Lewis County Sirens.com

John Booth Jr. addresses his answers toward the jury when testifying today in Lewis County Superior Court.

This was updated at 10:54 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – John Allen Booth Jr. took the witness stand in his own triple-murder trial and denied being present when four people were shot – three fatally – at 101 Wings Way in rural Lewis County on Aug. 21, 2010 .

Booth is expected to finish testifying when court resumes after lunch.

The 32-year-old former Onalaska resident, under questioning, told a story of “fronting” a pound of methamphetamine to David West Sr. sometime in July of that year and  returning repeatedly to West Sr.’s house to finish collecting on the debt.

On the evening before the 21st, Booth said, West Sr. didn’t have the agreed upon payment.

“I said, ‘how about if I leave my buddy here with you, and as soon as you give me my money, he’ll take off,” Booth testified.

Booth said he had other business to tend to and left the Salkum-Onalaska area home. He said he never went back.

He refused to name the “buddy” who he said came to visit him the following day.

Booth is charged with first- and second-degree murder, attempted murder, attempted extortion and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with shootings. His former cell mate, 30-year-old Ryan McCarthy, has been sent to prison for 14 years after a plea agreement, where he did not admit guilt but acknowledged he was present.

While the trial in Lewis County Superior Court began a week ago Monday, defense attorney Roger Hunko postponed his opening statements until this morning.

They lasted 15 minutes and most of the seats in the courtroom filled up after he announced he had only two witnesses: his private investigator and his client.

The investigator, John Wickert, testified he interviewed John Lindberg, the witness who said he hid out in a back room as gunfire broke out that night in the house shared by West Sr., his longtime girlfriend Denise Salts, and 16-year-old David West Jr.

Lindberg told him West Sr. had received approximately one pound of meth a week earlier from a Hispanic gentleman, Wickert testified.

Booth took the witness stand for some 45 minutes today explaining through his lawyer’s questioning how he sold West Sr. a pound of meth for $14,000 – because of the quality – and when he returned a week later for his money, got only $5,000 of it.

“We figured out a payment plan of $1,000 a week,” Booth said.

Booth said he drove to West Sr.’s house the evening of Aug. 20, because West Sr. had called and said he’d have his money. But he didn’t, Booth said.

“Then we had a discussion, he was gonna have my money later that night,” Booth testified. “He informed me he was gonna be there all night.”

So Booth left his “buddy” at the house, he said. And he was somewhere in Rochester near the casino when he got a call from his friend, he said.

He called another friend “Dee” Draper to pick up the “buddy” and then called someone else to get him from Draper’s house, he said. Devonna Draper, owner of Onalaska’s All In Restaurant and Lounge, previously testified she got such a phone call sometime after her bar closed that night.

The next morning, Booth said, he was at his shop when the buddy came to pick up his car.

“Did he give you a rundown of what happened?” Hunko asked.

“Yes,” Booth replied.

Booth said he took the gun – “I didn’t want him to get pulled over with a ‘burner’ on him” – and sprayed it down with WD-40.

He said he began getting phone calls and hearing the police were looking for him and Robbie Russell on a shooting of West Sr. So he left town, he said.

“I’m a criminal, I’m not gonna sit around,” Booth testified. “I jumped in my car and took off.”

When asked, he matter-of-factly listed off his past convictions; related to burglary, possession of a stolen firearm and assaults, plus intimidating a witness.

“Do you know personally, do you have knowledge of what happened at the house at 101 Wings Way?” Hunko asked.

“I was not there,” Booth said.

Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher cross-examined Booth, beginning by asking about alibi witnesses.

“In my line of work, you don’t really have that,” Booth said.

“You’re armed a lot,” Meagher said.

“Every day,” Booth replied.

Meagher asked numerous questions, and in many cases, Booth was direct in his responses. He showed a photo of a gun, which Booth said yes he wiped off, but no, it was not his.

“Where do you get your meth?” the prosecutor asked.

“Random Mexicans,” Booth said.

Meagher inquired about Booth leaving McCarthy at the Wings Way house.

“I didn’t say that,” Booth said. “I said I left my buddy there.”

“Who’s your buddy?” Meagher asked.

“I cannot currently recall,” Booth said. “I will not currently recall.”

Booth finally offered it was “Joe Nameless.”

“So you refuse to tell your alibi witness?” Meager asked.

“Yes,” Booth said.

And the questioning continued.

“In your business, what happens when people don’t pay their debts?” Meagher asked.

“That doesn’t happen,” Booth replied.

Meagher in his questioning began to recount how West Sr. came at Booth with a shot gun and that Booth opened fire.

“I understand what you’re saying, but no, I did not,” Booth said.

As Meagher recited what other witnesses had said, Booth generally sat back in the witness chair, but leaned forward toward the microphone to respond with short answers such as “That’s not right” and “I was not there.”

Then Meager related the series of events which followed, his questions coming faster and louder, accusing Booth of shooting West Sr., Tony Williams, David West Jr. and Salts.

“And you forgot about Lindberg,” Meager said.

Finally, somewhat sarcastically, Meager asked: “Did you shoot anybody else that night?”

“Thinkin ’bout shooting you,” Booth replied.

That’s when the judge said it was time to break for lunch.

On Aug. 21, 2010 when deputies and aid arrived to the home on Wings Way after an approximately 2 a.m. report of gunshots and a shooting, they found Salts, 51, alive but seriously wounded with a gunshot to her face.

They found three others in the house dead of gunshots to the head; West Sr. 52; David Jr. and Williams, 50, of Randle.

Judge Richard Brosey told jurors to expect to hear closing statements tomorrow beginning 9 a.m.

Updated at 9 a.m. and 6:25 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Authorities are asking motorists to stay out of the area of North Central Boulevard in Centralia after a train derailment this morning.

The fire department and police were called just before 8 a.m. to the 1800 block in the Logan District, according to Lewis County Centralia Dispatch.

A fully-loaded tanker containing methanol has tipped onto its side and other rail cars are leaning, a dispatcher said.

It doesn’t appear to be leaking, he said.

Residents are being told to stay inside but no evacuations are taking place, he said.

Motorists are advised to steer clear of the area.

Riverside Fire Authority Chief Jim Walkowski said at 9 a.m. the material – a type of alcohol – is still in its container and is more of a flammability concern than anything else.

One business adjacent to the incident was evacuated and residents were told to avoid the area unless they were already inside their homes, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Shortly before 2:30 p.m., crews were able to upright the three rail cars, police Cmdr. Jim Rich said in a news release.

Area residents were advised it was safe to come and go, according to Rich. No injuries were reported.

This was updated at 9:01 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 20-year-old worker was killed yesterday in an accident at Hampton’s lumber mill in Morton.

Authorities are investigating.

Sheriff’s detectives were called about 11:15 a.m. to the saw mill on state Route 7 just north of town.

He was working on machinery when he died, and had last been seen on a break between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., Sheriff’s Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning.

Hampton Affiliates, based in Portland, Ore., identified the employee yesterday as Dillan Davis, 20, of Randle.

“No words can express our sorrow to the family of Dillan and his friends throughout the Cowlitz Valley,” Steve Zika, CEO of Hampton Affiliates said in a news release.

The mill has been shut down until further notice, according to Zika.

Investigators from Labor and Industries are looking into the death to determine what happened, according to an agency spokesperson.

“We have begun an investigation, but at the moment all we know is that the worker was found on a conveyor fatally injured,” spokesperson Hector Castro said this morning

Castro said it was his understanding the young man has worked at the mill since October, and was employed at its Randle facility since last year.

An autopsy is scheduled for this afternoon.

The Lewis County mill is among eight owned by Hampton Affiliates in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.

Jessica Porter testifies about her brother D.J. and father David West Sr. during during their murder trial. / Courtesy photo by Bradd Reynolds

This was updated at 8:21 a.m. on Tuesday December 13, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The prosecution painted with broad strokes a picture of John A. Booth Jr. working as a “collector” of money for Robbie Russell in the local drug world.

Testimony in today’s proceedings in Booth’s triple murder trial in Chehalis included some who described Booth as a quiet, but large, guy who accompanied Robbie Russell when Russell was shaking people down for cash, although one older gentleman who took the witness stand said the former Onalaskan came across as a “nice kid” and a bragger.

Booth, 32, is charged with attempted extortion as well as murder, attempted murder and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with the August 21, 2010 fatal shootings in the Salkum-Onalaska area.

The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office argued in opening statements the deaths involved getting rid of witnesses after gunfire erupted when David West Sr. brought out a shotgun to chase off Booth and his former cell mate Ryan McCarthy who had showed up at his home to “tax” him.

When it was over, West Sr.’s unfired shotgun lay beside his body, and 16-year-old David West Jr. and a friend Tony Williams were dead as well. West Sr.’s longtime girlfriend Denise Salts survived a gunshot.

Booth’s trial in Lewis County Superior Court is in its second week.

Russell, 48, has never been charged in the case.

Last December, when Russell was sent to prison for six years for unrelated crimes, Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said Russell was still a “person of interest” and they’d looked into links, but he didn’t have any evidence Russell was involved in the slayings.

Raymond Haskins, who lives in Yelm, testified today that in February 2010, Russell brought Booth with him when he came to talk to him about $2,100 Haskins owed Russell for the purchase of some methamphetamine.

Were you intimidated? Deputy Prosecutor Meagher asked.

“He introduced himself, we shook hands,” Haskins said. “He’s a pretty big guy. Anything I would have thought after that would be an assumption.”

Haskins spoke of a later debt to Russell of $20,000 and a visit to his house by Booth on August 10, 2010, he said was brokered by McCarthy.

Haskins said he invited them, as he figured Booth, who he referred to as “Six”, would most likely being trying to collect.

He was more concerned about Booth coming over than Russell, he said, because “he’s … uh, a bigger guy.”

Russell had been arrested in April for possession of stolen property – belonging to Haskin’s father – and Russell blamed  him for his arrest, Haskins testified.

“Robbie had determined I was responsible for his bail, and other charges I would owe,” Haskins said.

Haskins testified he wanted to give his side of the story to Booth, who would relay it to Russell.

The agreement, arranged ahead of of the visit, was, on that day, “no action would be taken,” he said.

However, during that visit, no threats were made, Haskins agreed when queried by Booth’s lawyer.

Another witness who took the stand today spoke of a time that summer when Booth approached him telling him “basically my son owed him money and said I could pay it if I wanted.”

Linn Perry relayed that Booth bragged about why he had the nickname “Six”, saying he’d been shot six times and  once shot a guy for $5.

Perry said he didn’t take it as a real threat, although he showed Booth his knife and threatened him to stay away from his son.

“He seemed like a nice kid and everybody always has a rough front to them,” Perry said. “That’s all I really thought.”

Deputy Prosecutor Meagher also called a witness who said she hung out with McCarthy and Booth in Onalaska about a week before the shootings.

They met while traveling down Interstate 5 from Olympia, conversing through open car windows on a hot summer day, La Shawna Wolfe said.

Wolfe, 32, said she is from Onalaska.

Wolfe got in their car and they stopped at Brenda’s Market and then spent some time at the All-in Tavern in Onalaska, she testified.

They said they had 9 to 5 jobs but were down her on their “other job,” Wolfe said.

“Did they say they were taxing people that evening?” Meagher asked.

“They were on business, yeah,” Wolfe said.

Wolfe testified she opened the glove box and saw a silver pistol.

The three of them drove to West Sr.’s home off Gore Road and she sat with McCarthy while Booth went inside, she said.

“They were talking about this gentleman owning a Harley and not all the debt being satisfied,” she said.

Another witness was Robert Downing, who said he’d known West Sr. for some 30 years.

Downing said he met with West Sr. at the Wings Way home on Aug. 20, 2010 at around 8:30 p.m.

He testified West Sr. needed money ‘really bad” and offered to sell for $1,000 a boat he’d purchased two months earlier for $6,500.

“I told him if he needed to do it, I’d go ahead and do it,” Downing said.

Downing said he left the house around 10:30 p.m. or 11 o’clock, some 15 minutes or so after John Lindberg arrived.

Twenty-three-year-old Jessica Porter was among the last of the witnesses to take the stand on Monday.

David “D.J.” West Jr. was her brother and West Sr. was her father.

Porter, her two young children and her boyfriend Shane Reynolds were visiting the Wings Way residence from their home in Klickitat County on August 8 of last year when Robbie Russell, Booth and McCarthy showed up at her dad’s house, she testified.

The family had just returned from boating; it was only the second day of the visit, she said.

Booth sat on the couch, asked DJ about her children, she said.

Reynolds testified as well. He said West Sr. and Russell went into the bedroom used as an office for about a half an hour.

Then Russell came out winked at Booth, and Booth jumped up and followed him out, he said.

When West Sr. emerged, he was scared, Reynolds said.

“I asked, ‘what’s up’?” Reynolds testified.

West Sr. said he’d given Russell $1,000, he said.

Deputy Prosecutor Meagher asked Porter how her father appeared.

“He just told us we needed to go home, he wanted us to go right then,” Porter said.

Booth is represented by Port Orchard attorney Roger Hunko. Testimony is scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

John A. Booth Jr. in Lewis County Superior Court / Courtesy photo by Bradd Reynolds

Denise R. Salts answers questions from Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Denise R. Salts was tentative with many of her answers on the witness stand today, but more certain on a three points.

Salts, 52, said she recalled hearing only one gunshot that night while she was outside watering her tomato plants.

She said she went in through her back door and saw Ryan McCarthy at the dining room table, her longtime boyfriend David West Sr. sitting on the floor and John A. Booth standing facing the living room with his arms crossed.

“I didn’t see him have a gun in his hand, but he is the one who shot me,” Salts said identifying Booth as the man sitting at the at the defense table.

Salts was the lone survivor when she and three others were shot at her Wings Way home near Salkum in August 2010.

The first week of Booth’s triple-murder trial in Lewis County Superior Court came to a close with a little more than an hour of her testimony.

Salts spent about 19 days at Madigan Hospital with a life-threatening gunshot wound through her face, according to the doctor who treated her.

It was a small entry wound to the right of her nose, but the bullet fractured her jaw and other bones before exiting behind her left ear, according to Dr. Brian Chen.

As Salts was transported to the hospital on Aug. 21, 2010, her 52-year-old boyfriend, his 16-year-old son and a 50-year-old friend lay fatally wounded in her house, which was transformed into an active crime scene.

“She’s undoubtedly the strongest woman I’ve ever known,” her friend Pam Ferry said during an afternoon break in court proceedings. “And the fragile-ist at the same time.”

Ferry said she was referring to Salts’ strength to face Booth in court.

Ferry noted how much her friend’s life had changed.

“She gets frustrated, because she can’t remember things,” she said.

Salts said she lives in Randle now. She had lived at the Salkum-Onalaska area home less than a year when the homicides took place, she said.

That day, she said under questioning by Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher, she had gone to town and returned around 10 p.m.

Her friend John Lindberg showed up about a half hour later, she said. Tony Williams, 50, had come over around 7 p.m., she said.

She didn’t know Booth and McCarthy, except they had come to the house once before about two weeks earlier with Robbie Russell, she said.

She thought about five minutes elapsed from the time she went inside and before she was shot, she said.

“I see Dave, Dave was sitting down on the floor,” Salts said. “I knew something was wrong.”

She recalled Booth coming towards the back door and saying to her ‘are you gonna call the cops?’ she said.

She said she asked him to leave.

Under questioning by defense attorney Roger Hunko, Salts said she was near the refrigerator and Booth pushed her.

“I was coming through the door, I was right by the fridge, his arms were like this” she said crossing her arms, “And I got shot.”

When asked how close Booth was to her, she held her hands about two and half feet apart.

Salts testified that after Booth and McCarthy left, her boyfriend was alive. She lay on the floor for what felt like hours, she said.

“I tried to, I tried to move myself over to Dave,” she said. “I was too weak to go far.”

Yes, she had previously said she thought she had seen McCarthy with a gun, she said. And she told a deputy she thought he had a machete also, she testified.

Did she remember telling detective Bruce Kimsey she had been outside taking care of her goats and horses? Hunko asked her.

“I was not taking care of my goats and horses, I was watering my tomato plants,” Salts said. “The horses were chores the kids did.”

Do you recall when you talked with Kimsey, you said Booth said “how ya doing?” and then you got shot? Hunko asked her.

“I guess,” Salts said.

Do you recall how many shots you heard from outside? she was asked.

“One,” Salts replied.

Her friend Lindberg has previously testified that that night, West Sr. asked him if he had any money on him, money Lindberg was certain West Sr. was going to hand over to Booth.

Lindberg described he was two steps behind West Sr. after West Sr. grabbed a shotgun from his bedroom, walked down the hallway, cocked it, and aimed toward the dining room table, trying to get Booth and McCarthy to leave.

That’s when the shooting began and Lindberg fled to a back bedroom, which he later escaped from after the shooting ended, according to Lindberg.

Booth, 32, is charged with the attempted murder of Salts, second-degree murder of West Sr., first-degree murder of David “D.J. West Jr. and first-degree murder of Williams.

He is also charged with attempted extortion. Prosecutors allege he and McCarthy were “taxing” West and others on behalf of Robbie Russell.

McCarthy, 30, has been sent to prison for 14 years after a plea agreement, where he did not admit guilt.

Russell, early on named a person-of-interest in the triple homicide, was not charged in the case, but was sent to prison following unrelated convictions.

Testimony is scheduled to resume on Monday morning.

Also on the witness stand today were:

• Jennifer Dahlberg, a forensic scientist, who said she found DNA on a gun she was asked to test that came back positive for Booth.

• Shawna Trent Booth who was asked to identify a cell phone as her husband’s but said she couldn’t.

• Gregory Sage, who said he knows Booth as “Big Six” from working out at a gym testified that Booth phoned him in August 2010 and; “He said a guy pulled a shotgun on me and I had to drop him.”