By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The Olympian reports Thurston County Superior Court’s longest serving judge has retired after 30 years on the bench.
News reporter Jeremy Pawloski writes about Judge Paula Casey in The Olympian.
Read more here
Updated at 4:14 p.m.
GUN TO WOMAN’S HEAD GETS MAN ARRESTED
• A 45-year-old Toledo man was arrested after he allegedly put the muzzle of a loaded rifle against his girlfriend’s forehead last night. Deputies called about 7:15 p.m. to the 300 block of Boone Road were told it happened during an argument. Travis B. Counts was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree assault, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
BOYFRIEND ARRESTED FOR ASSAULT
• A 39-year-old Chehalis man was arrested for second-degree assault yesterday after his girlfriend contacted police with so much bruising to her face her eye was nearly swelled shut. Police were told she was choked and also burned with her cigarette when he grabbed it from her, Sgt. Gwen Carrell said. It happened around 3 a.m. at their home on Northwest Chehalis Avenue and she called someone for assistance after he left briefly, Carrell said. Creede R. Harris was picked up later at a family member’s house elsewhere in town, Carrell said. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.
PARK AND RIDE THEFT
• A green Volkswagen Jetta was reported stolen from the park and ride lot on the 1400 block of Mellen Street in Centralia late yesterday afternoon. The car has a license plate of 298 YRM, according to the Centralia Police Department.
TRAFFICKING ARREST FOR MISSING IPOD
• A 21-year-old Centralia man was arrested yesterday after he allegedly stole his ex-girlfriend’s iPod which turned up at an Oakville pawnshop. A deputy called yesterday to the 800 block of Maleah Lane in Centralia followed the victim to where she was going to meet the suspect and took him into custody, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Blake D. Hansen was booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree trafficking in stolen property, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. He is to be released with no charges pending further investigation.
FUEL THEFTS FROM LOGGING CO. MAYBE SOLVED
• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office this morning said photos captured of a subject in connection with fuel thefts from the 200 block of Keasling Road south of Chehalis have led them to a 52-year-old Chehalis man. Someone stole 35 gallons of gasoline from B and M Logging early last weekend, which was the fourth such incident for the business in the past few months, according to the sheriff’s office. Chief Civl Deputy Stacy Brown said $1,450 in damage has been caused and $760 in fuel stolen. The case will be referred to the prosecutor’s office for three charges of third-degree theft and one of malicious mischief against the suspect, Brown said.
GRAY AND BLACK PATHFINDER SOUGHT IN SOUTH COUNTY BURGLARIES
• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office are looking for a two-toned Nissan Pathfinder and a skinny, light brown shorter-haired male in connection with two recent burglaries in the Toledo area. The individual who appears between the ages of 22 and 35 is wanted for the early Monday theft of copper wiring from machinery on the 900 block of Jackson Highway, according to the sheriff’s office. Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown says he may be involved in theft of copper pipe from property on the 200 block of Walker Road near Toledo sometime between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. The vehicle is described as a two-door, late 1980s or early 1990’s model that is both black and grayish-silver, Brown said.
VEHICLE VERSUS TREES
• A 66-year-old Centralia resident was arrested last night for driving under the influence after allegedly crashing her vehicle into several trees near North Saxon Street and Seminary Hill Road in Centralia and leaving the scene. Police called about 7:05 p.m. subsequently contacted Marsha K. Main and booked her into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
VANDALISM
• Centralia police were called about 10:25 a.m. yesterday o the 1300 block of Belmont Avenue about a window being broken out of a vehicle overnight.
CAMPFIRE AT STRIP MALL DRAWS POLICE
• Chehalis police were called about 3 o’clock this morning when a delivery person noticed a woman starting a fire in a planting bed at the north end of Twin City Town Center. Shelley A. Hartfield, 21, was arrested and jailed for reckless burning and malicious mischief, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Sgt. Gwen Carrell said she’s thinking the woman was chilly and had no place to go. The only damage was burned beauty bark, Carrell said.
HAY AND TRUCK BURN UP
• Nobody was injured but a Ford F150 pickup truck was left a blackened hulk when it and 20 bales of hay in the back caught fire yesterday afternoon south of Ethel. Lewis County Fire District 8 was called about 3:10 p.m. to Tucker Road quickly put out the fire, but the roadway was shut down as they sifted through and finished extinguishing smoldering hay, Fire Chief Duran McDaniel said. The driver was taking the hay to her goat farm, he said. It seemed as though some of the hay may have fallen in between the bed and cab of the truck onto the hot exhaust system, he said.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Centralia police took a report yesterday morning a Centralia woman was raped.
An officer responded about 9:15 a.m. yesterday to the 1200 block of Alder Street to talk to the victim, according to a police spokesperson.
Officers are investigating and releasing very little information.
Where it occurred, when it occurred and what the circumstances were are still unclear, according to police spokesperson Officer John Panco.
“We don’t know if it was a stranger or a known person,” he said. “The lady was upset. We got as much information as we could and that’s something we can’t verify.”
The case, according to police, is being investigated as a first-degree rape, meaning serious physical injury, threat with a deadly weapon, involving kidnapping or where the perpetrator criminally enters a building to assault the victim.
The police department describes it in a brief summary as a possible sexual assault.
Panco said there was some delay in the woman calling police. He did not know the woman’s condition.
Ricky Allen Riffe sits as his lawyer addresses a judge today in Lewis County Superior Court.
Updated a 6:10 p.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – After Ricky Allen Riffe appeared briefly in a Chehalis courtroom his afternoon, his lawyer said his client looks forward to clearing his name in the 1985 kidnapping and slaying of Ed and Minnie Maurin of Ethel.
“He definitely did not do it,” attorney John Crowley said.
Riffe, 53, was arrested earlier this month at his home in Alaska and brought back to Lewis County where he is charged in the decades old case.
Normally someone booked into the jail would have made a first appearance before a judge much sooner, but Crowley was out of town on another case last week.
Today’s appearance was only to set a date for arraignment and address bail conditions. Riffe’s attorney however did not ask for any reduction in his client’s $5 million bail.
Riffe did not speak.
His mother, father, brother and two other family members were in the courtroom, but chose not to talk with the news media.
Also in the courtroom was Elaine Amos of Toledo and her sister.
Her brother-in-law is a primary witness in the case, Amos said.
“I haven’t been able to sleep, worrying about my brother-in-law,” she said. “We’re worried he’s going to get off.”
Riffe and his brother John Gregory Riffe – both former Lewis County residents – moved to Alaska in 1987.
The Lewis County sheriff says they have long been suspects in the case. Sheriff Steve Mansfield has said detectives felt many witnesses did not come forward out of fear of the Riffe brothers.
Authorities believe the elderly couple was kidnapped from their home on U.S. Highway 12, forced to drive to their bank and withdraw money, before being shot in the backs and dumped near a logging road west of Adna. Their bodies were found days later on Christmas Eve in 1985.
Ed Maurin was 81 years old, his wife 83.
The Seattle-based defense attorney was adamant about his client’s position when he spoke outside the courtroom this afternoon.
“I want people to know whenever Ricky Riffe gets his opportunity to testify, he’s going to take that opportunity,” Crowley said.
Riffe wants to clear his name and will strongly deny any involvement or knowledge of the murders on his part or his brother’s, according to Crowley.
John Riffe died last month died just a week before detectives purchased tickets to travel King Salmon, Alaska to arrest the brothers. He was 50.
Sixteen pages of charging documents describe numerous people who were interviewed both after the deaths and over the years since. None of the witnesses are named.
A truck driver who was contacted in 1991 pointed to Ricky Riffe and offered several pieces of information, including how he gave a shotgun to Ricky Riffe which he asked him to cut down so he could carry it on the job, according to charging documents. He said he had trouble getting it back, until two or three months after the murders, the documents alleges. The gun was later tossed in Mayfield Lake, according to one witness.
The unnamed truck driver spoke of Ricky Riffe having no money and then suddenly buying a commercial-type fishing boat, as well as getting an odd call from Rick Riffe’s wife Robin Riffe, who said, “You wouldn’t believe what Rick’s done,” the document states.
Another man who came forward in 2004 told detectives he saw the Riffe brothers in a car with the Maurin couple near their Ethel home, but was afraid for his life because they threatened him if he told, charging documents state.
Crowley said today his client feels bad for the people who were killed, but to his knowledge, nobody has identified Ricky Riffe in photos to detectives.
There’s no physical evidence and no DNA evidence, Crowley said.
Riffe worked as a heavy equipment operator in the small fishing community, but hasn’t been able to work for about a year because of a breathing disorder. He has COPD and uses oxygen, Crowley said.
Lewis County Prosecutor Will Halstead said he wanted to set the arraignment the week after next, but Crowley won’t be a available.
That is scheduled to take place on Aug. 23, at 3 p.m.
•••
For more background, read “Maurin homicide: Accused murderer’s lawyer says no new evidence in old case” from Thursday July 26, 2012, here
Gary A. Lohr is sentenced for possession of meth and bail jumping
Updated
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A former longtime worker at Maple Lane juvenile detention facility for boys will appeal his drug conviction, saying the insignificant amount of methamphetamine and the jacket it was found in weren’t his.
Gary A. Lohr, 66, was fresh out of prison and getting back on his feet when Centralia police arrested him last December, his attorney told a judge yesterday.
Lohr has fought hard against his addiction, attorney Bryan Hershman said.
“He was born with whatever it is that makes people struggle with this curse, this plague of meth as he calls it,” Hershman said.
A Lewis County Superior Court jury last week found Lohr guilty of possession of methamphetamine and bail jumping. It’s his fourth drug conviction, Deputy Prosecutor Shane O’Rourke noted.
Lohr briefly addressed the judge when given the opportunity.
“Thank you for the court’s time,” he said. “I’m innocent and that’s all I can say.”
Hershman argued for the low end of the standard sentencing range, while the prosecutor argued for the high end.
Judge James Lawler chose the high end and sentenced Lohr yesterday morning to 29 months in prison.
His attorney filed a notice of appeal before Lohr was taken away.
Maple Lane was a state juvenile institution in Grand Mound that has since shut down.
SUSPECTED LITTLE ARSON
• Firefighters called about flames last night at a vacant business on the 700 block of Main Street in Centralia found someone had lit on fire a no trespassing sign on the door. It basically burned itself out and the door was just scorched, according to Riverside Fire Authority. The two-story building was otherwise unharmed, Fire Capt. Terry Ternan said.
MALE ROBBED BY COUPLE IN PARK
• Centralia police say they have a suspect after a strong-armed robbery yesterday in Fort Borst Park. Officers called about 12:30 p.m. were told a 22-year-old male went to meet a female in a secluded area of the park for “relations”, but a male showed up with her, and grabbed the victim’s wallet before the two fled, according to the Centralia Police Department.
WOMAN TRIES TO CLAIM STOLEN CAR
• A 21-year-old woman was arrested when she arrived to claim what deputies thought was an abandoned vehicle last night. A deputy responding about 7:15 p.m. to the 3300 block of Jackson Highway learned the 2005 Nissan Sentra had been reported stolen on Friday from Seattle, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. While waiting for the tow truck, a taxi pulled up and a woman carrying a gas can informed the deputy it was her car, she was going to fuel it up and leave, the sheriff’s office said. Shelley A. Hartfield, 21, said she had purchased the vehicle from someone named Alex, according to the sheriff’s office. Hartfield was booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree possession of stolen property, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.
HIT AND RUN
• A 21-year-old Centralia resident was arrested overnight after allegedly crashing a vehicle into a light pole on the corner of Alder and Cherry streets and leaving the scene. Police called about 12:05 a.m. subsequently contacted Ancelina Ramirez Lamas, 21, a short distance away, according to the Centralia Police Department. Lamas was booked into the Lewis County Jail for hit and run as well as driving under the influence, according to police.
• Police were called about 9:35 a.m. yesterday when a log truck struck a light signal and kept on going. It happened at Southwest Second Street and Market Boulevard and will cost about $1,500 to repair because it’s one of the older-style lights, according to police.
TRUCK INTO BUILDING
• Police said it was apparently a mechanical malfunction that led to a pickup truck driving into the side of the Eagles building on the 1900 block of South market Boulevard on Friday evening. Nobody was hurt, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The driver put it in gar an it just took off, according to police. The engine was still “revving” when it did stop, according to police.
THEFT
• A short foot pursuit of an individual wanted in connection with vehicle theft ended with the arrest about 10:20 p.m. yesterday of Ruben A. Inman, 21, of Centralia. It happened in the area of South Silver and West Walnut street in Centralia, according to police. Inman was booked into the Lewis County Jail also for allegedly resisting arrest and escape, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was released from jail with no charges filed.
• A 72-year-old Ethel man reported yesterday afternoon that someone used his debit card to make an online purchase of $140 from Forever21.com, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’ Office.
• Centralia police took a report yesterday afternoon from the 600 block of Rock Street of the theft of medication, a wallet and debit cards.
• Chehalis police were called just after 3 p.m. on Saturday when someone loaded a shopping full of various alcohol and liquor, pushed it out the door and drove off from Safeway on the 1100 block of South Market Boulevard.
• A 31-year-old Chehalis woman who wanted to report the theft of her mother’s ashes to police yesterday afternoon was told it was not a crime because apparently the father had told the daughters they could each keep the urn for a year a time, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
• Police were called just before noon yesterday about a boy with clippers cutting flowers out of a yard on the 200 block of Southeast Washington Avenue. The 13-year-old was told he couldn’t do that and his parents were talked to, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
ANIMAL INNARDS ABANDONED NEAR CHURCH
• Police were called over the weekend about a cardboard box containing what looked like animal parts left on the sidewalk in front of St. Joseph Church on Southwest Cascade Avenue. It was like the guts from a cow – tongue, heart, kidney, the parts you may or may not want back when you get an animal butchered, Sgt. Gwen Carrell said. Police tossed them into the garbage, she said.
ASSAULT ALLEGED
• An 11-year-old boy went to Chehalis police on Friday to report his father slugged and choked him the day before. The case is under investigation, according to police. There were no marks on the child, but he placed in protective custody by Child Protective Services, Sgt. Gwen Carrell said.
NAUGHTY PICTURES
• Chehalis police took a third-party report on Friday of someone sending inappropriate pictures to the phone of a 13-year-old Chehalis girl. Officers have not been able to reach the child’s parent to confirm the report, according to police.
KIDS LEFT ALONE IN CAR
• A 55-year-old woman was issued a citation after police were called Sunday afternoon about two children left alone in a vehicle parked at Yard Birds in Chehalis. The Port Orchard woman came out of the store with two other small children and was cited for leaving a 3-year-old and a 19-month old unattended in a vehicle, according to Chehalis police.
DRUGS
• An 18-year-old Centralia man was arrested last night for possession of methamphetamine, burglary tools and a dangerous weapon, according to police. Zachary K. Konoske was booked into the Lewis County Jail after contact with an officer about 10:20 p.m. at the 1100 block of Elm Street, according to the Centralia Police Department.
CAR PROWL
• Police were called about 3:45 p.m. yesterday to the 100 block of Southwest Cascade Avenue in Chehalis where someone had stolen an Alpine CD player from an unlocked vehicle parked at a residence.
VANDALISM
• A deputy was called last night to the 2300 block of Jackson Highway where someone had spray painted graffiti on the east side of an empty building.
Chase Ettner, right, and his lawyer Ken Johnson appear in Lewis County Superior Court.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The 27-year-old man charged with arson after setting fire to his own Chehalis apartment two weeks ago pleaded guilty today.
Chase N. Ettner wanted to apologize for his actions, recognizing the potential seriousness of the situation, his attorney told a judge this afternoon.
“He has no prior record, he’s not criminally inclined,” Chehalis attorney Ken Johnson said. “He’s seriously embarrassed by this incident, and he’s remorseful.”
Police and firefighters called the night of July 16 to the 100 block of North Market Boulevard found residents had evacuated the brick building and a resident or residents working on extinguishing the flames.
Ettner had jumped out the window of the ground floor apartment he shared with his wife and was laying on the ground extremely intoxicated, surrounded by an unruly crowd, according to responders.
A gas can was found inside the apartment; the oven and stove were turned on, police said. The carpet and a futon were damaged by fire, according to the fire department.
Chehalis police initially said Ettner may have been trying to harm himself or possibly his wife. He also told police, according to charging document, he made sure everybody was out before he “torched the place.”
Ettner and his wife had argued, but she had left, according to attorneys.
Residents from five apartments in the 21-unit brick building had to find somewhere else to stay temporarily.
Both lawyers and Ettner agreed alcohol played a large role that night, and indicated because of that, it’s really not clear what his intentions were.
Johnson suggested the household had alcohol issues.
Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead recommended Ettner be sentenced to two years in prison following a plea agreement.
The standard sentencing range for the crime – first-degree arson domestic violence – for Ettner is 21 to 27 months.
Halstead additionally requested he be ordered not to consume alcohol.
Ettner’s voice broke when he addressed Judge James Lawler this afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.
He said it’s been years without hard drugs, but the alcohol came back and he wants to put it behind him.
“I never thought I would do anything to send myself to prison,” he said.
“I really don’t know what came over me that night,” he added.
Judge Lawler agreed with a two-year sentence.
“I hope you can make that change, because if you don’t, you know what’s waiting for you,” Lawler said.
A no-contact order was entered on behalf of Ettner’s wife, but Johnson said his client who’s spent most of his life in Tennessee may go back there and also thought it best if they went their separate ways.
•••
For background, read:
• “Police: Intoxicated Chehalis man arrested after starting fire in his apartment” from Monday July 16, 2012 at 9:22 a.m., here
• “Prosecutors: Drunken apartment resident tried to hurt self, get back at wife with arson” from Tuesday July 17, 2012 at 9:51 a.m., here
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