Posts Tagged ‘news reporter’

News brief: Covert operations may be rolling your way

Monday, January 27th, 2014

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Law enforcement officers this week will be riding school buses to watch for law breakers who endanger children by passing buses when they are not supposed to.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office announced this morning the project in which it will work with the Washington State Patrol and two un-named school districts.

The emphasis on stop paddle violators will include an officer observing traffic and then radioing out to other officers who can pull over and cite offending motorists, according to the sheriff’s office.

The fine for passing a school bus when its red stop sign paddle is flipped out and activated is $394.

Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown indicated they’re keeping under wraps which districts are involved, as a way to motivate motorists everywhere in the county to be more cautious.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield said his office has a zero tolerance policy regarding the important issue that protects youngsters.

“There is no more important responsibility society has than to keep our children safe,” Mansfield stated in a news release.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, January 27th, 2014

ROAD RAGE ALLEGED

• A 33-year-old Tenino man who allegedly tried to ram another vehicle while he had two young children inside his own ended up getting subdued by a Taser and arrested yesterday afternoon. Officers responded to a witness’s report of road rage rage incident that began on Kresky Avenue and ended near West Third Street on Tower Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department. Police were told Stephan J. Hanna attempted to engage a silver Ford, but Hanna denied any involvement, according to the Centralia Police Department. Hanna was booked into the Lewis County Jail for reckless driving, resisting arrest and two counts of reckless endangerment, according to police. The victim vehicle was not located.

PARENT RAGE

• A 40-year-old Morton woman was arrested last night after police were called because she allegedly was dragging her 12-year-old son by the neck through the house and threatened him. Officers responding about 9:45 p.m. to the 200 block of First Street in Morton found Kristine M. Hiatt out of control, for some reason or other, Morton Police Chief Dan Mortensen said. Mortensen said officers ended up taking her to the floor and booking her into the Lewis County Jail for third-degree child assault. It happened at her parent’s home where she has been staying and where her son resides, he said. He didn’t know what she was angry about, Mortensen said.

MISSING GUN, OTHER VALUABLES

• Chehalis police were called yesterday to the 500 block of Northeast Jefferson Avenue when an individual realized he’d been burglarized. There was no apparent forced entry but his .22 caliber rifle he had last seen about three weeks earlier was gone, as was a diamond bracelet and at least one iPod, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

TRUCK STOLEN

• Sometime between Thursday and yesterday, someone stole a white 1975 Ford box van and numerous tools from the 800 block of Adams Avenue in Morton. Among the missing items are a 900-pound winch, a receiver hitch and pulley blocks, according to the Morton Police Department. The loss is estimated at more than $1,000, according to police.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Police were called about 7:30 p.m. yesterday to the parking lot at Wa-Mart after an individual came out and discovered someone had “punched” the locks on his truck and stolen a man’s Adidas tennis shoes and a pink case containing about $1,000 worth of CDs, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Police were called about 10:30 p.m. on Saturday about several vehicles getting egged in the 600 block of St. Helen’s Avenue in Chehalis.

CHIMNEY FIRE

• Firefighters were called about 7:45 p.m. to a chimney fire at the 1000 block of J Street in Centralia. Responders extinguished the burning in the “fire box”, according to Riverside Fire Authority. Capt. Scott Weinert said they found no obvious signs of damage to the chimney but it will have to be inspected by a contractor.

WRECK

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports a 20-year-old Napavine man was uninjured but his 2001 Ford Escape sustained major damage when he lost control and collided with a power pole about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday at the 700 block of Koontz Road south of Chehalis. Tristan J. McNeill was cited for speed too fast for conditions, according to the sheriff’s office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, trespassing, driving with suspended license, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarms, rear-end collision, disorderly person, suspicious circumstances, child custody dispute, damage to a mail box, damage to a car, possible violation of protection order, inquiry about the daily booms that sound like artillery; complaints of neighbor singing loudly, nasty picture received on teenage daughter’s cell phone … and more.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Sunday, January 26th, 2014
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Car lands on its top on North Tower Avenue. / Courtesy photo by Tyson Willis

A.M. ACCIDENT ENDS WITH ARREST

• Police and aid responded about 7 o’clock this morning to the 900 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia for a single-vehicle rollover accident. The driver declined aid and was left in the hands of officers, according to Riverside Fire Authority. Police cited Thomas E. Nelson, 36, of Centralia, for second-degree negligent driving and arrested him for possession of heroin, according to the Centralia Police Department.

POLICE LOOKING FOR SUSPECT IN KNIFE INCIDENT

• Police are investigating an incident in which a person reported being threatened by an individual with a knife at the 100 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia at about 7:40 p.m. on Friday. The victim knows the suspect who is being sought for first-degree assault, according to the Centralia Police Department.

UNDERAGE AND UNRULY

• A 20-year-old Rochester resident was arrested for minor in possession of alcohol and resisting arrest about 3:30 a.m. after officers were called to a dispute at the 500 block of South Rock Street in Centralia. Shane D. Fontenot was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

BREAK-IN

• Officers were called about 9:40 p.m. yesterday to a burglary from a garage on the 300 block of Hickory Street in Centralia.

THEFT FROM BUSINESS

• A bank bag containing checks and approximately $100 cash was reported missing from a business on the 200 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia late Friday afternoon, according to the Centralia Police Department.

LOST AND FOUND

• Centralia police began investigating on Friday a bicycle stolen from the 200 block of East Chestnut Street that turned up at a second-hand dealer. Its owner found it and officers have a suspect, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Police were called about 6:30 p.m. on Friday to the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia when a driver reported she came out of a store to discover someone had broken the rear window.

HIT AND RUN

• A pedestrian suffered minor injuries when hit by a car just before 7 p.m. Friday at the 800 block of West First Street in Centralia. Police said the driver of a four-door gold hatchback left without rendering aid or exchanging information.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, trespassing … and more.

News brief: Ultralight makes crash landing at Chehalis airport

Saturday, January 25th, 2014

Updated

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – An ultralight aircraft crashed at the Chehalis-Centralia Airport this afternoon with no serious injuries to the pilot.

Chehalis Firefighter Kevin Reynolds said the man took off and came down to land right away because something wasn’t right, and it didn’t end well.

“He walked away from it with minor cuts and bruises,” Reynolds said. “He’ll probably be sore tomorrow.”

Members of the Chehalis Fire Department called about 3:15 p.m. to the scene just west of Interstate 5 bandaged up the pilot’s hand and helped him roll the ultralight off the runway, according to Reynolds.

He was wearing safety gear and didn’t go the hospital, he said.

It was a two-seater, fixed wing machine whose home airport was elsewhere, but Reynolds wasn’t sure where.

Police report the 70-year-old man from Rainier, Ore. was flying a 2008 Aero and the Federal Aviation Administration would be investigating.

Overnight fire chases four from Winlock home

Saturday, January 25th, 2014

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Winlock household is without a home after an overnight fire but working smoke detectors awoke the two adults and two small children who escaped without injury, according to Lewis County Fire District 15.

Four fire departments responded just after 1:30 a.m. to the double-wide mobile home on the 100 block of Evergreen Lane just north of town, according to Assistant Chief Kevin Anderson.

Crews found heavy fire inside the attached garage which had spread into the home itself, according to Anderson.

The blaze was under control just before 3 a.m. but had already caused extensive damage to the structure and its contents, Anderson said in a news release.

Firefighters rescued an adult dog, which is in good condition, he stated.

The cause is under investigation and the Red Cross is assisting to provide the family with temporary shelter.

The little ones are both under two years old, according to Anderson.

Ricky Riffe heads to prison

Friday, January 24th, 2014
2014.0123.riffe.close.6114

Ricky A. Riffe listens to his lawyer during a court hearing yesterday.

Updated

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Ricky A. Riffe is finally off to prison today, nearly two months after he was sentenced to 103 years for the 1985 kidnapping, robbery and murders of Ed and Minnie Maurin.

Riffe, 55, has remained in the Lewis County Jail as he still faces charges that he raped and molested his then-9-year-old step-daughter in the mid-1980s.

The trial was set for next month, but yesterday a judge approved postponing it because of defense attorney John Crowley’s conflict with another trial.

A new date in April was chosen, but Riffe waived his right to a speedy trial all the way into September, so that if any further delays are requested and granted, he would not have to be transported back to Lewis County for a hearing.

The former Mossyrock man who was extradited from his longtime home in King Salmon, Alaska in mid-2012 denies any sexual contact with the alleged victim and is appealing his November conviction in the Maurin case.

He appeared before Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt yesterday for a status review of the child molestation case.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said he opposed the continuance, because of how long the matter has been pending. Prosecutors filed the new charges in the old case while Riffe was preparing for the murder trial which subsequently lasted more than six weeks this past fall.

An order was entered yesterday in which lawyers estimate the molestation trial will last four days.
•••

For background, read “Battle continues between Ricky Riffe, Lewis County prosecutors” from Friday January 3, 2014, here

And, “Attorneys dispute statute of limitations rules on surprise child sex charge for Maurin double murder defendant” from Saturday February 23, 2013, here

News brief: Fatal Vader crash was accidental, coroner says

Friday, January 24th, 2014

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The 70-year-old man who was killed in a car wreck on Tuesday morning in Vader died from his injuries, a death that is ruled accidental following an autopsy.

Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said that still doesn’t explain why Richard T. Brunaugh missed a stop sign and slammed into a concrete wall across from the south end of Winlock-Vader Road.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office which investigated the wreck said his vehicle was traveling southbound at a high rate of speed and crossed state Route 506 for unknown reasons.

Brunaugh died upon impact and was ejected, according to authorities. He’s from Cottage Grove, Ore.

His cocker spaniel that was traveling with him survived initially, but with severe spinal injuries. The Lewis County Animal Shelter was planning to euthanize the dog on Wednesday after consultation between a local veterinarian and Brunaugh’s former wife who previously co-owned the pet.

McLeod said the pathologist will be conducting further studies to see if there were any contributing factors that led to the accident.