Lewis County Sirens.com

An apparent grenade was seized from a Centralia home / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff’s Office

Updated at 3:12 p.m.

EXPLOSIVE DEVICE FOUND IN CENTRALIA HOME

• Law enforcement officers looking for drugs got an unexpected surprise in Centralia on Saturday: a grenade. At least it looked like a grenade and was taken away by a bomb specialist with the Washington State Patrol, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies served a search warrant about 9 .m. at a residence on the 500 block of South Street after getting information about possible narcotics there, according to sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Aust. During the search, an improvised explosive device turned up, he said. Aust said he believed it was an empty but real grenade that someone refilled on their own. A small amount of drugs were found, he said. Several firearms were confiscated as well, he said. Nobody has yet been arrested, because the suspect has a medical condition that makes it cost prohibitive to keep him at the jail, according to Aust. The case will be evaluated for possible coming charges, according to Aust.

MAN DEMANDS WOMAN’S CASH

• A 20-year-old Seattle man was booked into jail on Saturday for attempted robbery in the second-degree after he allegedly confronted a young woman on a Centralia street and demanded a she hand over the money he saw her counting. Police were called about 12:10 p.m. to the area of West Pear and South Oak streets were told when she tried to get away, he followed her, according to the Centralia Police Department. Sgt. Carl Buster said the subject apparently ran up to her and said “you’re gonna give me all that money” repeatedly. A suspect, Mohamed S. Mohamed, was subsequently located and arrested, according to police.

SAFE STOLEN

• Centralia police were called to a burglary yesterday morning at the the 200 block of East Cherry Street. A safe was missing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SHOPLIFT

• An unidentified male was seen on security video stealing two cases of beer from the 1200 block of Mellen Street in Centralia on Friday, according to the Centralia Police Department.

PURSE-LIFT

• Police were called to the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia on Friday evening where a female reported the theft of her purse while shopping.

MAIL THEFT

• Chehalis police were called about 5:30 p.m. on Friday to the 500 block of Northeast Jefferson Avenue where they were told an envelope containing $50 left in the mailbox by someone for someone else was missing.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS GONE

• Unspecified medication was reported stolen from the 400 block of South Cedar Street in Centralia on Friday.

• A Centralia man called police after he got a bill for Oxycontin from a Chehalis pharmacy, a medication he didn’t order or receive, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The man told police on Friday it appears to be someone else using his name, according to police.

DRUGS

• A 37-year-old Centralia man was arrested for a warrant and then possession of methamphetamine about 5 p.m. on Friday after contact with an officer at the 900 block of Woodland Avenue in Centralia. Chance M. Allen was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Someone stole chain saws, tools and fuel from a log truck over the weekend, according to a report made to police yesterday from the 1800 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia.

• Police took a report on Saturday from the 100 block of Jalyn Street in Centralia about a car prowl. The victim said someone broke in during the night and took her purse, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Stereo speakers and sunglasses were among the items missing from a vehicle parked at the 1700 block of Southwest Snively Avenue in Chehalis. The report was made to police on Saturday.

• Police were called about a window of a vehicle smashed out on Friday at the 2500 block of Borst Avenue in Centralia.

PORCH CATCHES FIRE

• Firefighters were called about 4 a.m. yesterday to a porch on fire on the 500 block of West First Street in Centralia. Burning were some wooden planter boxes and a small area of the porch, according to Riverside Fire Authority. The cause remains under investigation, according to Fire Capt. Casey McCarthy.

POLICE CHASE ENDS WITH ARREST

• A 20-year-old Tenino man who allegedly led police on a high speed chase from east of Napavine, into Chehalis, onto Interstate 5, and then out state Route 6 and was eventually arrested said he didn’t pull over for the initial traffic stop because he didn’t have car insurance. Christopher A. Carsten was booked in to the Lewis County Jail after the late Friday night pursuit that reached speeds of more than 90 mph on Jackson Highway, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It began about 10:50 p.m. when a sheriff’s deputy tried to pull over an older Ford Mustang because of a loud exhaust and the driver spinning his tires, according to sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Aust. Deputies lost sight of the car west of Chehalis but about 30 minutes later, the individual was found walking on the 100 block of Devereese Road and was contacted, according to Aust. Carsten was arrested for attempting to elude.

WRECK

• A 40-year-old man from SeaTac was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after a rollover wreck outside Centralia on Saturday evening. Aid and law enforcement called about 5:30 p.m. to the 1700 block of Salzer Valley Road found a power pole broken and the driver of a BMW ejected into some briars, according to responders. “We think the guy was traveling at a very high rate of speed,” Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Cmdr. Steve Aust said. His injuries were described as severe. His name was not released.

BICYCLIST PULLED OVER BY POLICE

• A 30-year-old man was arrested for a warrant and then possession of an unspecified controlled substance after he was stopped by a Centralia police officer for a bicycle traffic infraction last night. Jerry E. Linthicum was “pulled over” about 10:30 p.m. near Marsh Avenue and Lakeview Drive, according to the Centralia Police Department. Linthicum, a resident of Lewis County, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

DRUG ARRESTS IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police arrested a 23-year-old man yesterday morning they located at the the Peppertree Motel on Alder Street. Christopher J. King was wanted by another law enforcement agency and was booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of methamphetamine, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A 43-year-old Centralia woman was arrested yesterday morning at the 1200 block of Alder Street in Centralia in connection with a warrant for delivery of a controlled substance. Melissa D. Wollen was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

NIGHT FIGHT

• A 27-year-old man was arrested for misdemeanor assault early this morning when an officer heard and saw a fight going on through the upstairs window of an apartment building on the 300 block of North Tower Avenue. Steven D. Couch was booked into the Lewis County Jail following his approximately 4 a.m. arrest because it a domestic violence incident, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DAYTIME BURGLARY IN CENTRALIA

• A deputy was called about 9 p.m. yesterday when a burglary was discovered at a home on the 200 block of River Heights Road in Centralia. Among the missing items were three laptop computers, a Nikon camera and about $190 cash, and its possible the thief came in the home while one its residents was sleeping, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The woman called 911 after she woke up at 7:30 p.m. and recalled she heard a knock around 11 a.m. while she was in bed, and then heard a male voice and say the name of one of her fellow residents and heard someone go in to another bedroom, according to the sheriff’s office.

BANK CARD FRAUD

• A deputy took a report yesterday afternoon from a Silver Creek resident who found four unauthorized charges on his debit/credit card totaling more than $880. The 40-year-old man said he still had possession of his bank card, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

MISSING GUN

• A firearm was stolen overnight from an unlocked vehicle parked on the 100 block of East Maple Street in Centralia, according to police.

VANDALISM

• Police took a report yesterday that someone spray painted a man’s vehicle with black paint during the night at the 300 block of West Pine Street in Centralia.

Updated at 6:33 p.m.

SUSPECTED CAR THIEF FOUND NEAR PROVIDENCE WEARING ONLY HOSPITAL GOWN

• Centralia police said a search yesterday around Providence Centralia Hospital ended when they found a 21-year-old man who was bloody, cold and wearing only a hospital gown. Jacob D. Mielitz, of Centralia had been left at the emergency room by Centralia police after they arrested him earlier in the morning for allegedly stealing his brother’s car. Centralia police said jail staff had required Mielitz to be checked out at the hospital for possible unspecified health issues before he could be booked so he was released from police custody. He subsequently left the hospital. Officers looked for him because it was wet and cold outside and he was underdressed,  according to the Centralia Police Department. Mielitz was discovered around 9:30 a.m. on the 200 block of Blanchard Road and then booked into jail. The blood was from superficial cuts from blackberry bushes, according to police.

MAN ARRESTED TRYING TO ENTER STOLEN VEHICLE

• A man believed to be 27 years old and from Thurston County was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle yesterday  afternoon in Centralia after an officer responded to a call about suspicious activity at the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue. The 911 caller thought it appeared the man was trying to break into a vehicle and the man’s story didn’t make sense, according to police. The vehicle turned out to be stolen out of Lacey, according to the Centralia Police Department. Among the several names the subject gave police was Ralph R. Turpin. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail and the vehicle returned to its owner, police reported.

TOOLS STOLEN

• A bag of battery-powered and other tools were reported stolen from a rental home being remodeled on the 200 block of East Cherry Street in Centralia yesterday, according to police. An officer called about 5:15 p.m. noted there were no signs of forced entry, according to the Centralia Police Department.

SUSPICIOUS CREDIT CARD ACTIVITY

• An officer was called just before 2 p.m. yesterday to the 1500 block of View Avenue in Centralia to take a report about fraudulent activity on someone’s credit card,  according to the Centralia Police Department.

POLICE: SHOPLIFTER ADMITS TO SELLING WAL-MART MERCHANDISE

• A 47-year-old Lacey man is in the Lewis County Jail after he allegedly twice in one week pushed a cart of merchandise out the doors a Wal-Mart without paying. Harry A. Booras III was detained by security personnel at the Chehalis store about 1:30 p.m. yesterday who called police, according to Chehalis Police Department Sgt. Brian Hickey. The employee recognized Booras as the same person who stole a 42-inch television last Thursday, Hickey said. He reportedly confessed he’d sold the television and so he was booked into the Lewis County Jail for trafficking in stolen property, according to police.  Booras was released without charges pending further investigation.

DISORDERLY MAN CITED FOR VIOLATING BAN ON FIGHTING

• Centralia police arrested a disorderly 21-year-old about 2 a.m. today at the 100 block of South Tower Avenue for allegedly fighting in public, a violation of city code. Derek M. Lampert was then released,  according to the Centralia Police Department.

MIDDLE SCHOOL MARIJUANA

• Police were called to Centralia Middle School just after 1 p.m. yesterday regarding a student in possession of marijuana. The student was arrested and then released. The case is being referred to juvenile prosecutors for a charging decision, according to the Centralia Police Department.