Lewis County Sirens.com

Sheriff’s office employee Robin Merchant takes finger prints of concealed pistol license applicant Don Jensen.

Updated

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Don Jensen has had guns for hunting since he was 13 years old.

At 54, the rural Chehalis man, who also owns a pistol, decided he’d like to keep his handgun closer at hand more of the time.

“I just feel with the times the way they are, I just feel more comfortable with a weapon on me,” said the Napavine School District maintenance worker.

Jensen was at the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office yesterday applying for a concealed pistol license, and he’s one of an increasing number of people doing so.

At the sheriff’s office front desk, staff ordinarily would get eight to 10 walkups each day, of persons either seeking a permit or renewing an expired one, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

Brown said they saw a jump in requests after last month’s school shooting in Connecticut, as well as some other events in November.

The Friday after the grade school shooting, 36 or 37 individuals came in, sheriff’s office employee Robin Merchant said.

“The following Monday, there were 44,” she said.

The license isn’t required of course to own a handgun, only to carry it concealed on your person out in public.

In 2011, 1,288 people sought a CPL or a renewal of one from the sheriff’s office. Last year, that number jumped to 1,567, with well over 250 of the requests coming in the final month of the year, according to the sheriff’s office.

The process is fairly simple, for the applicant.

Merchant just needs to see picture identification, and then take the person’s fingerprints, their application and their money.

A new license is $52.50. It’s good for five years; a renewal costs $32.

Then, there’s the wait of 30 days while sheriff’s office conducts a background check.

In general, to be eligible, a person must be at least 21, a U.S. citizen, have no felony history, and may not have been court ordered into a mental institution, according to Merchant and Brown.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield said he sees the increase in requests as a reaction where more people just want to be more in control of their own security and safety.

His hope is to do what he can to encourage folks to gain a full understanding of the law.

“And that they really think things through before they use a firearm to protect themselves,” Mansfield said.

One particular concern, that was even a topic of conversation yesterday among a gathering of sheriffs in Ellensburg, he said, is the databases used check for those who have been committed to mental hospitals aren’t good enough.

“We do the best we can to make sure the background checks are complete,” he said. But there’s no guarantees, he said.

Mansfield said to expect to see law enforcement leaders asking legislators to address that during the coming session.

Possession of a concealed pistol license shortens the waiting period when one purchases a firearm too, Mansfield said.

“If you look at each of these incidents, they haven’t been perpetrated by people you would consider criminals in our society,” Mansfield said, referring to mass shootings. “It’s these mentally ill white, middle class and upper middle class Americans.”

The sheriff’s office earlier this week posted to its Facebook friends that they’ve been overwhelmed with the major increase in CPL applications and cautions the process could take longer during the lunch hour. They also may not accept applications after 3 p.m. if there are more than they can complete by closing time at 4 p.m.

Individuals can apply for a CPL at the local law enforcement agency that serves the jurisdiction in which they live. The sheriff’s office accepts applications from residents, regardless of where they reside in the county.

At the Chehalis Police Department, records technician Julie Hampson said they get one or two requests a month, but she’s seen a steady increase since the Connecticut school shooting and the ensuing talk of gun control.

“I’d say we probably doubled, maybe even tripled,” Hampson said.

Centralia Police Department employee Gayle Mulligan didn’t really notice a jump.

“Once we had four in a week, that was a lot for us,” Mulligan said.

Jensen said his visit yesterday to the sheriff’s office in Chehalis wasn’t about mass shootings.

“With the way things are, I just want to be able to defend myself,” he said.

After his background check is complete, he’ll be able to keep his handgun on him and loaded in public, he said, just not when he’s on school property.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A deal was struck today that means there will be no trial for James M. Reeder but he will go to prison for many years and possibly the rest of his life.

The 26-year-old, accused of rape, torture and the death of his girlfriend’s toddler, pleaded guilty today, but didn’t admit guilt.

James M. Reeder

He made a so-called Alford plea in which he acknowledged a jury hearing the evidence would likely find him guilty, but acknowledged no wrongdoing.

“We got the maximum of life, which is the best we could get at trial, and we don’t have to deal with appeals,” Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said this afternoon.

Koralynn Fister, 2, died May 24 in Centralia. Reeder claimed he stepped away to get a towel while giving her a bath and returned to find her face down in the tub. She died from head trauma and drowning, but authorities said they also found evidence of sexual assault.

The unemployed man who previously worked as a floor installer was separated from his wife when he moved in with Koralynn’s mother in Centralia roughly two months before the death.

According to a report in his court file, he attempted suicide in the jail, trying to drown himself in the sink.

Reeder pleaded guilty today in Lewis County Superior Court to homicide by abuse, second-degree assault, two counts of first-degree rape of a child and possession of methamphetamine.

His sentencing will probably occur around the first part of February, according to Meyer.

The rape conviction means he will be sentenced to an indeterminate length of time with a maximum of life, according to Meyer. A board, like the former parole board, will be responsible for deciding when and if he gets released after he’s served the minimum number of years.

Reeder has no felony criminal history.

Meyer said he will recommend to the judge the minimum stay be 37 and a half years. Reeder’s attorney will be free to recommend 28 years, he said.

Those numbers come from the offense that has the highest standard range among the five counts to which Reeder pleaded guilty; homicide by abuse. It has a standard sentencing range of roughly 28 to 37 and a half years.

Defense attorney David Arcuri didn’t return a phone call this afternoon seeking comment.

As part of the deal, Reeder gave up his right to appeal in any way, according to Meyer.

Secondarily, Meyer said, this avoids the trauma of a trial for all involved.

“Police officers, doctors, jurors, other witnesses; jurors would have to see things they’ve never seen before,” he said of the graphic evidence.

Meyer also this afternoon spoke of his gratitude to the professionalism of members of the fire and police departments.

“They saw things and dealt with things they never should have,” he said.

Reeder will make a brief appearance in court on Jan. 17 to set a date for sentencing. They will have to wait for a pre-sentencing review to be conducted by the state Department of Corrections.
•••

For background, read “Breaking news: Mother’s boyfriend held for investigation of rape, murder of Centralia child” from Friday May 25, 2012 at 5 p.m., here

Updated at 9:43 a.m. and 11:06 a.m. and 11:43 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 58-year-old man was struck and killed by a train in Centralia overnight.

Centralia police say witnesses told them he was standing on the tracks when he was hit by a northbound freight train.

It happened about 12:30 a.m. in the area near Chestnut Street and South Tower Avenue, where there are no pedestrian crossings, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Sgt. Stacy Denham said officers spoke to the train’s engineer and conductor and learned the man turned and looked at the train before impact. He didn’t move after repeated blasting of the train’s horn, according to police.

Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod says he has concluded it was an accident.

The victim, Michael T. Patton, lives in rural Chehalis, according to McLeod.

Police detective Rick Hughes said Patton had an unopened pack of cigarettes and an unscratched lottery ticket on him. He appears to have had some mental issues – specifically what, Hughes said he did not know – that may have caused him not to react quickly.

Hughes said he is not sure why Patton was in Centralia so late at night.

BNSF spokesperson Gus Melonas said it is the second fatality on train tracks in Washington this year. The tracks were shut down for two hours.

“We can’t encourage the public enough to be aware that trains move on any track, at any time, in any direction,” Melonas said.

The stretch of tracks through Centralia is the busiest route in the state, with an average of 60 trains each day, according to Melonas.