Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

January 28th, 2018
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UNWELCOME VISITOR

• A 19-year-old Centralia resident was arrested after police were called about 7:15 p.m. yesterday to the 500 block of West Center Street in Centralia because he had allegedly attempted to enter a home to look for a place to sleep. Michael W. Severance was found to be under the influence and resisted arrest, according to the Centralia Police Department. Severance was booked into the Lewis County Jail for malicious mischief and criminal trespass, according to police.

BURGLARY

• Police were called about 10 a.m. yesterday to the 800 block of South Street where an individual reported that sometime over the weekend someone broke into the residence and stole jewelry, money and cosmetics.

VEHICLE THEFT

• Centralia police were called about 11:30 a.m. yesterday to take a report that a blue 1971 Ford F250 truck, was stolen from the 500 block of Jackson Street sometime during the previous week. It has a license plate reading C92923H, according to the Centralia Police Department.

FRAUD

• Centralia police were called about 10 a.m. on Friday to the 1300 block of South Gold Street and began investigating the possible theft of checks which had been altered and passed.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Police were called to the 100 block of North King Street in Centralia about 11:35 a.m. on Friday where an individual reported sometime during the night last weekend, someone removed his LED light bar and other LED lighting off his vehicle.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• A 20-year-old Chehalis resident was arrested for hit and run after he allegedly ran a stop sign and struck another vehicle about 12:20 p.m. yesterday at Plum and Iron streets in Centralia. Police say Jonathan J. Garcilazo Lucht, and his two passengers fled on foot but were later located. Deago G. Perez, 18, of Chehalis was arrested for outstanding warrants and Jamie A.M. Bismuti, 19, of Centralia was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, according to the Centralia Police Department. All three were also arrested for criminal trespass and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

• Chehalis police on Friday afternoon said the reason for the attempted traffic stop that led to W.F. West High School getting locked down for a few minutes was because of speeding through the 20th Street school zone. It began around 10:20 a.m. on Friday and the white Nissan Murano reportedly fled northbound on Market Boulevard and then turned left onto 17th Street, which dead ends at the high school parking lot. One of the four occupants jumped out and ran off, according to police. The driver, 18-year-old Reina Martinez, from Centralia, was arrested for eluding and for possession of a stolen vehicle, according to police. The remaining two people were released from the scene.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, third-degree theft, misdemeanor domestic assault, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, vehicle collision, misdemeanor theft, suspicious circumstances … and more among 292 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 48-hour period ending about 7 a.m.

Fired Centralia insurance agent charged with theft of customers’ payments

January 26th, 2018
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Matthew G. Gingerich is seated to the left of his defense attorney in Lewis County Superior Court

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A former Centralia insurance agent pleaded not guilty today to first-degree theft, in connection with allegedly misappropriating client’s premium payments.

Matthew G. Gingerich, 37, was fired from employment with American Family Insurance following an internal audit three years ago. His license was revoked two years ago by the Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

The Lewis County Prosecutors Office filed the criminal charge late last year and summonsed Gingerich to appear before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.

He was accompanied by his Olympia attorney Jason Fugate.

Gingerich was allowed release on his personal recognizance pending trial

Gingerich’s business address was on the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia. The state insurance commissioner said in the spring of 2016 the audit showed he misappropriated nearly $30,000, and American Family was able to correct all the consumer’s policies of but one.

He was licensed for property, casualty, life and disability insurance in this state beginning in October 2008.

Charging documents in his case allege Gingerich put an internal block on a client’s account, preventing the client from receiving a cancellation notice in the event Gingerich didn’t pay the premium.

The report from the OIC showed he withheld approximately $37,000 of his client’s payments, and didn’t pass them on to American Family Insurance, Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher wrote in charging documents.

Meagher writes the audit found Gingerich transferred $37,610 from his premium trust account to his business checking account between August 2013 to March 2014, although he put $19,496 back in and that he admitted to receiving $2,800.24 in cash for premiums he didn’t put in the trust account.

He allegedly provided the auditor altered bank statements, including a fictitious business savings account.

His trial was scheduled for the week of April 15.
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For background, read “Insurance Commissioner: Centralia agent failed to remit customer premiums” from Tuesday March 22, 2016, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

January 26th, 2018
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Updated

RECOVERED STOLEN VEHICLE

• W.F. West High School in Chehalis was locked down for a few minutes this morning as police caught up to a vehicle which had been stolen out of Thurston County. It happened around 10:30 a.m. at Southwest 17th Street, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Department spokesperson Linda Bailey said the vehicle failed to yield for a traffic stop and the event turned into the recovery of a stolen vehicle. Bailey said she believed there were multiple people in the vehicle and was told of one person taken to jail.

BREAK-IN WINLOCK

• A deputy called just before 7 o’clock yesterday for a burglary at the 200 block of Nikula Road in Winlock found someone had entered through a bathroom window of the residence. The victim is still attempting to determine what is missing, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

DRUGS

• A 41-year-old Centralia resident was arrested just after midnight at the 600 block of Meier Road for a violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. A deputy was in the area attempting to locate persons wanted on outstanding warrants and came upon Makia D. Adams sitting in a vehicle, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He was detained and a brown substance which field-tested positive for heroin was found in his possession, according to the sheriff’s office. A white substance found with drug paraphernalia in a bag tested positive for meth, Chief Deputy Bruce Kimsey said. Adams was was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Kimsey.

• When police arrested a 29-year-old woman about noon yesterday for violation of a protection order at the 1900 block of Honeysuckle Lane in Centralia, they found suspected methamphetamine in her purse. Amber L. Schindler, of Tacoma, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• A 29-year-old motorist from Olympia was injured after he pulled out from being stopped on the eastbound shoulder of U.S. Highway 12 and attempted to make a U-turn on Friday morning. It happened just before 7:35 a.m. about two miles east of Ethel, according to the Washington State Patrol. The 2000 Dodge Caravan was struck by an eastbound Hyundai Santa Fe sport utility vehicle driven by a 49-year-old Mossyrock woman, according to the state patrol. Both vehicles were totaled. Samer M. Allababidi was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital. He was cited for failure to yield and for driving with a suspended license, according to the state patrol.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, third-degree theft, misdemeanor domestic assault; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, vehicle collision, suspicious circumstances … and more among 121 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m.

Virtual life sentence for juvenile from Centralia drive-by shooting to be argued again

January 25th, 2018
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Guadalupe Solis-Diaz Jr., now 27, stands before a judge again in 10 year old case

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – For the third time, a judge will be asked to decide on a sentence for a former Centralia High School student who was convicted here in a drive-by shooting a decade ago.

Guadalupe Solis-Diaz Jr. was tried and sentenced as an adult for crimes committed as a juvenile. He is serving a nearly 93 year sentence imposed by Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt.

The Washington State Court of Appeals and even the Washington State Supreme Court have weighed in on his case.

Solis-Diaz went before a judge today in Lewis County Superior Court, where a date was chosen for a new sentencing hearing.

It was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on June 15.

His appointed defense attorney Erik Kupka said there is “absolutely” a chance his client will be given a shorter sentence.

Solis-Diaz was 16 years old when gunfire was sprayed along the east side of South Tower Avenue in downtown Centralia in the summer of 2007, missing six bar patrons. Witnesses testified it was gang-related. Solis-Diaz maintained he was innocent but was convicted by a jury.

He was sentenced to 1,111 months in prison, based on multiple offenses including one count of first-degree assault committed with a firearm for each bullet that was fired. The six assault counts were ordered to be served consecutively and each carried a mandatory extra five years because they were committed with a firearm.

In 2012, he won an appeal and the local court was ordered to conduct a new hearing, referencing matters it believed should have been handled more thoroughly, given the defendant was a juvenile.

Judge Hunt was asked to consider an exceptional sentence downward, but the judge maintained several reasons why he should not do that. He sentenced him a second time, imposing the same sentence.

In 2016, a different three-member panel of the appeals court vacated the second sentence and ordered Hunt to conduct a meaningful inquiry before imposing a new sentence. In January of last year, the Washington State Supreme Court disqualified Hunt from presiding over the new hearing. Hunt had retired a few days before the ruling.

Kupka said Lewis County Superior Court Judge Andrew Toynbee will preside over the coming re-sentencing.

Kupka is joined in representing Solis-Diaz by Kimberly Ambrose, a senior law lecturer at the University of Washington School of Law. She has been involved in the case since 2011.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh said Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer is handling the case. Meyer was not present for today’s brief hearing.

More than a dozen family members and supporters of Solis-Diaz, including six children, attended the hearing today. The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office’s victim advocate wasn’t sure if any of the victims were in the courtroom.

Solis-Diaz , now 27, was transported from the state Department of Corrections to the Lewis County Jail last Friday.

Kupka said he doesn’t know how long the June hearing will take.
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For background, read “State supreme court questions Judge Hunt’s amenability to considering mitigating evidence in drive-by case” from Friday January 13, 2017, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

January 25th, 2018
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HARASSMENT INVESTIGATION

• Centralia police were called to a law office on the 300 block of Harrison Avenue about 11:50 a.m. yesterday where it was reported a former client phoned and made comments that were perceived as threats. The case is still under investigation, according to the Centralia Police Department.

BREAK-IN BISHOP ROAD

• A deputy was dispatched about 4:10 p.m. yesterday to the 1500 block of Bishop Road in Chehalis regarding a break-in to a space at a mini storage facility. A lock was cut and two flat screen televisions as well as a second lock were stolen, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

PORCH PILFERING

• Centralia police were called to the 600 block of North Pearl Street about 10:45 a.m. yesterday where someone had opened a package left on the front porch and removed a printer.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called about 5:15 p.m. yesterday to take a report that a backpack and books had been stolen from a vehicle parked at the 600 block of M Street.

• Chehalis police were contacted about 10:35 a.m. yesterday by an individual who reported someone got inside a vehicle parked at Northeast Cascade and Washington avenues and stole a bag containing tennis equipment. The loss is estimated at $400, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

DRUGS

• Chehalis police were called about 2:20 p.m. yesterday regarding a potential marijuana violation at the 300 block of Southwest 16th Street.

• A 29-year-old motorist stopped for a traffic violation about 3 o’clock this morning on southbound Interstate 5 near milepost 79 at Chehalis was arrested for possession of a controlled substance after he allegedly confessed a piece of tin foil on the driver’s side floorboard contained heroin. Jory J. Berndt, from Kent, was driving with a suspended license, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He was was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office.

VANDALISM

• Chehalis police were called about 3:20 p.m. yesterday regarding graffiti spray painted, again, onto a garage at the 600 block of Southwest Chehalis Avenue.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for drugs, warrants, trespassing, driving under the influence, misdemeanor assault, protection order violation; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, hit and run, vehicle collision, suspicious circumstances … and more among 151 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m.

Suicide attempt leads to felony charge for Centralia woman

January 24th, 2018
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By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Lewis County prosecutors have filed a criminal charge against a 24-year-old woman who allegedly tried to kill herself by lighting a fire in her bedroom and trying to inhale the smoke.

The woman subsequently told a police officer when she noticed flames going up the wall, she remembered there were people nearby so she called 911, according to court documents.

The fire in November in Centralia caused heavy damage to the single-wide mobile home and started to spread to nearby trees before it was extinguished.

She went before a judge this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court, charged with first-degree arson. She arrived at the courtroom in a wheelchair, accompanied by her father.

Judge Andrew Toynbee allowed her to remain free pending trial on a $25,000 unsecured bond.

The fire happened  about 11:40 a.m. on Nov. 21 in the 1300 block of Harrison Avenue. Firefighters at the time said they arrived to find smoke coming from all the windows and that the sole occupant had already exited the residence.

Riverside Fire Authority at the time stated there were no injuries and the occupant was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital for evaluation.

Charging documents in the case, however, state she was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and that’s where a Centralia police officer spoke with her.

The woman told the officer she placed stuffed animals and napkins on the floor between her bed and the wall, threw one or two matches down and positioned her head close to the floor to breathe in the smoke, according to the court documents.

First-degree arson is a felony with a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Outside the courtroom, the woman said she owned the home “outright” and her father said she would be pleading not guilty.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said she was summonsed to appear before the judge yesterday, but wrote it down wrong on her calendar as today. A no-bail warrant was issued yesterday.

Asked about charging someone with a felony who was attempting suicide, Halstead said he would not talk about the case, and “there is more to it than that.”

The defendant was given a court appointed lawyer. Her arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 1.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

January 24th, 2018
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BREAK-IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called about 7:40 a.m. yesterday for a burglary at a business on the 700 block of Harrison Avenue. A door was forced open and cash and medication was stolen, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AUTO THEFT

• A vehicle stolen from Thurston County was located abandoned at Plum and Buckner streets in Centralia just before 4 a.m. today.

• Chehalis police were called just before 8 a.m. yesterday to the 2100 block of North National Avenue to take a report that a Penske truck that was rented and supposed to be returned last month was missing. The loss is estimated at $50,000.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called for a vehicle prowl about 7:25 a.m. yesterday at the the 900 block of F Street. The unlocked vehicle was ransacked but nothing was missing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

HARASSMENT

• Chehalis police were contacted about 12:15 p.m. yesterday about harassment involving juveniles. The case is under investigation, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called to the 300 block of Latona Street just before 2 p.m. yesterday where graffiti had been spray painted onto a shed.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, no contact order violation, driving under the influence, being in physical control of vehicle while under the influence, operating motor vehicle without required ignition interlock device; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, hit and run, vehicle collision, suspicious circumstances … and more among 158 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m.