Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Prosecutors alleged in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday that murder defendant Ricky A. Riffe raped his 9-year-old step-daughter 28 years ago, filing new charges for a crime that has a possible penalty of life in prison.

Riffe’s attorney is calling it a ploy to smear his client, in a small community that is closely following the news of Riffe’s upcoming double murder trial.

Riffe, 54, was returned to Lewis County from his home in Alaska last summer when Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer charged him in the December 1985 abduction and slaying of Ed and Wilhelmina Maurin, an elderly couple who lived in Ethel.

While not exactly a cold case because Riffe and his now-deceased brother were longtime primary suspects, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with a newly elected prosecutor stepped up a re-investigation, noting that fear of the brothers had kept many witnesses from coming forward when the crimes occurred.

The two men moved to Alaska in 1987, according to the sheriff.

The sheriff’s office has said it believes that on Dec. 19, 1985 the brothers somehow got into the couple’s home, and then forced them to drive to a bank in Chehalis to withdraw $8,500 before shooting them in the backs with a shotgun.

The bodies of the Maurins, Ed, 81 and Wilhelmina, 83, were found on Christmas Eve 1985 dumped off a logging road outside Adna.

Riffe is charged with two counts each of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree robbery, as well as one count of burglary.

His trial is scheduled to begin in May and last as long as a month.

Yesterday, in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis, Meyer told the judge Riffe is now charged with two incidents of child sex abuse, one from 1984 and the other from 1986.

Judge Richard Brosey read the charges aloud, advised Riffe they are separate from the other matter and that he is presumed innocent. He asked Riffe how he pled.

Defense attorney John Crowley jumped up and objected to the late filing of charges beyond the statute of limitations.

Crowley asked the judge to enter not guilty pleas on behalf of his client, and all agreed to revisit the matter after the murder trial ends.

Meyer, outside the courtroom, said the statute of limitations doesn’t apply because Riffe had left the state.

The allegations were investigated by police at the time and no criminal charges were filed, according to both Meyer and Crowley.

“It was investigated then, it came up again during this investigation,” Meyer said. “We got some new information.”

In Washington, all crimes except murder have a statute of limitations, according to Crowley. It’s a limit on the amount of time that can pass beyond which prosecutors can’t file criminal charges against a person, he said.

Crowley, a Seattle-based attorney, said it’s true if a person moves out of state that stops the clock, as long as authorities don’t know where they went.

But the sheriff’s office knew the brothers moved to Alaska, and contacted them in 1993, Crowley said.

“They interviewed him and his brother, it’s no secret where he was,” he said.

Judge Brosey has already said more than once the court plans to bring in an extra large number of potential jurors for the murder trial, to allow for the amount of pre-trial publicity the case has generated.

The most serious of the new allegations is that shortly after the victim turned 9, her mother was gone from the home and she was told to keep that “side of the bed warm.” Charging documents state she awoke to Riffe raping her.

The girl left the room with an excuse and then slept on the floor of her brother’s bedroom, according to the documents.

For that, Riffe is charged with what was then called statutory rape.

The second count, then called indecent liberties, is in connection with when she was 10 years old and Riffe allegedly fondling her.

Riffe denies any sexual contact, according to charging documents.

The hearing yesterday continued with tentative scheduling in April for two days of pre-trial hearings and deadlines decided for the submission of pre-trial motions.

Riffe remains held in the Lewis County Jail on $5 million bail.
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For background, read “Man held in 1985 slayings of Ethel couple now accused of child sex abuse from nearly 30 years ago” from Friday February 22, 2013 at 11:24 a.m., here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Centralia area couple who relinquished 25 horses and 50 goats last week were in court yesterday in connection with a charge of second-degree animal cruelty.

Gerald D. Specht, 65, and his wife Wendy Specht, 58, have both pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to return to Lewis County District Court on March 13 for a hearing.

It wasn’t so much the animals were thin, but they were living in horrible conditions, according to Lewis County Code Enforcement Supervisor Bill Teitzel.

Teitzel described the horses’ feeding area as littered with obstacles such as barbed wire and finding injuries to the horses’ feet and legs. When Teitzel visited the property, he found about 10 of the goats inside the darkened remnants of a house, he said.

The floor was covered with mud and animal waste, he said.

The Spechts themselves are living in a tent as their home burned several years ago, Teitzel said.

The property is on the 600 block of Teitzel Road east of Centralia.

“My take on this, is the people were overwhelmed,” Teitzel said. “But I think they ended up taking responsibility.”

The couple previously lived in a recreational vehicle, but code enforcement had found issues with their sewage set up, he said.

The county had been monitoring the situation since October and when they visited on Feb. 13, found two dead horses not properly disposed of, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Teitzel and sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Aust described visits last week which included the state veterinarian who found one horse so diseased it had to be euthanized.

A search warrant was served at the property a week ago Friday.

They didn’t have anyone to help to deal with the problems, according to Teitzel.

The Washington State Livestock Coalition persuaded the Spechts to give up the animals. The horses were removed to Pierce County where they were to be cared for. The plan was to keep the goats in Lewis County, where there are many options for finding takers, he said.

The couple were cited by code enforcement for solid waste issues, failure to bury a dead animal. Teitzel also was going to make a referral call to Adult Protective Services for the couple themselves, he said.

The Spechts yesterday after court said they had no comment, that any comment should come through their attorney.

They are each charged with one count of second-degree animal cruelty, alleging at the very least they knowingly allowed an animal to live under conditions that caused unnecessary pain. It is a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail or a $5,000 fine or both.

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Revised Code of Washington: Animal cruelty in the second degree (owner): RCW 16.52.207

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The case of a bar fight that led to charges of felony assault and witness tampering by the owner of a Centralia used car business ended today with a jail sentence of five months.

John I. Burkett, 40, was set to go to trial next week and decided to accept a plea offer instead.

Burkett said he was afraid he would lose everything if he ended up going to prison.

“She was asking for 22 months if I went to trial and lost, and I was scared, I’ve got kids,” Burkett said, referring to the deputy prosecutor.

The Winlock resident pleaded guilty today in Lewis County Superior Court to tampering with a witness and malicious prosecution.

Burkett indicated the malicious prosecution charge came about when he told police another man put his hands on the woman he was dancing with at Paradise in Chehalis in December of 2011.

The 25-year-old victim who suffered an injury to the back of his head was not present in the courtroom this afternoon.

The witness tampering charge, Burkett admitted in a written statement, was because he offered the man $3,500 in hopes he would absent himself from further court hearings.

Dismissed were charges of assault and bribing a witness.

Burkett owns Burkett’s Auto Sales on on South Gold Street in Centralia.

Defense attorney Chris Baum told the judge today he client was very sorry for what he’d done.

“This is a real unfortunate situation that was blown out of proportion,” Baum said.

The Chehalis attorney said his client tried to resolve the issue by attempting to offer restitution privately.

Judge James Lawler decided Burkett would have to spend 30 days in jail and would be free to serve the rest of his sentence on electronic home monitoring.

Updated at 5:13 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A collapse of the upper level of a Rochester auto repair shop today drew firefighters who had to move about 1,000 pounds of structural debris and auto parts to rescue a 34-year-old man who was trapped and pinned against a wall.

West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Chief Robert Scott said two employees were working on the upper level which was used for storage, above the first floor office. When the ceiling fell, it sent the pair to the ground level, along with about a ton of material and various items, according to Scott.

“Engines, transmissions, engine blocks, there was a lot of weight up there,” Scott said.

Firefighters were called just before 3 p.m. to the building at the 19300 block of Elderberry Street Southwest.

A 40-year-old man was able to get himself out, according to the chief, but crews had to break through an exterior wall to get at the 34-year-old.

“The patient was conscious and talking to the responders during the entire operation which lasted just over 20 minutes,” Scott said.

The 34-year-old, whose name was not available, had leg injuries that Scott said he wasn’t sure were if they were fractures or crush injuries.

The other man, whose name was not available either, was ambulatory, but also had an injury to his leg as well as possibly his lower back, according to Scott.

They were both transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia.

Firefighters were assisted by Riverside Fire Authority from Centralia, the McLane/Black Lake Fire Department and members of the Thurston County Special Operations Rescue Team.

Some of the additional materials that remain after patient extricated. / Courtesy photo by Robert Scott