Posts Tagged ‘By Sharyn L. Decker’

News brief: Trees, brush ignite again at Scatter Creek Wildlife Area

Sunday, August 4th, 2013
2013.0804.caseroadsecondfire_2

Another fire breaks out at the Scatter Creek Wildlife Area north of Grand Mound. / Courtesy photo by West Thurston Regional Fire Authority

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Firefighters from six agencies responded this afternoon when another fire broke out at the Scatter Creek Wildlife Area north of Grand Mound.

Crews called about 2:30 p.m. found burning grass and brush adjacent to Case Road at the 16300 block which quickly spread into a small stand of fir trees, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority.

It was just a week ago when two acres in the same area were charred, and a large old wood barn was destroyed by fire.

Fire Chief Robert Scott said the state Department of Natural Resources is investigating the cause of today’s blaze.

It’s point of origin appeared to be a ways off the road and there’s “zero possibility” any vegetation rekindled from last Sunday, Scott said. Personnel from DNR were out there two days last week making sure that fire was out, he said.

Firefighters brought today’s fire under control limiting it to just over an acre, according to Scott.

His department was joined by members of Riverside Fire Authority, Thurston County Fire Districts 12, 6 and 13, as well as DNR. Nobody was injured, according to Scott.

Crews will be out there this evening conducting mop up, he said.

Scott said it’s fairly unusual for trees to torch off like they did today, on this side of the mountains, but it’s dry out. And the fire season is just beginning, he said.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Saturday, August 3rd, 2013

INTRUDER DISCOVERED INSIDE CENTRALIA HOME

• Centralia police were called to the 500 block of North Buckner Street yesterday when a resident found a young man inside her home. He climbed out a window to avoid her and ran south down Buckner, according to the Centralia Police Department. It happened about 11:20 a.m. when the female returned home after only being gone a couple of minutes, according to police. It’s not clear if anything was stolen. Police describe the intruder as a white male, perhaps in his mid-20s, with tattoos on both hands. He was wearing a blue shirt and black baseball hat, with a white star on its back, police say. Similar incidents in recent days in Tenino have prompted police there to urge the public to keep their doors locked.

UNHAPPY TENANT

• A 26-year-old Centralia woman was arrested for felony harassment yesterday after she allegedly threatened to kill her property manager at the 1100 block of South Pearl Street. Officers called about 4:25 p.m. booked Cassandra R. Sines into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

UNPLEASANT CUSTOMER

• A 43-year-old Kennewick man who allegedly tried to pick fights with customers at a Centralia gas station on the 1200 block of Mellen Street was arrested for disorderly conduct. Officers responding about 9:45 p.m. booked Servando G. Marquez into the Lewis County Jail,according to the Centralia Police Department. He was also wanted on two outstanding warrants, according to police.

UNCONSCIOUS SHOPPER

• Police responding to a report about 8:30 a.m. on Thursday about a male passed out in the bathroom of a grocery store in Centralia ended up arresting Bo D. Rupert, 19, of Auburn, for minor in possession or consumption of alcohol. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MISSING AUTOMOBILE

• A gray 2000 Nissan Sentra was reported stolen from the 800 block of Centralia College Boulevard in Centralia on Thursday afternoon. The car has custom wheels, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MISSING QUADS

• Police were called to the 800 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia on Thursday to take a report regarding two ATVs which were stolen.

MISSING MEDS

• Prescription medication was stolen in a car prowl on the 100 block of South Diamond Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police on Thursday.

VANDALISM

• Police took a report yesterday morning of two tires on a vehicle getting slashed overnight at the 800 block of West Pear Street in Centralia.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license, misdemeanor domestic assault … and more.

News brief: Beware of seemingly innocent activities with high fire danger

Saturday, August 3rd, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Even the spark from a mower blade striking a rock can ignite a brush fire with the increasingly dry conditions, according to officials who are urging the public to take extra precautions to prevent wildfires.

Hundreds of firefighters are battling two major wildfires near Wenatchee and Goldendale, making demands upon both regional and statewide personnel and equipment, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

Already limited outdoor burning has been restricted even further this week with the banning of campfires on all forestland and other property that is protected by DNR.

Lewis County put restrictions in place almost two weeks ago; although recreational fires in approved sites or receptacles are still allowed.

Most wildfires are human caused, according DNR, with sources such as welding or grinding metal out of doors, target shooting at rocks or metal, tossing lit cigarettes or even the hot mufflers of vehicles.

“Dry grass touching a vehicle’s hot exhaust system could start a major fire, especially when the wind is blowing,” Bruce Bjork, chief of enforcement for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife stated in a news release yesterday.  “If you’re driving through the woods or open range, please stay on the road surface until you find a paved or graveled area to park.”

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, August 2nd, 2013

KID CRIME

• As deputies investigated a recent string of Vader car prowls they came upon a pair of brothers yesterday who allegedly admitted to a burglary three weeks earlier in which someone kicked in the door of a vacation home on Sixth Street and made off with a rifle, 30 bottles of expensive wine and numerous other valuables. The boys, ages 13 and 16, were arrested and booked yesterday into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center for first-degree burglary, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies are looking for a 15-year-old who may also be connected to the break-in, according to the sheriff’s office.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

• A 36-year-old Vader man was arrested yesterday afternoon for second-degree assault after he allegedly choked his girlfriend at their Vader home. Shane A. Chancellor was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the  Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. However, prosecutors are referring the case down to Lewis County District Court with a charge of fourth-degree assault. Detective Sgt. Dusty Breen said he didn’t know the specifics of this case but noted the distinction between misdemeanor and a felony assault when it comes to these types of cases is if a person’s breathing is interfered with.

LOST AND FOUND

• A Chehalis woman who discovered from FedEx they accidentally delivered her package to a residence across town called police yesterday and got her package back. It was an iPhone valued at $419, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The individual who signed for it at the wrong address said they thought it was for an upstairs tenant, but was warned by an officer it was a bad idea to sign for something that was not meant for them, according to police.

• A person called 911 about 11 a.m. yesterday to say they’d captured a friendly ferret which had been running loose near their business on the 200 block of Southwest Ninth Street in Chehalis. An animal control officer retrieved the animal and took it to the shelter, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

MAN GOES TO SHERIFF’S OFFICE, GETS BOOKED

• A 25-year-old homeless man who went to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office yesterday to register as a sex offender was arrested because he has reportedly been residing in the county for a month, which is beyond the deadline of three business days in which to register after a move, according to the sheriff’s office. Trevor T. Calabrese was previously registered as living in Thurston County, according to the sheriff’ office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, violation of protection order; responses for alarms, possibly drunk driver, disturbance; complaints of a seemingly homeless person who peed in a corner behind a building, a male in a parking lot digging through the garbage  … and more.

News brief: Two scary Tenino burglaries in one week period

Thursday, August 1st, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Tenino teenager investigating someone rummaging through a trash can outside his home during the night was met with a pistol pointed in his direction by a male whose face was covered by a black bandana.

Within moments, the same subject had entered the same residence through a back screen door, looked around and then left, according to police.

The incident on the 900 block of Lincoln Avenue at about 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday was the second time in the span of seven days in  which a stranger went inside a Tenino residence while someone was at home, according to the Tenino Police Department.

Police Chief John Hutchings is urging people too keep their doors closed and locked, especially at night, even though it may be warm outside.

“Occupied burglaries are rare,” Hutchings said in a news release yesterday. “To have a suspect armed and pointing a handgun at a victim is even rarer and to have two in a one week period is indicative of a potential crime trend.”

The first instance occurred in the 600 block of Garfield Avenue East at about 5 p.m. on July 23.

A teenage girl was in her bedroom and when she thought her family was returning home, she looked out and saw an intruder going out a back door, according to police. The man had come in through an unlocked kitchen door, according to police.

He appeared to be in his 30s, about 5-feet 11-inches tall and weighed around 220 pounds, with dark medium length hair, wearing dark blue jeans and some type of a vest over a black shirt, Hutchings stated.

Nothing was noted as stolen in either burglary. Tenino police and sheriff’s deputies searched both areas without success.

In this week’s intrusion, the suspect is described as 20 years old to 25 years old and more by his attire: Khaki cargo shorts, a short sleeved light purple shirt, a flat-billed baseball cap and the black bandana.

In that case, after the subject pointed the gun and told the teen to stay on the porch, he got into a newer dark colored Honda Accord or Civic-type car and drove away, according to Hutchings. However, as the boy was telling his mother what happened, the man apparently returned and briefly entered through a back door.

Hutchings asks the public to please call 911 if they see any suspicious looking people or cars in their neighborhoods. He suggests an alternative for anyone with an anonymous tip, is Thurston County Crime Stoppers at 360-481-5182.

Centralia resident killed in freeway rollover wreck in King County

Thursday, August 1st, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Centralia man died at the scene of a fiery rollover crash in which both occupants were ejected yesterday afternoon in Federal Way.

Billy Powell Jr. 21, was a passenger in a Honda Accord that was northbound off the Interstate 5 ramp to state Route 18 when the driver for whatever reason lost control, according to the Washington State Patrol. The car rolled several times and caught fire, according to the state patrol.

It happened about 12:20 p.m. and the cause remains under investigation.

Trooper Clifford Pratt said the vehicle was on a straightaway and likely speeding, although not wildly over the speed limit .

“It will maybe have more to do with something that was going on inside the car,” Pratt said.

The equipment on the 1992 model Honda was in poor condition he said. “The tires were some of the baldest I’ve ever seen in a crash.”

Santana Sanchez, 27, of Shelton, was badly hurt with broken arms, deep cuts and probably hit her head pretty hard, Pratt said. She landed about 20 feet away and initially indicated she was alone in the vehicle, he said.

In the course of extinguishing the burning car, which came to rest in sticker bushes, they found the other person, about 10 feet away, according to Pratt. Responders tried to revive him, but were unsuccessful, he said.

Pratt said there was probably a five to eight minute delay that may or may not have made a difference.

Powell died from blunt force injury to his torso, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The trooper described Powell as currently homeless, with a last known address in Centralia, which is where his family lives.

Neither of the two were wearing their seat belts, according to the state patrol.

Sanchez was transported to St. Francis Hospital. It’s unknown if she had drugs or alcohol in her system, but investigators are looking at that, according to Pratt.

“It’s a bad situation all the way around,” he said.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, August 1st, 2013

CANDY, AMMO AMONG THE LOOT

• Deputies yesterday morning were called to Vader for an overnight car prowl spree in which at least five locations were hit. A blue BMX bicycle was taken from the back of a truck parked on the 800 block of G Street sometime after 4:30 a.m., according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Among the other items stolen from various vehicles were fishing poles, keys, a cordless drill, loose candy, jumper cables, a child’s doll and  a 9 mm magazine filled with ammunition, according to the sheriff’s office. The suspects are three juveniles, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

MORE KIDS STEALING STUFF

• Two boys were spotted stealing a bicycle from the library in Centralia yesterday. An officer responding about 4 p.m. to the 100 block of South Silver Street describes it as gray Yukon mountain bike.

CAR PROWL

• Chehalis police were called about 3 p.m. to Southwest Chehalis Avenue near Main Street when an individual found someone entered their car which have been left unlocked and stole a lunchbox and prescription drugs.

UNHAPPY TRAIN PASSENGER

• Police were called to the railroad station in Centralia yesterday when a conductor kicked a passenger off the Amtrak train, who allegedly became agitated and threatening, even kicking at luggage. Police say Hassan A. Sabaghi, 64, from Seattle, was removed about 11:30 a.m. because he was screaming at other passengers. The train was enroute to Denver, according to police. Sabaghi was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for disorderly conduct, according to the Centralia Police Department. It’s not clear if the luggage he kicked was his own, or if his bags had remained on the train.

HORSE PURSUIT

• Officers responded just before 1 p.m. yesterday to assist sheriff’s deputies with catching four horses that got loose from the 500 block of South Street in Centralia and were running in traffic, according to the Centralia Police Department. After about a half hour, the animals were corralled at Jefferson-Lincoln Elementary School about a half mile away, according to the sheriff’s office. The owner, a 32-year-old woman, will be issued a citation for “animals at large,” according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

WRECKS

• A 33-year-old Randle man was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with a possible broken back and internal injuries after a single-vehicle collision yesterday along the 300 block of Kiona Road in Randle, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy responding about 7 p.m. reported the 33-year-old passenger was taken to Morton General Hospital where she was treated and has been released. The driver was northbound and traveling too fast when approaching a right turn and ran into some trees, according to the sheriff’s office. The 1996 Buick Regal was totaled.

• A 16-year-old boy from Castle Rock was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with a possible concussion and a wrist injury last night after he lost control of his car and struck a tree along the 400 block of Boistfort Road west of Chehalis. A deputy responding about 10:40 p.m. noted his 1972 Subaru was totaled and his 16-year-old female passenger ended up with just scrapes, 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 protection order; responses by fire department for illegal outdoor burning, by police for alarms, disputes, collisions, shoplifting; complaints of reckless drivers, loud music, barking dogs … and more.