Posts Tagged ‘news reporter’

Charges sorted out from east end arrests

Saturday, December 24th, 2011
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Brandon Piatt, of Glenoma, sits with defense attorney Bob Schroeter in Lewis County Superior Court. Behind him are James and Sherri Hamrick, both of Packwood.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Four of the individuals scooped up in a crack down on drug dealing in the east end of Lewis County were charged yesterday with delivery of methamphetamine; one young woman was released with no charges after spending a night in jail.

Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team traveling in an armored personnel carrier, arrested eight people on Thursday in a sweep through Packwood and Morton.

The action followed a three-month investigation by the Lewis County Regional Drug Task Force, which had been conducting undercover drug buys, according Sheriff Steve Mansfield.

Officers served a search warrant that morning  at the 100 block of Edmonds Road in Packwood where they detained three people, James D. Hamrick, 29; Sherri J. Hamrick, 46; and Amaris R. Smith, 21, according to the sheriff’s office.

While Smith was arrested for alleged possession of methamphetamine, she was not charged because there were no drugs found on her, Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Shane O’Rourke said.

The rest of those arrested appeared before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis yesterday afternoon.

James Hamrick was charged with two counts of delivery of methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to deliver. He has several felony convictions from the past, according to O’Rourke; Judge James Lawler set his bail at $50,000.

Sherri Hamrick was charged with four counts of delivery of methamphetamine and one count  possession with intent to deliver. Her bail was set at $15,000. Prosecutors said she has no criminal history.

Venus D. Hamilton, 48, of Morton, was charged yesterday with delivery of methamphetamine.

In June, the sheriff’s office called Hamilton one of two main narcotics distributors in the east end when she was arrested and charged with selling methamphetamine, but those charges were dismissed after prosecutors has problems with the informant, according to O’Rourke.

“She lost her car and she was warned if she continued and persisted, she would be caught again,” O’Rourke told the judge.

Lawler set her bail on the new charge at $10,000.

Two of the eight were arrested only for unrelated warrants for failing to appear in court. The judge set bail at $10,000 for Effren E. Barron, 40, and at $3,000 for Bradley J. Miller, 35, of Packwood.

Two individuals were arrested around noon on Thursday on the 6300 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Morton.

Brandon Piatt, 31, of Glenoma was charged yesterday with four counts of delivery of methamphetamine and ordered held on $30,000 bail. Sheila Schmitt, 44, of Morton, was not charged in connection with his alleged drug dealing, according to O’Rourke.

However, charges were filed yesterday against both for drug possession related to a June arrest. Schmitt’s bail was set at $10,000, unsecured, for possession of methamphetamine. Piatt’s additional charges were for possession of methamphetamine, hyrocodone and another prescription drug, according to O’Rourke.

Piatt and James Hamrick remain in the Lewis County Jail.
•••

See Thursday’s news story, “Drug task force arrests eight in East End” here

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

MAN HOSPITALIZED AFTER TENINO ATTACK WITH BAT

• A pair of Tenino men were jailed overnight after allegedly beating a 25-year-old man and hitting him in the head with a baseball bat. It happened about 12:45 a.m. on the 2800 block of Angus Drive Southeast outside Tenino, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. The victim, a 25-year-old Lacey resident, was taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia where he was treated and has been released, the sheriff’s office reported. Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Brady said the two confronted the victim about some “unkind things” said about his ex-girlfriend. The sheriff’s office said they met up with the victim as he was leaving his father’s residence and hit him, bit him and broke a window out of his vehicle before striking him with the aluminum bat. Arrested and booked into the Thurston County Jail for second-degree assault were Joel E. Lewis, 29, and Richard A. Mickelson, 27, both of Tenino, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

SANTA, REINDEER, TREE STOLEN FROM CENTRALIA YARD

• Centralia police were called about 9:40 p.m. yesterday to the 100 block of East Fourth Street where someone had made off with several outdoor Christmas decorations including a lighted metal reindeer, an inflatable Santa snow globe and an inflatable tree which Santa pops out of, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFT

• Police were called about 11 p.m. yesterday to the 200 block of L Street in Centralia about a Browning 9 mm handgun taken from a vehicle.

• Archery equipment valued at $700 was stolen from an unlocked vehicle on Southwest 10th Street in Chehalis, according to a report taken yesterday morning by police. Missing is a Matthews Reezen bow and attachments.

• Centralia police took a report about 1:40 a.m. today about the theft of a camera from a vehicle yesterday.

• Chehalis police were contacted yesterday by an individual who learned that someone had created their own checks using the routing number for his Chehalis-based bank account. A small amount of money was stolen before the account was closed, according to police.

WRECK

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports a head-on collision yesterday evening at Graf and Scammon Creek roads outside Centralia was caused by a 73-year-old Centralia man driving under the influence. He was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital to be checked out so he was referred for a charge of DUI and not jailed, according to the sheriff’s office. There were no injuries but his truck was described as totaled and the other vehicle sustained major damage, according to the deputy’s report.

Drug task force arrests eight in East End

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011
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The Lewis County Sheriff's Office's armored personnel carrier with its SWAT team rolled through the east end today. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Sheriff's Office

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Alleged drug dealers and users were swept up in Packwood and Morton today as the sheriff’s office and friends served search warrants.

Eight people were arrested altogether in what Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield is calling “Operation Merry Christmas”. Three of them were wanted on unrelated outstanding warrants, according to the sheriff’s office.

Mansfield said some 15 or more officers from four agencies participated starting at 9 a.m. at the 100 block of Edmonds Road in Packwood.

The action followed a three-month investigation by the Lewis County Regional Drug Task Force, which had been conducting undercover “buys”, according to the sheriff.

According to a news release from the sheriff’s office:

Arrested were Sherri J. Hamrick, 46, for four counts of delivery of methamphetamine; James D. Hamrick, 29, for two counts of delivery of methamphetamine and felon in possession of a firearm; and Amaris R. Smith, 21, for possession of methamphetamine. All are Packwood residents.

Two individuals were picked up in elsewhere for warrants. They are Bradley J. Miller, 35, of Packwood, found at the 100 block of Mount Rainier Drive; and Effren E. Barron, 40, found at the 12900 block of U.S. Highway 12.

Mansfield said officers came across a small marijuana grow today, and seized one-eighth of an ounce of suspected methamphetamine.

The news release went on to name:

Venus D. Hamilton, 48, was arrested in Morton on the 900 block of Davis Lake Road for delivery of methamphetamine.

Then law enforcement moved to another location on the 6300 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Morton where they picked up two others.

They are Brandon Piatt, 31, of Glenoma, for four counts of delivery of methamphetamine; and Sheila Schmitt, 44, of Morton, for possession of narcotics.

Mansfield said more arrests are expected in the East End over the next two weeks.

One Packwood resident on Edmonds Road told the sheriff she couldn’t thank him enough for cleaning up the drug dealers in her neighborhood, Mansfield said.

“It’s quite touching to have some hug you and say ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’,” Mansfield said.

The sheriff credited Lewis County Sheriff’s office Sgt. Rob Snaza for putting together the operation.

Assisting the task force and other deputies were members of the Centralia Police Department, the state Department of Corrections and the Washington State Patrol.

All were booked into the Lewis County Jail.

“This Christmas they’ll be spending it in my jail, unless they find a way to bail out,” Mansfield said. “Which, I hope they don’t.”
•••

CORRECTION: This news story has been corrected to reflect the noontime arrests of Brandon Piatt and Sheila Schmitt on the 6300 block of U.S. Highway 12 took place in Morton, not Packwood as the sheriff’s office incorrectly reported to the news media.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

FIRE CLAIMS SALKUM HOUSE, PETS

• A Salkum family escaped a fire last night that destroyed their home and killed several pets. Firefighters from three departments called about 12:20 a.m. to the 100 block of Orchard Drive off Spencer Road found the two-story house fully engulfed in flames, according to Lewis County Fire District 8 Assistant Chief Don Taylor. It was an open loft-type construction so the fire had a lot of room to build, Taylor said. It was finally contained after about two hours, he said. One woman trying to get her animals out suffered smoke inhalation, but didn’t want to go the hospital, according to Taylor. Two other adults and three small children were fine, he said. A Labrador dog and one cat got out, but four small dogs were found deceased under a bed, he said. There was one bright spot, according to Taylor. “We assumed because of the intensity of the fire all the unaccounted-for pets had perished” but beneath the pile of dogs, a cat was found alive, he said. Firefighters administered oxygen to the singed cat and this morning it was going to be taken to a veterinarian, he said. The fire seemed to have begun in the garage area, he said.

ONALASKA PANTRY FIRE EXTINGUISHED

• Firefighters were called just before 1 o’clock this morning to a home off Middle Fork Road in Onalaska where wood stove ashes had begun smoldering in a waste basket in a pantry. A father got the family outside safely and the damage was minimal, Lewis County Fire District 1 Chief Mark Conner said.

THEFT

• A deputy took a report yesterday of several thousand dollars worth of tools and various equipment stolen from an outbuilding on the 5500 block of Jackson Highway near Toledo, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It occurred sometime between Monday and Wednesday, according to the sheriff’s office.

• A Playstation and a compressor were among the items missing after a burglary to a house and garage on the 300 block of North Buckner Street in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department. It was reported at noon time yesterday.

• A Centralia man who got up early yesterday morning to walk his dog discovered both his $8,000 mower and the car trailer it had been loaded onto missing. A deputy called about 7 a.m. to the 1500 block of South Schueber Road was told they had been parked in front of the man’s shop the night before. The mower is red and the home made trailer is 18-feet long and black, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• Centralia police took a report of a vehicle prowl to a motor home yesterday evening from the 1100 block of Crosby Avenue.

WOMAN ARRESTED AFTER SEEKING SHELTER IN TRAVEL TRAILER

• A 46-year-old woman was arrested overnight after she broke into a travel trailer in Centralia apparently seeking a warm place to stay, according to the Centralia Police Department. Police called just after midnight to the 300 block of North Iron Street found a heater inside had been turned on but nothing missing. Lisa A. Palmer, of Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for burglary, according to police.

UNDER THE INFLUENCE AND STUCK ON RAILROAD TRACKS

• A 70-year-old driver was arrested after he somehow got his vehicle stuck on railroad tracks in Centralia and was found to be driving under the influence of drugs. Police called about 7:15 p.m. yesterday to the 900 block of South Tower Avenue booked James G. Hangartner into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THREE-YEAR-OLD PEDESTRIAN SURVIVES NEAR MISS BY PASSING VEHICLE

• A toddler escaped injury yesterday when she apparently got out of her father’s hand stepped into a Centralia street and was brushed by a passing vehicle. Police and aid called about 6:50 p.m. to Main and Rock streets said the 3-year-old girl was unhurt. The “bump” apparently spun her around but didn’t knock her down, Riverside Fire Authority Capt. Ken Colombo said. The driver was not cited, according to police.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

THEFT

• A pair of teenage brothers were arrested yesterday for second-degree burglary after they allegedly crawled through the  window of a neighbor’s mobile home in Centralia. Police, called about 12:30 p.m. to the 1700 block of Harrison Avenue, were told the boys were looking for batteries for a “remote control something”, police said. The 14-year-old and his 15-year-old brother were booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center.

• Centralia police were called about 6:30 a.m. today to the 100 block of Sunnyside Drive in Centralia where a .22 caliber rifle had been stolen from a vehicle overnight. The missing gun is a Winchester 77, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police took a report yesterday of a vehicle prowl on the 1000 block of South Schueber Road in Centralia in which a purse had been stolen  last Thursday. The vehicle had been unlocked, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Trusted Winlock grocery manager stole some $1 million from employer

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
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Benjamin C. Macy hangs his head as he listens to his former employer speak of the ongoing thefts from his grocery store.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The former Winlock grocery store manager accused of stealing lottery tickets was sentenced to prison today, as attorneys agreed the theft from his employer was closer to $1 million over the years.

Benjamin C. Macy, 52, was employed at the Cedar Village IGA some 30 years. He was arrested in May 2010 after a video surveillance camera showed him scratching off dozens of $20 tickets at 4:30 in the morning.

Macy hung his head as Cedar Village owner Raleigh Stone addressed him this morning in Lewis County Superior Court.

“Ben, you were one of the richest men I knew,” Stone said, reading from a page he’d written. “Rich in family, friends, community and co-workers who equally respected you for the man they thought you were.”

“I trusted you like a brother,” Stone said.

Stone went on to say Macy was named in his will, had delivered the eulogy for Stone’s mother, and continued to steal from the store even after knowing Stone withdrew $50,000 from his retirement in order to pay the bills.

“It’s a shame you and your family made more money off my business than my family did in 31 years,” Stone said.

Some 50 people packed the seats in the Chehalis courtroom this morning as Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead and defense attorney Don McConnell told the judge what they felt the sentence should be.

Macy pleaded guilty in October to five counts of first-degree theft.

In a separate civil case, Macy agreed to pay Stone almost $305,000, and sign over his house, a $30,000 truck and coin collection.

“I gave all those last week to Mr. Stone,” attorney Don McConnell told the judge.

McConnell said he’d never met someone more sorry than his client.

Macy stood and turned toward his former employer when it was his turn to speak.

“It’s been going on a long time,” Macy said. “Way too long. Raleigh, I’m sorry,” he said.

The former Winlock resident apologized to Stone’s family, to his former co-workers and his own family for embarrassing them.

According to Stone, while people generally thought the theft was only lottery tickets, it was much more.

Since January 2005, the forensic accountant determined more than $900,000 was missing, and that was above and beyond thousands of dollars from the previous years in which the statute of limitations had passed, Stone said.

And then there was more than $538,000 in lottery winnings from stolen tickets, he said.

Halstead said the thefts added up to in excess of $1 million. McConnell said his accountant determined it was something less than that.

Th standard sentencing range, established by the legislature, is 12 to 14 months in prison. Halstead recommended 12 months and one day.

Judge Richard Brosey told Macy his actions could possibly had put the only grocery in Winlock out of business.

There’s no excuse, no justification, Brosey said.

He sentenced Macy to 14 months in prison.

Macy, who has been free on bail since his arrest, was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom.

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Benjamin C. Macy is taken away by a corrections officer from the Lewis County Jail.

•••

Read background here

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

SCHOOL BUS DRIVER QUITS AFTER ALCOHOL TEST

• Police were called after a Chehalis school bus driver finished her morning route reportedly smelling of alcohol last week. The driver, identified as a 58-year-old woman who has been driving a school bus for more than 20 years, resigned rather than be fired, Chehalis School District Superintendent Ed Rothlin said today. While she lost her job, she’s not likely to be arrested for driving under the influence because there was quite a time delay in the reporting, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Two employees reported to the transportation supervisor the driver smelled of alcohol about 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday and the driver was taken for a blood alcohol test in which she tested somewhere between .04 and .08, according to police and the school district. Rothlin didn’t divulge what the level was but said the drug and alcohol policy is strictly enforced and anything above .04 is grounds for discipline. Police weren’t called until about 11 a.m., after the driver had been tested and allowed to go home, according to Deputy Chief Randy Kaut. The school board held a special meeting on Friday to accept her resignation, Rothlin said.

FIGHTS

• A scuffle in a parking lot about 2 o’clock this morning on the 1000 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia ended with two reportedly intoxicated individuals arrested, a man for assaulting his girlfriend and the girlfriend for grabbing the officer to get the officer off her boyfriend, according to police. Police were called at about 2:10 a.m. when witnesses observed 27-year-old Darrell S. Maxfield assault a woman, according to the Centralia Police Department. Maxfield refused to comply with orders and was taken to the ground and the female repeated came at the officer, according to police. The un-named woman was booked for third-degree assault and Maxfield was booked for fourth-degree assault, according to Centralia Police Department.

• A 47-year-old Packwood man reportedly “squared off” with police and wound up getting taken to the ground and Tased yesterday evening on the 500 block of North Pearl Street,  according to Centralia Police Department. Charles A. Park was booked into the Lewis County Jail after the approximately 5 p.m. incident that involved a warrant arrest, according to police.

• A woman arrested for possession of marijuana after trying to pick a fight on the 400 block of West Third Street in Centralia last night was subsequently also arrested for second-degree malicious mischief when she used the backseat of a patrol car for a toilet, according to police. Lisa A. Palmer, 46, of Oakville,  was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Centralia Police Department. The patrol car was taken out of service so it could be sanitized, according to police. She was released without charging.

RESTAURANT CASH AND CHECKS STOLEN

• Police were called yesterday evening after two purses containing thousands of dollars in cash as well as customers checks were stolen from a restaurant on the 600 block of North National Avenue in Chehalis. A group of people had come in to the Ocean Sky inquiring about banquet facilities and it seems it they could have been intentionally distracting the employee while the purses were snagged, according to Chehalis police.

SHERIFF’S OFFICE: MOSSY STORE BURGLARIES SOLVED

• Four teenage boys are facing arrest for two August break-ins at a Mossyrock-area store in which cash, boxes of candy, cans of Monster energy drinks were stolen, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning. Deputies followed up on local rumors and found a 14-year-old and three 15-year-olds who admitted to the burglaries at the Mossyrock Park store and cafe on the 200 block of Ajlune Road, according to the sheriff’s office. The loss is estimated to as much as $2,500, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. The case is being referred for possible charges, Brown said.

FRIEND EMPTIES, THEN REFILLS  MAN’S BANK ACCOUNT

• A 35-year-old Centralia man was arrested for 13 counts of forgery following a report taken Monday from a longtime friend and former roommate on West Roanoke Street that his checking account had been emptied. The victim thought the checks had been stolen sometime since Nov. 1, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. When Beau J. Armstrong was arrested, a deputy learned he had just deposited $3,225 into the account, possibly to cover up what he had done, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Armstrong was booked into the Lewis County Jail, Brown said.

SISTER TAKES WOMAN’S CHECKS

• Tracy L. McPherson, 41, was arrested Thursday for second-degree theft after allegedly stealing a checkbook from her sister’s Onalaska home and writing some two dozen checks at grocery stores and Home Depot, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said yesterday. She said she was paying off debts, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

THEFT

• Centralia police on Friday took a report of a missing bank deposit bag containing more than $1,000. A business from out of the area contacted police about the possible theft after the money was not deposited into a Centralia bank, police said. The case is under investigation.

• Unspecified household items were stolen in a burglary at the 1100 block of Mellen Street in Centralia which was reported about 11:30 a.m. yesterday.

•  A 1991 Ford Ranger was reported stolen sometime between 10 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. on Saturday from the 900 block of state Route 7 outside Morton, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The truck has a license plates reading B744058, according to the sheriff’s office.

• A 2003 Ford F350 pickup stolen from the 300 block of Newaukum Valley Road outside Chehalis was found stuck in a creek off the same road on Saturday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• A Chehalis man called the sheriff’s office on Friday when he spotted his stolen utility trailer being pulled behind a pickup at the Rock Shop in Ethel and the truck was subsequently stopped on the 800 block of Gish Road in Onalaska, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. David Shive, 51, of Toledo, told the deputy he’d borrowed in from a friend on Tucker Road but the friend said he didn’t know anything about that, according to the sheriff’s office. Shive was booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of stolen property, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning.

• Three surveillance cameras were reported stolen from a business and apartment building on the 500 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia on Sunday afternoon, according to police.

• Police were called about 5:20 p.m. yesterday to a car prowl on the 500 block of West Third Street in Centralia.

• Keys and a knife were reported stolen from a vehicle on the 100 block of Jalyn Street in Centralia on Friday afternoon.

DRUGS

• A 25-year-old Centralia woman was arrested about 8:30 p.m. yesterday for possession of methamphetamine, according to Centralia Police Department. Ericka D. Romero was booked into jail following her contact with police at Mellen and Alder streets, according to police.

• A 53-year-old Centralia man was arrested for possession of methadone and unspecified prescription pills following a traffic stop on the 500 block of South Rock Street in Centralia yesterday evening. Anthony L. Pender was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Centralia Police Department.

• A 24-year-old Rochester woman was arrested for possession of methamphetamine on Saturday night in Centralia, according to police. Shanna M. Rogers was booked into the Lewis County Jail following her contact with an officer on the 100 block of North Pearl Street, according to Centralia Police Department.

• A 44-year-old Centralia woman was arrested for possession of methamphetamine on Friday morning after contact with an officer at the 1300 block of Bayne Street in Centralia, according to police. Sara M. DeSalvo was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Centralia Police Department.

UNDERAGE DRINKING

• Eight individuals were arrested when deputies broke up a Friday night underage drinking party at a rock pit off Evans Road near Toledo, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Several people took off on foot but others, ages 17 to 20, were issued citations for being minors in possession of alcohol, according to the sheriff’s office.

JEWELRY STORE LOSS ABOUT $40,000

• Some $40,000 in jewelry was stolen from the antique store in Centralia that was burglarized last week, according to Centralia police. A witness who heard the alarm about 3:30 a.m. on Thursday on the 100 block of South Tower Avenue saw two males carrying items out of the shop and putting them in a silver sport utility vehicle, according to Centralia police. A police pursuit on northbound Interstate 5 reached speeds of more than 100 mph and continued north. The license plate of the suspect SUV turned out to have been stolen several blocks away from the jewelry store, according to Sgt. Kurt Reichert.