Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated at 6:41 p.m.

BANK ACCOUNT ACCESSED, AFTER TEXT

• A 55-year-old Chehalis woman who responded to a text message purportedly from her credit union found herself a theft victim, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Department spokesperson Linda Bailey said the woman had previously received a text message from WSECU telling her of a problem with her account and that she needed to call right away. She called and gave them all her banking information, Bailey said. She contacted police yesterday to report approximately $2,000 was stolen from her account, Bailey said. An officer took a report and gave her a case number so she could complete her paperwork for the bank, Bailey said.

MISSING PICKUP TRUCK

• A deputy took a report yesterday morning of a brown 1990 Chevrolet pick truck stolen from the 2100 block of Taylor Street in Centralia. The 24-year-old owner said when he woke up about 7 a.m., the vehicle was gone, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The four-wheel drive truck valued at about $3,000 was taken sometime after 8 p.m. the night before, according to the sheriff’s office. Its license plate is B62616V, Chief Criminal Deputy Stacy Brown said.

OTHER THEFT: GUNS

• Several firearms were among the items stolen from a storage unit at the 800 block of North Tower Avenue, according to a report made to Centralia police yesterday.

OTHER THEFT: TOOLS

• A deputy took a report yesterday from the 300 block of Brown Road East regarding about $850 worth of power tools that went missing between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. last Friday. The victim suspects an individual that he knows and the case is under investigation, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• Centralia police took a report from the 1200 block of Marion Street about 9:25 a.m. yesterday of a toolbox stolen out of a carport.

OTHER THEFT: MAIL

• Chehalis police took a report on Monday morning from the 100 block of Northeast Hillside Drive that mail was stolen from a mailbox. The victim found its door open and the inner locking door open as well, and no mail, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

ARREST FOR SEX CRIME

• A former Chehalis resident picked up by police in Seattle yesterday was ordered held on $50,000 bail following information revealed last month by his now-5-year-old son he was raped while the family lived at the Chehalis Avenue Apartments about two years ago. Norman P. Gastfield was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail, charged in Lewis County Superior Court today with rape of a child in the first degree. Charging documents indicate the child’s mother contacted police on March 12, the same day the boy told her of something had happened in the past. A forensic interview was then conducted, during which the boy said his dad also let him watch “corn” and there were naked girls, as well as threatened to kill his mother if he told, charging documents state. Charging documents allege the incident occurred sometime between Jan. 1, 2012 and April 1, 2013. The family has since moved away and are separated or divorced, according to authorities. Gastfield had an address in Port Angeles, although police said he was most recently living as a transient in Seattle. His arraignment is scheduled for May 1, where he will be represented by court appointed attorney David Arcuri.

VANDALISM

• Police were called about 7:30 p.m. yesterday regarding a razor found stuck in a tire as it was getting repaired from a Ford Explorer which had been parked at the 700 block of Northwest St. Helens Avenue in Chehalis.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license; responses for shoplifting, semi truck into a ditch … and more.

Updated at 8:04 p.m.

TOLEDO BUSINESS HIT BY PROWLER

• A deputy responding about 7:40 a.m. yesterday to a burglary at Jarvis Truck Sales on the 100 block of Barnes Drive outside Toledo discovered someone forced their way through a door into a shop building and quite likely used pry bars they found there to remove a cash register from an office area. Missing is $515 cash, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Also missing are the pry bars and 31 feet of battery cable, Chief Civil Deputy Brown said.

PROLIFERATION OF PROWLS

• Law enforcement officers yesterday urged Oakville residents to lock their car doors when they’re parked, after an overnight spree of vehicle prowls this weekend. Several people were victimized between Saturday night and Sunday morning and in all cases, they involved unlocked vehicles, according to the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office. It happened on Main, West Oak and Eagle streets. The loot included stereos, iPods, flashlights tools and clothing, according to Chief Criminal Deputy Steve Shumate. Uniforms from Jack-in-the-Box, including their jackets, are among the garments now on the street. Shumate urges everyone not to leave valuables in plain view, and to lock up.

• Centralia police took a report about 11:30 a.m. yesterday about a backpack stolen from out of a vehicle on Hemlock Street.

• A deputy took a report yesterday about someone getting into an unlocked vehicle at the 100 block of Mineral Hill Road and leaving with a Washington driver’s license, various credit cards and $230 cash,  according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It happened sometime between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Sunday, according to the sheriff’s office.

FORGERY INVESTIGATIONS

• A deputy was called about 4:30 p.m. yesterday to the 1900 block of Rice Road outside Chehalis to take a report of possible fraud in connection with someone using someone else’s identity to obtain a State Farm insurance policy, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The case is under investigation.

• In Morton, police are investigating the fraudulent order of 1,000 ink pens by someone in a business’s name without permission. The $469 situation was reported to the Morton Police Department on Friday.

ROUSTED AND SENT ON HIS WAY

• A 51-year-old Centralia man discovered sleeping in a “container” overnight at the 200 block of East Third Street was cited for trespassing and then released, according to the Centralia Police Department. Officers have previously told Keith A. Smith not to come back there, according to police.

UNBUCKLED AND JAILED

• A seatbelt violation spotted by a trooper on Interstate 5 north of Chehalis violation led to the arrest of a passenger for open alcohol containers and also of the driver who was impaired by unspecified drugs yesterday morning, according to the Washington State Patrol. It was about 11:40 a.m. when Walter Sutter, 45, of Chehalis was pulled over for failing to properly wear a safety belt, according to the state patrol. When questioned, Sutter said the two open containers belonged to Jeramy Shepard, his 38-year-old traveling companion from Longview, Trooper Will Finn said. Shepard had multiple outstanding felony warrants from Eastern Washington, according to Finn. And observations of Sutter prompted the trooper to conduct roadside test and ask for a drug recognition expert to evaluate him further, resulting in a driving under the influence arrest, Finn said. Both were booked into the Lewis County Jail.

MEGA-COLLISION

• A former Toledo man was in court yesterday facing a charge of vehicular assault in connection with Friday’s three-vehicle wreck at a Longview intersection that sent his pickup truck onto the patio of a McDonald’s restaurant, injuring a diner, according to The (Longview) Daily News. Reporter Barbara LaBoe writes that Joshua Paul Goble, 30, is believed to have been high on stolen pain pills when he ran a red light, striking a motorcyclist and a truck before traveling across a sidewalk and through landscaping striking several tables and chairs. LaBoe said Goble was described by police as transient but gave officers a Toledo address.

BONUS: COLD BLOODED CRITTER CONTAINED

• Officers received a call for help after a resident in the 100 block of Division Avenue in Morton reported finding a snake had slithered up the sink drain into the home. Morton police responded about 3:35 p.m. on Friday to assist. The reptile was located and removed, according to the Morton Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license; responses for dispute,  suspicious circumstances, hit and run, shoplifting; complaints of door-to-door salespeople … and more.

Updated at 12:49 p.m.

HOME INVASION REPORTED IN CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police were called about 12:40 a.m. today to the 500 block of Northeast Adams Avenue where a 23-year-old woman said two people had shoved their way into her apartment and assaulted her. The woman told officers her dog was barking and she opened her back door when a female pushed her way in and started hitting her in the face, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The victim was able to escape to a neighbor’s place where she called 911, department spokesperson Linda Bailey said. Police looked around and interviewed the woman, but no arrests have been made, Bailey said this morning. A cell phone and a wallet are missing now from her home, Bailey said. The incident is still under investigation.

ARSON SUSPECTED IN CAR FIRE

• The sheriff’s office is investigating an incident in which someone apparently intentionally tried to burn up a 24-year-old man’s car while he was at work in Chehalis. Deputies responding about 1:20 a.m. on Friday to the 1700 block of Bishop Road learned the victim went outside during a break and found smoke pouring from his vehicle, which was parked next to a loading dock, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said this morning. A window had been broken and there was a strong odor of an unspecified flammable liquid, according to the sheriff’s office. The fire left the backseat and the interior of the 2000 Ford Focus charred, causing more than $1,000 damage, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Brown said there is no indication why someone would have targeted the man.

GARAGE CATCHES FIRE

• A fire that began in a garage on Rayburn Road southwest of Napavine early yesterday did an estimated $10,000 damage but nobody was injured. Firefighters were called at about 7:10 a.m., according to Lewis County Fire District 5. The blaze was contained to the garage and prevented from spreading to the home, and a fire investigator called to look into it, Firefighter Brad Bozarth said.

FIGHT NIGHT

• Centralia police were called about 10:45 p.m. on Saturday to the 200 block of North Tower Avenue where witnesses said several people were fighting and one of them fell into a window and broke it. Those involved fled the area and an investigation is underway, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SPANKING LANDS MAN IN JAIL

• A 44-year-old Chehalis area resident was arrested after a Saturday night call to the 100 block of Sanderson Road where a 5-year-old boy with bruises on his buttocks said he was “whipped” by his mother’s boyfriend. James M. Waltenburg was booked into the Lewis County Jail for third-degree child assault, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It appears the child was struck with a bare hand, but a spanking becomes an assault if it causes more then temporary or “transient” pain, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

ANGRY HUSBAND IN TROUBLE

• Deputies spoke with a 54-year-old woman from Cinebar on Saturday evening who said her husband threw a chunk of firewood at her car as she was leaving, breaking the windshield and denting a fender. He was upset, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office is asking prosecutors to charge the 51-year-old Cinebar man with third-degree malicious mischief, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

BARN BURGLARY

• A deputy called about 9:20 a.m. on Saturday regarding electrical wiring stripped from a barn at the 1300 block of Silverbrook Road in Randle contacted a 22-year-old local resident walking toward the property and arrested him for an outstanding warrant and suspect he was involved in the theft. The sheriff’s office says Adam I. McGowen was wanted by the state Department of Corrections in connection with a case of a previous drug violation. McGowen was booked into the Lewis County Jail for his warrant, and prosecutors are being asked to also charge him with second-degree burglary related to the wiring, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

VEHICLE THEFT

• A 26-year-old Kelso man was arrested yesterday after he allegedly stole a truck from the 1200 block of West Chestnut Street in Centralia and was followed by its owner to Chehalis where police caught up with them. Officers responding to the approximately 11:15 a.m. call arrested Thomas N. Joy for vehicle theft. Chehalis police said when Joy was stopped at the 700 block of West Main Street, he attempted to get into a car occupied by two women and a baby which pulled up and the women were arrested as well. Stacy A. Anderson, 38, Kelso, for possession of methamphetamine and Teresa M. Lock, 24, from Kelso, for an outstanding warrant,  according to police. All were booked into the Lewis County Jail. Anderson was to be released with no charges filed, pending further investigation.

SHED BREAK-IN

• Centralia police were called about 5:15 p.m. on Saturday regarding missing items from a shed at the 500 block of South Pearl Street. The total loss has yet to be determined, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MORE THEFT

• Someone stole cash and a leaf blower from the 2400 block of Seward Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police on Saturday afternoon.

SUSPECTED SCAM

• Centralia police were called just before 9 p.m. on Saturday by an individual at the 600 block of North Pearl Street regarding a text received that indicated the reporting person’s debit card had been canceled. The warning came from a bank the individual doesn’t have an account with, according to the Centralia Police Department. A couple from Chehalis called police on Sunday night after getting a text telling them to call a number to reactivate their WSECU card, although they had no account there, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The sheriff’s office reports its aware of numerous potential victims who got similar texts over the weekend and it is clearly a scam. Sheriff’s office advises people not to respond, and asks that folks pass the word along to teens and young adults as well as older people who could more easily fall for it.

BICYCLE ACCIDENT INJURES CHILD

• A 12-year-old boy was seriously injured yesterday when he was tossed off his bicycle onto his head coming down a hill in Centralia. Firefighters and medics called around 2 p.m. to East Locust Street found the child had been riding with friends and wasn’t wearing a helmet, according to Riverside Fire Authority. He was knocked out although he regained consciousness but suffered numerous injuries, including suspected bleeding on his brain, according to Firefighter-Paramedic Jade Gross. The boy was bundled up and transported to Providence Centralia Hospital and transferred to Mary Bridge Childrens’ Hospital in Tacoma, according to Gross.

DUI SUSPECTED IN TWO-VEHICLE CRASH

• Two people were hospitalized and four treated at the scene following a head-on collision Saturday night at the 3600 block of Jackson Highway south of Chehalis. Responders answering a call about 11:30 p.m. found both vehicles totaled and suspect one driver was intoxicated. The sheriff’s office says the 24-year-old Centralia man was traveling north in the southbound lane and the 29-year-old Mossyrock woman driving an SUV attempted to swerve out of the way but the vehicles met head on. The sheriff’s office said there were no serious injuries, only abrasions. The 1999 Ford expedition was also carrying two children, ages 10 and 12, from Mossyrock, along with two other adults, from Winlock. When a deputy interviewed the driver of the 1999 Saturn at the hospital, his breath smelled of intoxicants, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Cesar Hernandez-Martinez, 24, is facing a charge of driving under the influence, but deputies are waiting result from a blood sample, according to Brown.

SCAMSTERS SCAMMING

• Beware if you get a phone call informing you you’ve won $2.5 million and that you can redeem your winnings by first mailing off a $480 cash card from Wal-Mart to cover the taxes for the IRS, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It appears to be a scam and one local woman contacted law enforcement after she received at least four such calls from someone identifying themselves as a representative of American Cash Rewards, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said yesterday. She was told James Washington would be presenting the reward, Brown said. Fortunately the woman didn’t believe the caller. The sheriff’s office offers its oft-repeated advice, “If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.”

FIGHT AT PARTY BRINGS FELONY CHARGES

• Two young men were arrested this week for an assault last month at a party in Centralia that left a 19-year-old male with a broken jaw. Police arriving at  about 12:45 a.m. on March 16 to the 500 block of East Maple Street observed numerous males running from the area, found blood spattered around the front door and learned a 19-year-old Centralia resident had been struck numerous times as well as kicked in the face while he was on the ground, according to authorities. A witness told police Cole T. Rife, 18, had come to the gathering and was trying to pick a fight with anyone who would fight him and turned his attention to Logan Crump, according to charging documents. Crump initially didn’t care to press the matter, until after the following day when he got medical treatment and discovered he had a fractured mandible, charging documents state. Crump told police Rife phoned him and apologized. Rife, a rural Chehalis resident, was arrested and went before a Lewis County Superior Court judge on Tuesday, charged with second-degree assault. His temporary defense attorney Bob Schroeter said he’d known the W.F. West High School graduate since he was a kindergartner. Judge James Lawler allowed Rife to be released from jail pending trial on a $10,000 unsecured bond, co-signed by Rife’s father. Then on Thursday, Tyler L. Burk, 19, of Rochester, was arrested for second-degree assault in the same case, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was scheduled to go before a judge yesterday afternoon, and subsequently released from jail.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• The former Chehalis resident locked up for 160 years for a Yakima County gang-related incident reached out to local prosecutors from prison to request they bring him to Lewis County to face a judge in connection with a drive-by shooting from the summer of 2010 in Chehalis.

Andrew Morales-Loberg

Andrew Morales-Loberg, now 22, was charged after the incident on Southwest William Street, and a $500,000 arrest warrant issued, but he was never apprehended by local police. At the time, police said someone in a red Chevrolet Blazer fired a round from a pistol that struck a parked vehicle while four people were standing near it. Morales-Loberg was transferred from prison last week to the Lewis County Jail. He appeared in Lewis County Superior Court Thursday for his arraignment. Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said the case was being revisited at the defendant’s request. “He wrote us a letter, asking that the matter be taken care of,” Meyer said. The prosecutor said he didn’t know why, but did know outstanding matters can affect what programs inmates are eligible for. Morales-Loberg was among four LVL gang members sentenced in the fall of 2012 to more than 100 years in prison for shooting up an inhabited trailer in the town of Outlook in retaliation for a previous shooting. Nobody was injured there, nor in the William Street shooting, which police said was related to drugs and money. Three other individuals were also charged with drive-by shooting from the Chehalis case, but those charges were dismissed against all three. Morales-Loberg is represented by attorney Sam Groberg. He entered a plea of not guilty. A review hearing was scheduled for May 1, and a trial set for the week of June 2. The earliest he can be released from prison in the Outlook case, with good behavior, is Christmas Eve in the year 2165, according to prosecutors.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license; responses for collisions on city streets … and more.