Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

September 13th, 2013

COFFEE STAND BURGLARIZED

• Someone broke into an espresso stand on the 12000 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Packwood and stole a cash register and other items, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy responding just before 10 a.m. yesterday was told it happened sometime after 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday and 8 a.m. on Thursday, according to the sheriff’s office. The loss is estimated at $1,000.

FIREARMS STOLEN

• A Winchester rifle and a 22 rifle were among the valuables missing after a burglary yesterday at a home on the 100 block of Nikula Road outside Winlock. A deputy called about 3 p.m. learned someone forced their way into the residence sometime after 11 a.m. and left with the guns as well as a laptop computer, an Xbox with games and jewelry, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

SAFE MISSING

• A safe was stolen from a home on the 200 block of West Second Street in Centralia while the residents were out for dinner last night. Police called just before 9 p.m. report it contained cash and various paperwork. It appears they pried a back door to get inside, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DISPUTE RESULTS IN ARREST

• Deputies arrested a 47-year-old Rochester man overnight who allegedly went inside an acquaintance’s home uninvited, kicked over numerous items and assaulted the resident. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said they were called to the 3300 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia and learned that George F. Jones and the 50-year-old victim had been arguing and Jones left. He was subsequently located at the Travel Lodge in Centralia and booked into the Lewis County Jail for burglary, Sgt. Rob Snaza said. Information about what the disagreement was about or why Jones was not arrested for assault was not readily available.

NOT TRASH

• A checkbook found in a dumpster in downtown Chehalis yesterday by a woman looking for son’s lost cell phone turned out to have been stolen from Olympia in a July burglary. The item turned into police yesterday had been tucked inside a McDonalds to-go bag, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Officer Linda Bailey contacted its owner and learned one check was missing.

LOST AND FOUND

• Chehalis police are hoping the owner of a ring found in the parking lot at Yard Birds on North National Avenue yesterday gives them a call. It has clear stones which could very well be diamonds as it looks like an engagement ring, Officer Linda Bailey said. If someone is missing that type of ring, they should call the Chehalis Police Department and describe theirs, Bailey said.

DOOR SHOT

• Centralia police responded about 5:20 p.m. yesterday when a resident on the 3000 block of Borst Avenue discovered several holes in her front door that appeared to have been made by a pellet gun.

DUI CRASH

• A 35-year-old Chehalis woman was arrested for driving under the influence overnight after she allegedly struck two parked vehicles near the 100 block of Cascade Avenue in Chehalis. A deputy was contacted about 2:40 a.m. by the Chehalis Police Department to assist and arrested Miriam J. Rosenberg, 35, of Chehalis, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Rosenberg was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license, driving under the influence; responses for alarms, misdemeanor theft, suspicious circumstances, various disturbances … and more.

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Chehalis: Bicycle getaway on Interstate 5 ends with arrest

September 13th, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 49-year-old man was arrested for theft yesterday after he allegedly concealed several items in a bright yellow backpack he had selected from Wal-Mart’s sporting goods section and then made his getaway up Interstate 5 on a boys BMX bicycle he had selected from the retailer as well.

Police called just before 7:30 p.m. to the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue were told the shoplifter was seen peddling at a high rate of speed across the Chamber Way overpass and headed northbound on the freeway, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

Norman J. Field was stopped near milepost 81 and arrested for second-degree theft, according to police.

The 20-inch Cincinnati brand bike, the backpack and the several bottles of cologne along with an electric razor totaled about $787, according to Officer Linda Bailey.

Field, whose address is listed as in Olympia, also handed over to officers two key rings he said he’d found in the store’s parking lot, each containing multiple vehicle keys, Bailey said. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

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Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

September 12th, 2013

MYSTERY CAMO MAN NOT LOCATED

• Law enforcement officers were called yesterday evening to the 200 block of Mossyrock Road East to a report of a suspicious male behind a home. Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Rob Snaza said he responded around 5 p.m. and later when some teens said they thought they saw a man wearing camouflage clothing and carrying a gun. There was also a report of at least one gunshot, Snaza said. They checked out the area and nothing was found, he said. “Maybe they saw something, maybe they didn’t,” he said.

DOMESTIC ASSAULT IN VADER

• Deputies and other law enforcement officers were called to Vader last night when a woman reported her ex-boyfriend showed up at the 700 block of C Street and beat her up. Deputies responding to the 10 p.m. call were told he had fled the residence, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Bernard J. Smith, 36, of Vader, allegedly shoved her, choked her and threw her onto the floor by her hair, according to the sheriff’s office. A search was conducted with a police dog but was unsuccessful, according to Sgt. Rob Snaza. Smith is wanted for second-degree assault, Snaza said.

DOMESTIC INCIDENT IN ADNA

• Deputies responded about 3:30 a.m. yesterday morning to the 300 block of Bunker Creek Road in Adna where a woman reported her ex-husband came into her home and into her bedroom. He left but was subsequently picked up by the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office and then arrested. Bonny R. Anderson, 42, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree burglary and violation of a protection order, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

EUUUUW

• A Centralia man was arrested overnight for allegedly spitting in his girlfriend’s face. Officers responding about 3:15 a.m. to the 400 block of South Silver Street arrested Nicholas A. Graham, 30, for misdemeanor assault and booked him into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFT

• Chehalis police were called yesterday afternoon to an assisted living facility at Southwest Woodland Circle about the possible theft of a resident’s purse. It’s not clear if it was stolen or lost, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police responded about 9:20 p.m. yesterday to the 600 block of South Pearl Street where an individual reported something was thrown at his windshield breaking it.

UNDER THE INFLUENCE

• Chehalis police called about 7 p.m. yesterday about a possibly intoxicated driver exiting from Interstate 5 caught up with the car on Mills Avenue, where the driver was slumped over the steering wheel with the engine still running. Susan M. Peha, 49, of Centralia, was arrested for being in physical control of a vehicle while intoxicated, according to the Chehalis Police Department. She was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

VEHICLE VERUS BIKE

• Centralia police responded to a vehicle versus bicycle collision about 11 a.m. yesterday at South Pearl Street and Centralia College Boulevard. The subject on the bike sustained “very minor” injuries, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, violation of protection order, driving with suspended license; responses for alarms, misdemeanor theft, collision, other misdemeanor assaults, disputes between neighbors, suspicious circumstances, strange noises outside a house in the middle of the night; concerns about a female napping on a sidewalk; complaint about two people making out in public, lots of aid calls … and more.

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Sheriff’s deputy on paid leave as DUI arrest is investigated

September 12th, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Lewis County sheriff’s deputy arrested for drunken driving over the weekend while off duty is scheduled to go before a judge tomorrow afternoon.

Jeffrey S. Humphrey has been with the sheriff’s office for 11 years. He is on paid administrative leave, according to the sheriff’s office.

Humphrey was stopped by a trooper early Sunday morning on Interstate 5 in the Chehalis area, according to the Washington State Patrol. He was pulled over when he attempted to drive through the closed area of a collision scene, state patrol spokesperson Stephen Robley said.

Robley said he believed it occurred about 3 a.m.

“He was arrested for DUI, processed and then released,” Robley said. “And the charges were forwarded to the Lewis County prosecutor.”

Robley said he didn’t have many details, and said he didn’t know why the case was referred for a charging decision as opposed to the trooper issuing a citation with a date and time for Humphrey to appear in court.

Robley, who is an agency spokesperson and works patrol in Clark County, said in his work, those decisions and whether to book a person into jail depend on a variety of factors sometimes related to how cooperative an individual is or if they also have a warrant.

Humphrey’s vehicle was towed and he was released from the troopers custody at his home, Robley said.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said he asked his counterparts in Thurston County to select a special deputy prosecutor to handle the case because of appearances of fairness. The Lewis County Prosecutors Office represents the sheriff’s office, he said.

The charge was filed on Monday in Lewis County DIstrict Court.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield issued a statement saying his deputy will be processed through the criminal justice system just as anyone else arrested for the same offense would. In addition, an internal investigation will be conducted, according to Mansfield.

Humphrey works on the sheriff’s office drug task force.

One of his recent large cases was the so-called Operation Big Bottom Bust in Randle in June in which 10 residents were arrested following a months-long investigation of under cover purchases of methamphetamine.

Humphrey’s arraignment is set for 2 p.m. tomorrow before Judge Michael Roewe.

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Boater clinging to tree in Cowlitz River plucked to safety

September 12th, 2013

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A woman fishing in the Cowlitz River south of Ethel yesterday was rescued after her boat struck a log and dumped her into the icy water.

A man in another boat heard her yelling and tried to grab her but couldn’t and called 911 about 7:15, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Crews responded to the area near Brim and Spencer roads on both sides of the river and finally spotted the woman who had pulled herself onto a tree above very heavy rapids, Lewis County Fire District 8 Chief Duran McDaniel said.

Firefighters from Toledo in two boats they put in the river pulled the woman to safety, he said.

McDaniel said the area, about a mile and a half upstream from the Blue Creek Hatchery and Boat Launch, is rather remote and it was getting to be dusk when they got to her.

“She’s very lucky she had a passerby,” McDaniel said. “That saved her life; there’s no doubt about it.”

Jeanine McDaniel – no relation to the fire chief – 47, from Fife, was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital to be treated for scrapes and possible hypothermia, according to the sheriff’s office.

She was boating alone and not wearing a life jacket, sheriff’s Sgt. Rob Snaza said. It’s a good reminder of how important safety precautions can be, Snaza said.

Neither Snaza or Chief McDaniel knew how long she’d been in the water.

“That river rises and falls on a regular basis,” Snaza said. “When you’re fishing, you should always be wearing a life jacket.”

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Lewis County judge takes issue with forced do-over of drive-by shooter sentencing

September 11th, 2013
2013.0911.solisdiaz

Guadalupe Solis-Diaz Jr., right, with his attorney appear before Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt today seemed to give clues as to how he might resentence a former Centralia High School student serving a nearly 93 year prison term for a 2007 drive-by shooting in which several bar patrons on a sidewalk escaped injury.

Hunt imposed the time on Guadalupe Solis-Diaz Jr. almost six years ago, but the state Court of Appeals last year tossed out the virtual life sentence referencing various matters that should have been handled more thoroughly, given that he was a juvenile.

The appeals court called it clearly excessive.

“This is ridiculous,” Hunt said, focusing on one of the several criticisms of the local court proceedings and the then-teenager’s then-defense attorney.

The unanimous opinion of the three-judge panel stated local attorney Michael Underwood mistakenly indicated the teen was “declined” as a juvenile and tried as an adult, when in fact no decline hearing was held to determine if the teen’s maturity and mental development warranted prosecution as an adult. The case was actually “auto-declined” by operation of a statute.

Hunt told the attorneys in his courtroom today he helped draft the rules for the so-called automatic assumption of jurisdiction in Washington. He called the issue Underwood’s misuse of a word.

Solis-Diaz, dressed in red jail garb and chains, sat quietly in the courtroom while the judge, his defense attorney Robert Quillian and Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh addressed matters to be taken care of before the new sentencing hearing.

Quillian was requesting more time and also for an authorization to expend funds for an expert to evaluate his client’s emotional and mental maturity.

He’s already been waiting in the local jail nearly a year, the judge said, at an estimated cost of $88 per day when he is the responsibility of the state Department of Corrections, Hunt pointed out.

“All so I could be told that Mr. Underwood made a mistake by not advising me this was not a decline and when I imposed a sentence within the standard range, that that was somehow incorrect,” Hunt said.

Solis-Diaz is 23 years old. He was 16 when the offense occurred.

He was arrested in August 2007 after gunfire from a car was sprayed along the east side of South Tower Avenue in Centralia, outside two taverns. Witnesses testified it was gang-related. Solis-Diaz maintained he was innocent.

He was convicted by a jury of six counts of first-degree assault, one count of drive-by shooting and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. State law required the time for the assaults to be served consecutively and there were 30 years of mandatory time for firearm enhancements.

The issue comes back to Lewis County Superior Court not from a direct appeal, but a personal restraint petition. The challenge was made in light of a constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, specifically a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held a sentence of life without parole is forbidden for a juvenile who did not commit homicide.

However, the appeals judges focused on the deficient performance of the court-appointed attorney. Among the reasons cited, was Underwood failed to produce or request a pre-sentencing report which could have shed light upon issues related to the teen’s mental and emotional sophistication.

Quillian said he would like to postpone the hearing currently scheduled for the end of this month, as the specialist he was working with took leave for a family illness.

He proposed to hire Dr. Ron Roesch from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia who specializes in forensic juvenile criminal work. Quillian told the judge Dr. Roesch would review the case materials, conduct a battery of tests on his client and submit a report concerning the matters at hand.

Hunt said he wondered if such an evaluation is even a proper topic to consider.

“It’s his maturity level back then he’s going to need to assess, and he won’t be able to do that,” Hunt said.

Quillian said his reading of the appeal decision was that his client was entitled to present the information of an expert before getting sentenced.

“I think it would be remiss for Mr. Solis-Diaz not to have the benefit of these services,” Quillian told the judge.

Judge Hunt noted the Supreme Court has already said everybody knows juveniles are different in that they engage in more reckless behavior. He pondered if Quillian’s request meant all juveniles accused of crimes deserved an evaluation by an expert.

“Why do we need to spend $6,000 of public money to find out what everybody already knows?” Hunt asked.

During the half hour hearing today, Hunt pointed out he imposed a sentence that was authorized by law, by statute Solis-Diaz was treated as an adult and noted the defendant was at the time, 16 years plus 362 days old.

The judge told the attorney he didn’t want the chosen expert to be someone that charged more than twice as much than the $75 per hour the original attorney was paid. Dr. Roesch estimated 30 hours of time at $200 an hour.

He said he would consider approving the expense if Dr. Roesch submitted a report but didn’t incur travel expenses to provide live testimony.

The new date for sentencing was set for Dec. 17, and expected to last half a day.
•••

For background, read:

• “Appeals court gives Centralia teen a “do-over” on 90-plus-year drive-by shooting sentence” from Wednesday September 19, 2012, here

• “Former Centralia High School student getting a shot at shorter sentence from 2007 drive-by shooting” from Thursday January 24, 2013, here

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Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

September 11th, 2013

COMPUTER TAKEN FROM DOCTORS OFFICE

• Someone walked off with a computer from the Chehalis Childrens Clinic yesterday. No arrest has made as of this morning. Police were called about 11:45 a.m. yesterday to the office at the 300 block of South Market Boulevard and told a Toshiba laptop vanished from an exam room sometime since 9 a.m., according to the Chehalis Police Department. Detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said he had no information if patient medical information or client financial data was stored on the device.

YOU’VE GOT MAIL! NOT

• Someone emptied the mail from the postal drop box outside the Morton Post Office. Police Chief Dan Mortensen said it was discovered about 9:45 a.m. on Aug. 28 and he still has no suspects. The chief said he had no idea exactly how much mail was stolen, but said personnel there collect the contents twice each day so it would be everything members of the public left there since the previous afternoon. “Obviously they were looking for identity theft,” Mortensen said. The lock had been cut. Mortensen said boxes at the post offices in Mineral and Elbe were hit the same night.

STOLEN PROPERTY

• Deputies arrested a man at the 100 block of Taylor Road yesterday for a warrant as well as trafficking stolen property and unlawful possession of a firearm, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Martin W. Gallagher, age and town unavailable, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office. Gallagher is not being charged pending further investigation. Further details were not readily available.

OTHER THEFT

• An officer took a report yesterday morning regarding the theft of medication from an apartment on the 300 block of Southeast Washington Avenue in Chehalis.

• Someone stole a newspaper vending rack from the 700 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 10:40 p.m. yesterday.

• Grapes and unspecified broken yard decorations were reported stolen yesterday from the 700 block of North Washington Avenue in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Centralia police responded just before 4 o’clock this morning to the 200 block of North Gold Street when two males were interrupted prowling a parked car. The victim gave officers a description, according to police. but it’s unclear if any arrest were made.

• A purse was stolen from a vehicle at the 1000 block of Eckerson Road in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 11:15 a.m. yesterday.

ROAD CLOSURE

• A section of First Street in Centralia will be closed today for paving from noon until about 5 p.m. A detour will be set up while the city repaves the block between North Tower and North Pearl Street.

REWARD FOR INFO ON ART THEFT

• Lewis County Crime Stoppers is looking for tips about a residential burglary in Glenoma in which numerous pieces of a Native American art collection were stolen. Among the missing valuables are multi-colored beaded baskets, clay pots, sterling silver mini bowls, a beaded pipe, an Amazon Indian dance fan, an old string bag and a silver WWII Zippo lighter from the ship Lusitania, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The break-in at the 100 block of Frost Creek Road occurred sometime between July 20 at 4 p.m. and Aug. 25 at 5 p.m. At the time, the sheriff’s office said the loss was more than $5,000. Crime Stoppers pays up to $1,000 for information leading to the clearance of crimes. Anonymous calls can be made to 1-800-748-6422.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license, misdemeanor assaults; responses for alarms, collision, misdemeanor assaults, reckless drivers; concerns about a female laying beside a building; complaints about a panhandler asking for money, a man with wet pants drinking a beer near  building … and more.

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