicle when she slammed into four parked cars at the 900 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia. Police responding about 7:15 p.m. arrested Ancelma Ramirez-Lamas and booked her into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department. Police are recommending numerous charges including driving under the influence, with a suspended license and without a required ignition interlock device.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license, driving without a license, misdemeanor assault, trespass; responses for alarms, disputes, possibly drunk drivers; complaint about unmowed lawn … and more.

THEFT FROM RELATIVES

• Police called about 8 a.m. yesterday morning to the 1900 block of Van Wormer Street in Centralia concluded that two young men had stolen valuables from a family member, which subsequently were recovered from pawn shops in Centralia and Chehalis. The items included jewelry, video games and a computer tablet, according to the Centralia Police Department. The 21-year-old and 25-year-old were not arrested, but the case is being referred to prosecutors for possible charges of theft as well as trafficking in stolen property, according to police.

THEFT FROM DRIVEWAY

• Chehalis police took a report about 3 p.m. yesterday of a large tool box missing from a driveway on Southwest Fifth Street near Market Boulevard. it had last been seen about 10 p.m. the previous night,  according to the Chehalis Police Department.

PORCH PILFERING

• An officer was called about 11:30 a.m. yesterday to the 200 block of North Washington Avenue in Centralia following the discovery that a large stone lion was missing from the front porch. The theft followed an earlier instance when a ceramic frog was stolen from the porch of a residence on the 1200 block of Pear Street.

DOMESTIC ASSAULT

• A 35-year-old Morton man was arrested yesterday for second-degree assault in connection with an incident last month in which he allegedly argued with a woman at a residence in Randle and choked her until she went unconscious. The woman reported she woke up on the floor with a broken chair under her, which caused a puncture wound, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The chair was finally located and the suspect questioned, according to the sheriff’s office. Jeff M. Hill was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office.

LOTS OF WARRANTS, AND MORE

• Centralia police arrested four individuals for possession of methamphetamine yesterday, three of them during a warrant “sweep” in which 13 wanted individuals were picked up. Police worked with officers from the state Department of Corrections to arrest people into the evening, going as far north as the 20200 block of Old Highway 99 in Grand Mound.

FLOWERS DISCOVERED BY BOMB TECH

• Centralia police continue to investigate an incident at the 800 block of Hillview Road which drew explosives experts on Tuesday evening; a suspicious package with a derogatory message left in front of a home. Officers called about 6:15 p.m. requested the  Washington State Patrol bomb squad, according to police. “I can’t tell you what the message was, but inside were found cut flowers,” Officer Mike Lowrey said this morning.

COLLISION IN CROSSWALK

• A man in a wheelchair suffered serious injuries when he was struck by a car in a crosswalk yesterday in Centralia. Aid and police called about 5:50 p.m. to North Pearl and West Main streets. The patient was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to Riverside Fire Authority. The female driver was issued a citation, police said. Further details were not readily available.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license; responses for alarms, loud party, barking dog, suicidal person, possible heroin overdose, parking lot hit and run, shoplifting, and more misdemeanor theft, person at a park with a gun, suspected theft of dogs which were returned, request to remove a homeless person drinking coffee at a clinic at the Lewis County Mall … and more.

The hay bales which fell from a truck near Ethel are described as something like as much as five feet around and six feet long. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 8

Updated at 6:55 p.m.

TON OF HAY FALLS ON 21-YEAR-OLD NEAR ETHEL

• A 21-year-old was airlifted to a Portland hospital this afternoon after one or two giant round bales of hay fell on him east of Ethel. Lewis County Fire District 8 called about 3:40 p.m. to the property down a long driveway south of U.S. Highway 12 east of Pinkerton Road found the young man on the ground; he’d managed to get himself loose, according to Fire Chief Duran McDaniel. McDaniel said he’s told the big bales weigh 700 to 1500 pounds each, depending upon how tightly they’re packed. They had fallen from a truck, he said. A teenage boy was with him when firefighters arrived, he said. The young man, who is from the Vancouver area described pain from the middle of his chest to his pelvis, but was talking to responders the entire time, McDaniel said. He was transported by ambulance to the main fire station in Salkum and flown to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

PACKAGE WITH MESSAGE DRAWS EXPLOSIVE EXPERTS

• The bomb squad with the Washington State Patrol was called in to examine a suspicious package with a derogatory message left in front of a home on the 1800 block of Hillview Road in Centralia yesterday evening. Police said no explosives were found inside but the case is under investigation.

DECK CATCHES FIRE

• A fire investigator was called to look into a fire that broke out on the second-story deck of a home on the 600 block of Oakland Avenue in Centralia yesterday evening. Firefighters called about 6:25 p.m. learned the resident smelled smoke, went outside and saw what was happening. He grabbed a hose and had it nearly extinguished when crews arrived, according to Riverside Fire Authority. Fire Capt. It burned a hole clear through, roughly four feet by two feet, Fire Capt. Terry Ternan said. Ternan said there was no barbecue or anything like that on the deck.

BREAK-IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police responded about 11:10 a.m. yesterday to a burglary at an apartment on the 700 block of H Street. Because the owner was unavailable, what might have been stolen is undetermined, according to the Centralia Police Department.

BANK ACCOUNT LOOTED WITH FOUND DEBIT CARD

• Chehalis police said yesterday they are investigating after a customer reported he forgot his card in the ATM machine on the 400 block of North Market Boulevard and learned someone used it to withdraw $200 from his account. The 57-year-old Chehalis man reported the incident about 11:45 a.m. on Monday, which occurred at Wells Fargo Bank, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The man cancelled his card but found it was used 38 seconds after he left it, police said.

STEP RIGHT IN HERE, PLEASE

• A 21-year-old Chehalis man was arrested near the Lewis County Jail on Monday evening for possession of a dangerous weapon, a switchblade knife. Booked into the jail was Christopher D. Kruger, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

MANY MISDEMEANOR THEFTS

• A 55-year-old Packwood man told a deputy yesterday he stole three three hanging flower baskets from Four-U Realty on the 13000 block of U.S. Highway 12 in retaliation for a bad experience with the business, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Keith D. Schroeder was identified from security video as taking the flowers back on May 7, according to the sheriff’s office. He was contacted yesterday afternoon, arrested for third-degree theft, the flowers were returned and he was released, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

• Chehalis police said yesterday they referred a case to prosecutors of multiple counts of misdemeanor theft in connection with a 15-year-old student at W.F. West High School and money missing from a locker room. An investigation began on Monday, according to police.

• Chehalis police were called at noon yesterday about a wheel stolen off a vehicle on Southwest James Street.

• Centralia police responded about 1:25 a.m. today when a ceramic frog was stolen from the porch of a home on the 1200 block of Pear Street. Officers learned the suspect was seen running northbound and brought in Chehalis police dog Reign. The K-9 tracked the suspect and located the frog, according to the Centralia Police Department. Aaron D. Malone, 25, of Centralia, was arrested for third-degree theft and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

WRECK

• One car was totaled and another sustained major damage when a 28-year-old Chehalis woman attempted a left turn into a driveway yesterday at the 300 block of Berry Road south of Chehalis. A deputy responding after the approximately 3:30 p.m. collision learned the 7-year-old passenger in her car complained of no injuries but the woman described chest pain, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The 17-year-old Chehalis girl in the Honda Accord which was struck suffered dizziness and abdominal pain, according to the sheriff’s office. The 28-year-old was cited for failure to yield, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license, misdemeanor assault, disorderly conduct; responses for alarms, disputes, collision on city street, cup of noodle thrown at someone, dog left inside parked vehicle … and more.