Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated at 6:26 p.m.

300 POUND NUDE DUDE GETS AWAY

• It was the middle of the night in Morton when two officers pulled over an erratically driven vehicle. As the driver began to get out of his car, Deputy Susan Shannon noticed he was entirely nude. He said, he just wanted to stop and say hello, and that he had to go home now. An attempt to get him to stick around with a Taser failed to connect. The man got back in the vehicle, put it in gear and drove off, blowing through a stop sign at 40 mph and then heading east on U.S. Highway 12. With emergency lights flashing, both in marked patrol cars, Shannon and Morton Police Officer Perry Royale pursued the naked motorist at speeds up to 80 mph toward White Pass, but finally gave up for safety reasons. Since they knew he lived in Yakima, they figured he was probably headed home. So say the charging documents that were filed after the August 17th event. The man believed to be the unclothed driver appeared in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday, where his lawyer asked for a continuance. Sam Groberg told the judge he finally got a chance to sit down and discuss the case, and some of its odd facts, with his client earlier in the day. “I think it would be beneficial for him to talk to someone, such as Dr. Trowbridge,” Groberg said, referencing a state psychiatrist. “You mean, you’re wondering about his mental state, at the time this allegedly occurred?” the judge asked. Yes, was the response. Joshua L. Hunter, who is free on bail, is charged with one count of attempting to elude. The 40-year-old Yakima resident, whose information lists him at 6-feet 5-inches tall and 300 pounds, was identified by the deputy through his vehicle registration and a photo on his driver’s license. Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Eric Eisenberg had no objection to postponing the trial. “It’s apparent this is a plausible defense,” he said. The matter was rescheduled for April.

CAR PROWL BIG AND SMALL

• Someone broke into a vehicle on the 800 block of Hillburger Road west of Chehalis and stole a tool valued at more than $18,000, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The item, a locator used to identify utility lines in construction areas, was taken sometime between 6 p.m. on Tuesday and 6:30 a.m. yesterday, according to the sheriff’s office.

• A deputy was called about 4 p.m. yesterday to the 900 block of Shorey Road west of Chehalis where about $300 worth of tools including a Dewalt drill were stolen from a vehicle.

• Someone entered an unlocked vehicle and took a small amount of change and cigarettes at the 1100 block of Creekside Court in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday.

EMPLOYEE THEFT

• An officer was called to a business on the 1600 block of Louisiana Avenue about 2 p.m. yesterday regarding suspected theft by an employee involving falsified transactions of more than $2,500, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The case was referred to prosecutors to consider a charge of second-degree theft, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

PHONE THEFTS

• Centralia police responded about 7:30 a.m. today to the ATT store on the 1200 block of Lum Road to a report two males had smashed a window and stole several several cell phones on display. The case is still under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Yesterday afternoon, an officer took a report of two cell phones stolen from a business on the 1100 block of Johnson Road in Centralia.

OTHER THEFT

• Chehalis police were contacted yesterday morning about a steam cleaner stolen from inside a gated area on the 500 block of West Main Street.

• Someone stole a portable propane tank from the 400 block of Centralia College Boulevard sometime between 6:30 a.m. yesterday and about 2 p.m., according to the Centralia Police Department.

ARREST FOR GIVING FALSE NAME

• A 23-year-old Centralia man was jailed following a stop for a traffic violation yesterday afternoon on Mellen Street when an officer concluded the documents he identified himself with were falsified, according to police. Centralia police say Ricardo Perez-Ramirez had a suspended license and an outstanding warrant. The photo was of him, but he said the name on the documents belonged to his uncle in Mexico, Sgt. Stacy Denham said. Perez-Ramirez was booked into the Lewis County Jail for identity theft, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DOMESTIC INCIDENT

• A 23-year-old Chehalis resident was arrested for misdemeanor assault after a woman called 911 last night to report her son pushed her against the wall, trying to “get the demons out of her,” according to police. An officer subsequently contacted Drake A. Lorber and booked him into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license, violation of anti-harassment or protection orders, underage drinking; responses for alarms, suspicious vehicle, misdemeanor theft, minor injury collision, prescription medication that could be stolen or just misplaced, possibly stolen computer equipment, a homeless person camping out with a sleeping bag and suitcases, female either passed out or sleeping in a parking lot … and more.

The overpass at 13th Street in Chehalis over Interstate 5 after it was struck by a log loader on a trailer. / Courtesy photo by Washington State Patrol

CHEHALIS OVERPASS REPAIRS WILL CLOSE NORTHBOUND I-5

• A portion of northbound Interstate 5 at Chehalis will be closed overnight this weekend while repairs are made to the 13th Street bridge which was damaged by a too-tall load last week. Drivers will be re-routed using the on and off ramps between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. On the morning of Dec. 31, the driver of a Chehalis-based truck pulling a trailer carrying a log loader was cited after the loader struck a portion of the overpass snapping steel tension cables and knocking concrete onto the freeway, according to the Washington State Patrol. A state patrol spokespersons said the company was permitted for a load no taller than 14-feet 6-inches but inspectors subsequently measured the load at 14-feet 7-inches. Trooper Will Finn said the overpass measures at 15 feet. DOT says it has a vertical clearance of 14-feet 8-inches. The truck was escorted by front and rear pilot cars and the overhead detector about a mile to the south – which sets off both audible and visual alarms – was found to be operational, according to authorities. Truck restrictions on the overpass currently in place will be lifted after the weekend work, according to DOT. The bridge is 56 years old.

DRUGS

• Deputies ended up arresting three people early yesterday morning after a suspicious vehicle pulled into a Chehalis area driveway and then sped off when confronted. It happened about 5:20 a.m. at the 300 block of Yates Road and when the suspect vehicle was located near Jackson Highway and Logan Hill Road, it was occupied by three Yelm residents, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The driver, Adam G. Jones, 34, had a suspended license and subsequently he and passenger, Kassandra M. Anderson, 22, were booked for possession of methamphetamine, according to the sherif’s office. Forty-two-year-old David R. Perez was also booked into the Lewis County Jail for a warrant, Sgt. Rob Snaza said.

CAR PROWL

• Chehalis police responded to a vehicle prowl at the 700 block of Northwest Liberty Place just before midnight, in which someone rifled through a truck containing various tools. A window was found broken  on the driver’s side and the door unlocked, according to the Chehalis Police Department. It wasn’t immediately clear what may have been taken, police said.

FRAUD

• Centralia police were contacted yesterday afternoon regarding a cell phone account opened fraudulently under the victim’s name, in connection with a location at the 600 block of North Tower Avenue.

SEX CRIME

• A 34-year-old Centralia area man turned himself yesterday in connection with an investigation that began last week of alleged sexual abuse of a young relative. A deputy was first contacted on Friday by a mother who said her teenage daughter disclosed incidents that occurred during the year that ended in September of 2012, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office was unsuccessful in its attempts to contact Rodney J. Teitzel Jr. but he turned himself in to the Lewis County Jail late last night where he was booked for second-degree child rape and molestation, according to the sheriff’s office. His bail was set at $150,000.

WRECK

• A 34-year-old Chehalis woman was taken to the hospital with neck pain following a two-car accident last night at Jackson Highway and North Fork Road south of Chehalis. Deputies responding about 8:30 p.m. concluded a Ford Escort pulled onto the roadway heading south when it was struck by the northbound Toyota Corolla. Both vehicles sustained major damage, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license, violation of anti-harassment order, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarms; complaint of a woman outside for hours bugging patrons … and more.

THEFT AND BURGLARY

• Sometime between 12:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. yesterday, someone got inside a shop building on the 100 block of Mable’s Court Drive outside Chehalis and made off with an air compressor, a battery charger, a chainsaw and other tools, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies are looking for a person seen in the area described as tall wearing a dark jacket and hoodie, according to the sheriff’s office.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported today it appears someone attempted to steal items from a barn at the 1600 block of Rice Road outside Chehalis on Saturday. Five cow feeder dividers were missing but later found outside the barn as though someone may have intended to come back for them, Sgt. Rob Snaza said. Snaza said he wasn’t sure but thought perhaps they were wanted for their scrap value.

• Centralia police took a report about 10 p.m. last night regarding the theft of medications from the 600 block of North Tower Avenue. The case involves a possible suspect known to the victim, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DISORDERLINESS

• A 33-year-old Kelso woman was arrested about 3 o’clock this morning for obstructing a public servant after contact with an officer at the 400 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia. Meagan M. Hayward-Rice was booked into the Lewis County Jail,  according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS

• Centralia police report they arrested a 36-year-old man at the 400 block of East Park Street in Napavine about 8 a.m. yesterday for possession of heroin. Ian D. Angelo was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

WRECK

• An 18-year-old Chehalis woman escaped injury when her car slid in gravel into a ditch at a sharp turn at the 100 block of Stearns Road west of Chehalis at about 9 p.m. yesterday. Her car sustained major damage, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as responses for misdemeanor theft, two-vehicle collision with no injuries, possibly a found potato gun; complaints of ongoing noise from across the street; fire departments responding to “a couple of medical calls”, “some aid calls” and “all aid calls yesterday”… and more.