Posts Tagged ‘news reporter’

Centralia resident found not guilty of rape

Sunday, December 3rd, 2017
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By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 22-year-old Centralia man arrested this summer for alleged events at a party two years ago has been found not guilty of rape.

Edgar Ramirez-Dado was acquitted of second-degree rape and third-degree rape by a jury in Lewis County Superior Court following a three-day trial.

Ramirez-Dado was arrested on June 5 outside the Apex market on the 400 block of West Main Street in Centralia for allegedly planning to sell a little baggie of weed to two boys, ages 16 and 14, according to court documents. He was taken into custody also for an outstanding warrant issued late last year when a charge of second-degree rape was filed in a case investigated by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Charging documents indicated a sheriff’s deputy met with a 26-year-old woman in mid-December 2015 when she described a party the night before with a lot of people in which she and her friend consumed a large amount of alcohol.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Melissa Bohm wrote in charging documents the alleged victim recalled Ramirez-Dado pulling her panties off from beneath her dress and her telling him no and to stop, but she was too weak and drunk to push him away, and that she was raped.

Ramirez-Dado was initially held on $100,000 and $50,000 bail for the two cases, but court documents show his conditions of release were later lowered to an unsecured bond.

The rape trial began on Nov. 6, a Monday, and ended two days later. An amended information filed corrected the alleged victim’s age at the time of the incident to 17.

The jury deliberated a little more than two hours before reaching a verdict of not guilty.

His other case has not concluded. In that case, he was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and involving a minor in drug dealing.

That arrest came about when a school resource officer alerted a Centralia drug detective about an arrangement  to buy $10 worth of marijuana made through a messaging app on a Centralia Middle School-issued iPad. Detectives followed a boy to the convenience store, where they found Ramirez-Dado.

Ramirez-Dado has pleaded not guilty.
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For background, read “Chehalis man picked up on $100,000 warrant for alleged sexual assault” from Tuesday June 6, 2017, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, December 1st, 2017
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ASSAULT

• A 47-year-old Centralia woman who allegedly punched a stranger yesterday was arrested for fourth-degree assault, according to the Centralia Police Department. Officers called at 1 p.m. to the 100 block of North Tower Avenue arrested Michelle D. Henning, and then released her pending court, according to police. The victim was reportedly uninjured.

• Chehalis police were called at about noon yesterday to Green Hill School to take a report of an alleged custodial assault occurring on Nov. 10.

BURGLARY CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police were called this morning to the 100 block of Southwest 12th Street where an individual reported that sometime between 2 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., someone entered the enclosed porch of her home and stole a telescope.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called about 6:10 a.m. today to the 200 block of North Ash Street where a vehicle was broken into during the night and an LED light was stolen.

• Police were called about 9:20 a.m. yesterday to the 2600 block of Cooks Hill Road in Centralia where someone broke into someone else’s vehicle and stole two Mexico passports and the registration.

• Centralia police were called to the 200 block of North Ash Street about 8:45 a.m. yesterday to take a report of a vehicle being broken into. Nothing appeared to have been stolen, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS

• Two people arrested yesterday afternoon for shoplifting at the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia were also arrested for having drugs on them, according to the Centralia Police Department. Officers were called about 4:40 p.m. and ended up booking  into the Lewis County Jail Duane L. Pines, 31, of Renton, for possession of methamphetamine and  Johnny R. George II, 31, of Federal Way, for possession of meth and heroin, according to police.

• Police called about 1:55 p.m. yesterday to the 800 block of Eshom Road in Centralia arrested two high school students for alleged possession and consumption of marijuana at the school, according to the Centralia Police Department.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, third-degree theft, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, harassment, shoplifting, civil issue, vehicle collision, suicidal person, suspicious circumstances, telephone harassment … and more among 156 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m.

News brief: Drugs, drugs, drugs

Thursday, November 30th, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Local drug detectives arrested three people in separate cases yesterday in the Twin Cities with enough heroin they could have, or allegedly planned to, sell some to other people.

All three were charged today in Lewis County Superior Court with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Matthew C. Gilmon, 24, of Chehalis, was under active supervision by the state Department of Corrections and had an outstanding DOC warrant, according to charging documents. He was visited at his home on the 600 block of Southwest William Avenue in Chehalis yesterday by a DOC officer and members of the Lewis County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team.

A search of his room allegedly turned up what appeared as a “large amount” of heroin in a glass container, scales, clean and used baggies plus $260 cash, according to the documents.

As detectives were clearing William Avenue, they heard a dispatch over the radio about a disturbance involving drugs at the AM/PM on Southwest Interstate Avenue and found the suspected car involved, contacting a 20-year-old Pe Ell resident.

Logen K. Elliott allegedly had a small plastic baggie with a brown substance under his driver’s seat that a detective could see and also had a suspended driver’s license, his charging documents relate.

A search of his car turned up a small box with heroin in it.

Twenty-eight-year-old Jonathan J. Kaye was contacted by JNET detectives at his home yesterday on the 1900 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia and gave them permission to conduct a search, his charging documents allege.

Prior felony convictions prohibit Kaye from keeping guns, but the officers found six firearms, at least two of which were stolen, according to the documents.

They also found enough heroin to break into small packages and sell separately, scales, spoons and baggies, the documents allege. The court documents state the detectives found 20.5 grams of methamphetamine as well.

Kaye was charged additionally with six counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and two counts of possessing a stolen firearm. He was not charged in connection with the suspected meth.

The suspects were booked into the Lewis County Jail. This afternoon they were brought before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court.

Prosecutors asked that Kaye be held on $100,000 bail.

Judge Joely O’Rourke granted the request, saying the combination of drugs and guns in the allegations were an enormous threat to community safety.

Gilmon’s bail was set at $25,000 and Elliott’s was set at $10,000.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, November 30th, 2017
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Updated

VEHICLE THEFT

• Chehalis police were called about 4:45 a.m. today about the theft of a vehicle from the 1000 block of Southwest Interstate Avenue.

• A blue 2005 Harley Davidson Road King was stolen around 8:45 p.m. yesterday from in front of a business at the 100 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia. The motorcycle has a license plate reading 1E9132, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called to a repair shop on the 600 block of Northwest State Avenue about 8:50 a.m. yesterday following the discovery that a TC Mopper excavator had been stolen. The business thought the owner had picked it up about a month earlier, but the owner said he did not, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

SERIAL SHOPLIFTING

• Centralia police say they caught a 25-year-old homeless man last night who allegedly stole merchandise from a store on the 500 block of South Tower Avenue on six different occasions over the previous two days. Samuel T. McQuigg was arrested for a half dozen instances of third-degree theft and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

OTHER THEFT

• Chehalis police were called to a bank on the 1400 block of South Market Boulevard just before 1 p.m. yesterday about a possible first-degree theft involving a non-sufficient funds check.

• Centralia police were called about 11:40 a.m. yesterday to a store on the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue to take a report that an unidentified female suspect stole approximately $150 from the business by convincing an employee she was to receive a refund, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police took a report from the 500 block of Hillkress Avenue in Centralia about 9:10 a.m. yesterday regarding credit card fraud by unknown suspects.

INTERFERING WITH HEALTHCARE FACILITY

• A 37-year-old Centralia resident was arrested for third-degree malicious mischief, resisting arrest and interfering with a healthcare facility after police were called about 6:20 p.m. yesterday to the 800 block of Vienna Street. John R. Gladue III was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Chehalis police were called just before 7:30 a.m. today for an overnight vehicle prowl at the 400 block of Northeast Adams Avenue.

• A chainsaw was stolen in a vehicle prowl at the 800 block of Marion Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police just before 3 p.m. yesterday.

DRUGS

• A 40-year-old woman was arrested yesterday afternoon after a deputy made a traffic stop at Jackson Highway and state Route 508, learned she had outstanding warrants and a search turned up a glass pipe with a small amount of a substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine, according to court documents. Amy J. Threlfall, whose court file shows a Longview address, was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

• Daniel D. Vancil, 22, of Centralia was arrested for possession of heroin after contact with police about 12:20 p.m. yesterday at the 100 block of East High Street, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

• A 17-year-old boy was arrested yesterday after deputies called about 11 a.m. regarding suspicious circumstances on Davis Lake Road in Morton detained him and found him to be in possession of a substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He was booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center, according to the sheriff’s office.

VANDALISM

• Chehalis police called at 9:45 a.m. yesterday about the window of a van shattered possibly by a BB gun at the 10 block of Southwest Chehalis Avenue subsequently contacted a child who who admitted shooting at the window, according to the Chehalis Police Department. An officer spoke to the victim as well as the boy and his family, who all agreed to work it out between themselves, according to police.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for drugs, warrants, protection order violation, no contact order violation, driving under the influence, fourth-degree domestic assault; responses for alarm, dispute, third-degree theft, harassment, vehicle collision, disorderly person, suspicious circumstances, telephone harassment … and more among 162 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, November 29th, 2017
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Updated

BRASS KNUCKLES AT SCHOOL

• Police were called about 9:45 a.m. yesterday to the 800 block of Eshom Road in Centralia where a 15-year-old boy allegedly brought a pair of brass knuckles to school. The case is being referred to prosecutors for criminal charging, according to the Centralia Police Department.

ELECTRICITY MISSING

• Centralia police are investigating a report from about 7:10 a.m. yesterday of theft from public utilities at a vacant house on the 900 block of West Walnut Street where someone used a “jumper” to restore power.

FUEL MISSING

• An individual reported the theft of fuel from the 1300 block of North Washington Avenue in Centralia about 4 p.m. yesterday.

FANCY CHRISTMAS LIGHTS MISSING

• A Star Shower Motion Laser Light Projector was reported stolen from a front yard at the 800 block of G Street yesterday.

LOST AND FOUND

• An individual called police at 1:30 p.m. yesterday to report a vehicle stolen at the 2100 block of North National Avenue but then called back to say it was located in the parking lot.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called about 2:45 p.m. yesterday to the 600 block of North Pearl Street where someone had damaged Christmas lights in a front yard.

• Centralia police were called about 2:25 p.m. yesterday when an individual reported that unknown person(s) threw a soda can through a window at the 300 block of Yew Street breaking the glass.

UPDATE: ILLEGAL MARIJUANA GROWING BY CHINESE NATIONALS

• The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office reports the operation led by the Grays Harbor County Drug Task Force yesterday after an investigation into illegal marijuana growing, primarily in areas of their county, involved 50 search warrants and resulted in 44 arrests and the seizure of 26 vehicles, multiple guns and more than $400,000 worth of cash and gold. A total of 32,449 marijuana plants were confiscated which they estimate had a value in excess of $80 million. Four of the searches were made in Thurston County, in the Lacey and Olympia areas; eight searches were conducted in King County, in Kent and Bellevue, according to Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office Chief Criminal Deputy Steve Shumate. Other search warrants were served at various locations in and around Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Ocean Shores, Cosmopolis, Montesano, Elma and McCleary.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, hit and run, resisting arrest, probation violation, protection order violation, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license, fourth-degree domestic assault; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, shoplifting, hit and run, vehicle collision, disorderly person, suspicious circumstances, telephone harassment … and more among 143 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m.

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Seized marijuana plants was taken from a Central Park grow prior to being taken away for destruction. / Courtesy photo by Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office

Illegal marijuana growing by Chinese nationals targeted in Grays Harbor County

Tuesday, November 28th, 2017
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One indoor marijuana cultivating scene. / Courtesy photo by Grays Harbor County Drug Task Force

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Members of more than a dozen law enforcement agencies, including from Lewis County, joined up with state and federal agents to serve search warrants in three counties today following an investigation into illegal marijuana growing operations by Chinese nationals.

The Grays Harbor County Drug Task Force oversaw today’s activities after a months-long investigation in which they learned of numerous homes being purchased for that purpose, primarily for cash, by people involved in organized crime, according to Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office Chief Criminal Deputy Steve Shumate.

“The proceeds from these illegal grows appear to be funding other criminal enterprises,” Shumate said in a press release. “Those investigations are on-going.”

With the citizen’s passage of Initiative 502, the law enforcement community supports the legal operations of marijuana producers, processors and retailers in this state, according to Shumate. They are required by Washington state law to be licensed and follow strict guidelines, he stated.

Teams today are processing the scenes and removing for destruction any illegal marijuana. Personnel from the Lewis County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team and Lewis County Sheriff’s Office were among those assisting.

Shumate said the search warrants were served throughout Grays Harbor County as well as in related locations in Thurston and King counties, but did not reveal specific places, the number of arrests or the quantity of marijuana found.

He did say the investigation originated with citizen reports of possible illegal grows outside of Elma, in McCleary, Aberdeen and Hoquiam.

Also part of today’s operation were members of agencies such as the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board and Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, November 28th, 2017
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Updated

SENIOR CITIZENS VICTIMIZED IN BURGLARY

• A deputy was called about 10:50 p.m. yesterday to the home of a 95-year-old woman and a 70-year-old woman after the discovery their residence on the 200 block of Joppish Road in Centralia had been ransacked. Both garage doors were found open and among the missing property were a Samsung 42-inch flat screen television, a purple suitcase with afghans and medication, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. One of the victims said everything was fine when she left at 9 o’clock that morning, according to the sheriff’s office.

FIREARMS STOLEN IN BREAK-IN

• A deputy was called to the 300 block of Davis Lake Road in Morton about 10:30 a.m. yesterday where an individual found a door forced open and an estimated $5,000 worth of guns and car parts missing from a residence and garage. He said he had last been there about 1 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

OTHER CRIME

• An attempted burglary to a fenced area was discovered and reported to police yesterday just before 4 p.m. at the 900 block of South Gold Street in Centralia.

• Chehalis police were called about 3:45 p.m. yesterday to take a report of an assault involving a male and a female at Northwest Chehalis Avenue and Park Street. The incident is under investigation, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Centralia police were called to the 1200 block of Mellen Street about 4:45 p.m. yesterday where a business reported  the theft of gasoline from a vehicle during the night.

DRUGS

• Centralia police arrested two people for possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver about 10:15 a.m. yesterday at the the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia. Tavryn L. Lindsey, 22, of Toledo, and Shelby N. McCory, 25, a homeless person, were both booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• Centralia police were called about 1:10 p.m. yesterday to Tower Avenue and Pear Street where a car collided with a tree, sheering the tree off at the trunk and totaling the car.

RESPONDERS LET GARAGE BURN

• Centralia area firefighters called about 10:10 a.m. yesterday to a burning garage building known for sometimes being used by homeless people allowed it to burn, for firefighter safety reasons, according to Riverside Fire Authority. The location with the two-car garage and an attached storage room at the end of Alexander Street has had fires in the past, according to Fire Capt. Tim Adolphsen. The captain indicated that after everything was mostly consumed, they extinguished the flames. Nobody was injured, according to Adolphsen.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, trespassing, third-degree theft, probation violation, fourth-degree assault; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, misdemeanor theft, vehicle collision, suspicious circumstances … and more among 156 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m.