Lewis County Sirens.com

One gallon freezer bag containing methamphetamine is among drugs confiscated yesterday outside Chehalis. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Updated at 1:07 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Law enforcement officers seized more than $200,000 worth of drugs yesterday from a house south of Chehalis, arresting four individuals.

The raid about 12:30 p.m. at a house on the 2500 block of Jackson Highway yielded both brown powdered heroin and methamphetamine, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

A one-gallon freezer bag which was located was nearly filled with chards of meth some as long as a Sharpie felt pen.

“Those are the biggest crystals I’ve ever seen in my career,” sheriff’s Chief Criminal Deputy Gene Seiber said.

The more than two and half pounds of meth is estimated to have a street value of some $200,000. Nearly 150 grams of heroin discovered inside the home is valued at almost $12,000, according to the sherif’s office.

The Lewis County Regional Crime Task Force and the sheriff’s office SWAT team assisted the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force in serving the search warrant.

Lewis County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Rob Snaza praised the partnership between agencies as being vital to getting drugs off the streets.

“”We recovered a large amount of meth and heroin (yesterday) which made a positive difference in our community,” Snaza said in a news release this morning.

Arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession with intent to deliver were:

• Randall D.  Mauel, 42, of Chehalis
• Ryan G. Mauel, 37, of Chehalis
• Jonathan R. Stajduhar, 34, Chehalis
• Tesa M. Hanks, 34, of Centralia

Hanks and Stajduhar are to be released without charges pending further investigation.

Brown powdered heroin located at Chehalis area residence. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Updated at 3:24 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 69-year-old man who drove himself to a Vader restaurant after sustaining a gunshot wound to his abdomen is recovering at a Tacoma hospital.

His 43-year-old female roommate has been arrested for first-degree assault.

The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded about 4:40 a.m. to a Ryderwood home after receiving 911 calls from both John Stiller and Linda Cochran.

He said his roommate shot him and he was trying to get out of the house; she said she had just shot somebody inside her house, according to the sheriff’s office.

Stiller was able to leave, get into his vehicle and drive himself to the Little Crane Cafe in Vader where he was met by aid and a deputy, according to responders.

He was airlifted to Tacoma General Hospital where underwent surgery, the sheriff’s office reported this afternoon. The (Longview) Daily News reports the sheriff said the injuries did not appear to be life threatening.

The sheriff’s office stated Cochran stayed on the line with the 911 dispatcher who advised deputies the woman continued to shoot randomly; however Cochran was talked out of of the residence and taken in to custody without incident, according a news release from the sheriff’s office.

It’s unknown why she shot him, but appears she may be dealing with some mental issues, the sheriff’s office said.

Stiller was shot with a hunting rifle believed to be owned by Cochran, the sheriff’s office said.

He is sedated but will remain in the hospital during this initial recovery stage, the sheriff’s office reported this afternoon.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Napavine area family lost everything in a house fire this morning, except their lives.

Crews called about 5 a.m. to the 300 block of Raubuck Road found fire in the front room of the two-story house and extinguished it, according to Fire Investigator Derrick Paul.

Two adults and four children escaped safely, according to Paul.

“There were working smoke detectors throughout the house, that’s what woke the parents up,” Paul said. “The fact is smoke detectors quite possibly saved the lives of all those kids.”

A pet dog was evacuated as well, according to Lewis County Fire District 5. The parents were treated at the scene for minor smoke inhalation, according to Paul.

Five fire departments battled the blaze, according to District 5.

Paul said the the fire damage was confined to the front room, although the rest of the house sustained heavy smoke damage.

It appeared the blaze began next to the chimney, Paul said. A fire had been left burning overnight in a fireplace insert, their only source of heat, he said.

After everyone had cleared the scene, part of the family returned and called 911 about 9:45 a.m. when they saw smoke, according to Paul.

“This time there was fire throughout the residence,” he said. “Basically, it burned to the ground.”

It’s undetermined what caused the second fire, but it’s a possibility an unextinguished ember flared up, Paul said.

“That sort of stuff does happen, nobody wants it to happen, we try real hard to make sure it doesn’t happen,” he said.

Paul said the Red Cross is assisting.

He also noted he wanted to emphasize that especially this time of year when the cold weather has more folks burning in fireplaces, that chimneys should be checked.

Earlier this morning, multiple occupants of a two-story house southwest of Littlerock escaped another house fire.

Crews were called about 3:40 a.m. to the 13900 block of Vue Street Southwest, according to West Thurston Fire Authority.

While there were smoke detectors, an overnight guest was awakened to smoke before they went off and found fire in the laundry room, Chief Robert Scott said.

Five fire departments responded to assist. Flames had extended into the roof in one area, the attic space of the second floor and over the garage, according to Scott.

The home was left with smoke and soot damage to most of the second floor, Scott said.

In that case, one male was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and a minor burn to his hand, Scott said. Five or six people escaped the fire, he said

The cause is under investigation.

A house in the Bordeaux area southwest of Littlerock caught fire this morning. / Courtesy photo by Robert Scott

SUSPICIOUS FIRE NEAR ETHEL

• Firefighters were called about 3:30 a.m. today when a car parked at a residence on the 200 block of Larmon Road caught fire. It was fully involved when crews arrived; they extinguished it, according to Lewis County Fire District 5. Assistant Chief Jeff Lee said the vehicle had apparently been sitting for awhile unused. The cause is under investigation, Lee said.

WARRANT ARREST

• Police responded overnight to the area off the 1200 block of Rush Road near Napavine after an individual ran from a traffic stop. Centralia’s police dog Lobo was summoned around 1 a.m. and after a short track, captured 32-year-old Raymond D. Faure with his teeth, according to the Centralia Police Department. Faure was wanted on at least one warrant from Centralia, according to police. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

BURGLARY

• Centralia police were called about 6 p.m. yesterday regarding someone breaking into a garage at the 400 block of West Magnolia Street.

WRECKS

• Centralia police responded to five non-injury collisions before noon yesterday, all related to traveling too fast in the snow, according to the Centralia Police Department. Sgt. Kurt Reichert said there was about a half inch of snow in town that had iced over.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Prosecutors yesterday filed two charges of second-degree child assault against the boyfriend of the mother of a 4-year-old boy who was brought to the hospital over the weekend with various injuries including bruises on the outsides of his legs he said he got from “knife hand” spankings.

Ryon T. Connery

Ryon T. Connery, 31, was arrested after a deputy on Saturday spoke with the child and his grandparents at Providence Centralia Hospital and then his mother and Connery at the Winlock area home.

The boy had been brought to the emergency room to be looked at after he was dropped off at his great grandmother’s house that morning.

Connery went before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday, where he was ordered held on $75,000 bail and prosecutors were given two more days to file charges. At the time, the defense attorney said the boy was currently with his other parent.

He was brought before a judge again yesterday when the charges were filed.

The offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

According to charging documents, the boy said he got spanked because he had been breaking “house rules”, including stealing food.

The documents allege the following was learned by the investigating deputy:

The child explained the rug burn on his nose came from when he fell on his face trying to get away from a spanking, an abrasion on his face happened when Connery hit him on the leg and it knocked him over so that he struck his face on the floor.

The child’s mother admitted her son had been made to do wall squats, push ups and being sprayed by a hose at the same time and she knew he’d dropped a weight on his finger – which was broken. She told the deputy the scrapes on his face were from falling down.

But she denied the child was dunked in the outdoor pool and was not aware of the injuries on his chest and back.

When asked what his mother did while he was getting punished, the boy told the deputy she would just watch.

The youngster also had swollen ankle that appeared to have been burned or infected.

The sheriff’s office says the mother and Connery live near Winlock. A document in the court file indicates a Chehalis address for Connery.

The mother said she and Connery have been in a dating relationship about four months.

Connery is represented by Centralia lawyer David Arcuri.

His arraignment was scheduled for today.