Lewis County Sirens.com

This news story was updated 12:22 p.m. on Thursday July 7, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Chehalis high school educator who crashed his vehicle and died two months ago in the Boistfort Valley had a blood alcohol level of .42, an amount lethal to most people, the Washington State Patrol said today.

Trooper Ryan Tanner today called that level – more than five times over the legal limit for driving – really high, one of the highest he’s ever heard of.

William Irvin Peterson Jr., 43, died at the scene of blunt force trauma when he wrecked his Ford Bronco just before 4:20 p.m. on May 4 on the 900 block of Wildwood Road, according to authorities.

The state patrol at the time reported Peterson traveled into a field, striking a fence and then attempted to drive back onto the roadway but flipped the vehicle onto its top where it collided with the road’s embankment.

Peterson was an educational assistant at W.F. West High School, in charge of the students sent to the in-school suspension room, according to Chehalis School District Superintendent Ed Rothlin.

He also was an assistant coach for boys football and basketball, and coached in Rochester Schools, Rothlin said.

Peterson was scheduled to work that day but had called in absent, Rothlin said.

Tanner said the recent return of the blood results close out the investigation.

That much alcohol in a person’s system would be fatal to most people, Tanner said.

Based on his training, except for persons who have built up a high tolerance to alcohol from past drinking behavior, most individuals with that level would not be conscious, let alone breathing, Tanner said.

It was the second W.F. West High School staffer to die in an alcohol-related accident in 15 months.

Teacher Geoffrey J. Gilbert was killed early on February 9 of last year when his speeding motorcycle ran into the rear of truck on Interstate 5 near the 13th Street interchange. Trooper Tanner said alcohol and marijuana were both involved.

Rothlin said it’s the fourth death of a school district employee this year.

They lost a Chehalis Middle School science teacher recently to an illness, and two food service workers to cancer this school year, he said.

“It’s been kind of a rough year for us,” he said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Winlock-area Firefighter-EMT Patrick Jacobson finally got to hold one of his new twin babies over the weekend, three weeks after they were born but about three months before they were expected to arrive.

Jacobson, 22, and his fiance Ashley Estep, 23, became parents of twin boys the morning of June 12, long ahead of their expected due date of September 28.

The premature infants will stay at Tacoma General Hospital at least until the end of September.

Estep was only 24 and a half weeks along when they were delivered by emergency C-section, Jacobson said.

Until Saturday, the couple was welcome to touch the tiny babies, but weren’t able to hold them, Jacobson said.

Jackson Andrew Jacobson was born just 12 and one-quarter inches long and weighed one-pound seven ounces.

Kameron Kent Jacobson was exactly 12 inches long and weighed in at one-pound eight-ounces, Jacobson said.

They’re doing okay, but the doctors say neither one is out of the woods yet, according to Jacobson.

“If they’re not having a good day, they’re having a good moment,” he said describing the way the nurses talk about it.

The biggest issue is their lungs are not yet mature and the babies are both on ventilators, he said.

By Thursday, each gained about six ounces: “They’re slowly growing, but they’re growing,” he said.

Jacobson, named last year’s firefighter of the year by the American Legion Post 101 in Winlock, is making the more than hour long drive after his shift each night to be with them and their mother.

He works full time with Lewis County Fire District 15.

Estep, who works at Wal-Mart in Chehalis, is staying at an apartment especially for families that live far away and have children in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

A friend of the couple has set up a donation account at Anchor Bank in Wal-Mart, to assist them financially; Jacobson with extra fuel expenses and because Estep isn’t working.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

MOSSYROCK – Chief Matt Hadaller loved his fire department, loved his fire boat – the SS Hadaller – bragged about their newly “tricked out” aid car and was passionate about the fire service.

But he’d pass up a Lewis County Fire Chief’s Association meeting anytime in order to attend his child’s ball game.

“That’s the kind of father he was,” Jim Walkowski said.

Still, he was among the most active in the fire chiefs group, and spent countless hours finding ways improve his department, Walkowski said.

“Matt was one of our go-to members,” Walkowski said. “When you needed something accomplished or done, Matt was who you’d go to.”

The 47-year-old Mossyrock man who died unexpectedly earlier this week could be relied upon for many things, according to Walkowski, the chief of Riverside Fire Authority in Centralia.

“Matt always had your back when things were rough,” he said. “Matt had no problem telling you he felt; we all know this.”

Walkowski’s words were shared yesterday in front of a football stadium packed with friends, family and others who came to pay tribute to Hadaller, at a memorial service that included speakers from the state fire chiefs association, the state fire marshal’s office, the governors office and more.

Kevin Hanson, representing the Lewis County Fire Commissioner’s Association, called the loss of Hadaller immeasurable.

Pastor Wayne Nelson reminded attendees of the sacrifices firefighters make: “They train and wait, train and wait, so they can be ready.”

Matthew Morgan Hadaller III, a husband and father of four, was at home, on call, late Monday night when he suffered what the Lewis County coroner called a major cardiac event.

Mourners who didn’t already know learned yesterday – if they read the memorial folder handed out – that Hadaller grew up on a farm, became a stellar football player at Mossyrock High School and went to work for Cowlitz Stud after graduating, finishing his mill career as head sawyer.

He started at Lewis County Fire District 3 some 25 years ago, and was their first full time firefighter. He became assistant chief to the Mossyrock-area fire department in 1997, and its chief in 2002.

The afternoon service under sunny skies at Mossyrock High School’s football stadium brought fire trucks and firefighters from countless agencies.

Hadaller’s casket took center stage with dignitaries, some who knew him and some who didn’t.

Bagpipes sounded and the audience sat silent during the tolling of the firefighters’ bell, and the official last alarm broadcast from Lewis County 911 dispatch.

Fellow firefighter, and former District 3 chief, Curt Spahn described the man he knew for over 30 years as loving, proud, involved, selfless, fearless, a talker, and someone who left the department a rock solid foundation.

And a jokester, Spahn said, recalling Hadaller’s great amusement with his own pranks.

“Around Matthew, you had to keep your guard up,” Spahn said.

Spahn told of a training in which they crawled through a smoke-filled room, where each firefighter was supposed to keep one hand on the foot of the person ahead of them.

“But not Matt, he was behind me with both hands on my ankles, I had to drag Matt through,” he said.

And when they came out, Hadaller was just laughing, he said.

The chief’s latest dream was a new fire station, Spahn said.

Walkowski told the crowd that often a measure of success is how much a fire chief can do with limited resources.

Hadaller was a “grant-writing fiend” often calling for breakfast meetings at Country Cousin with Walkowski to get advice on how to bring in money for the small department; once spending an entire day at Walkowski’s house working on a grant proposal, Walkowski shared.

“As chief, he was always thinking about where he could take the department,” Walkowski said. “Sometimes we had to rein that in, cause he was way out there.”

Walkowski echoed Spahn’s sentiment that Hadaller was instrumental in growing a department that will continue to benefit from his leadership, even though his service has ended.

“Matt didn’t have a lot of resources, but if you look at what he accomplished for his department and community, it’s amazing,” Walkowski said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

NAPAVINE – Thirty-nine-year-old Anita Mecca had a bad feeling after she told her new boyfriend to move out of her Napavine home.

He didn’t take it well, she said, remaining outside in her driveway for several hours with dead battery in his van waiting for someone to help him jump start it.

It was Saturday June 18, and at one point later that day, Steven V. Petersen showed all his empty pill bottles to a friend, and another friend described Petersen with some kind of fabric wrapped around his wrists, and saw blood on his arms, Mecca said.

He tried to do a guilt trip on me, she said, for ending the relationship that was only a couple weeks long.

Mecca, who was raised in Napavine, said she had a friend stay over for two nights, because she was worried what Petersen might do.

“I had a feeling something was going to happen, I put my baseball bat by the door,” Mecca said Thursday as she stood on the porch of her mobile home. “And sure as sh** … I didn’t know he was going to freak out like that.”

“Like that”, according to authorities, is the 33-year-old Napavine man less than two days later returned to her home in the night, used a knife to repeatedly puncture a truck’s steel hood and did the same to her front door, and then less than 20 minutes later charged a sheriff’s deputy who had stopped him on the street.

Petersen died of a gunshot wound to the head around 2 a.m. on June 20. Lewis County Sheriff’s Deputy Matt McKnight reportedly fired four times, hitting Petersen with three bullets.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer this week announced he concluded McKnight’s use of deadly force was justified. The 27-year-old deputy remains on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal review.

Petersen, according to Mecca, lived in Napavine with his wife and young son.

After his wife died unexpectedly last month, Mecca and Petersen began dating and then he moved into her mobile home.

His son had been taken into foster care, she said. His next closest family member is his father, who lives in Missouri, authorities have said.

He didn’t work; he had seizures and took medication for them, Mecca said.

It’s disturbing, she said Thursday.

The holes through the front door of her home, presumably with a large knife, leave her certain Petersen was going to hurt her when he showed up that night.

Mecca said she took his display of empty pill bottle to mean Petersen had ingested all his, of what she recalled was, Prozac and seizure medicine on that Saturday.

“When he got out of his van, he was so messed up he could hardly walk,” she said.

“It’s hard to sleep at night, knowing I was so close to death,” she said. “Then hearing gunshots. One cop told me it wasn’t my fault, I did what I could.”

Prosecutor Meyer on Thursday released his findings, outlining the reasons for his decision about McKnight. The eight page document is in the form of a letter to Thurston County sheriff’s detective Dave Haller, part of the team of officers from outside nearby sheriff’s offices who conducted the shooting investigation.

Some of the information discovered may help explain Petersen’s actions, Meyer wrote, such as apparent suicide attempts, and a note left to his son.

However, the focus of the investigation was whether or not McKnight’s use of deadly force was justifiable.

Meyer said he received the report on Tuesday, and reviewed it along with photos, recordings and video taken at the scene. He had his opinion reviewed by attorneys both inside and outside his office, including Thurston County Prosecutor Jon Tunheim, according to the letter.

On Wednesday morning, Meyer met with Sheriff Steve Mansfield and McKnight and gave them a draft of his conclusions, Meyer said.

The elected prosecutor summed it up this way:

Deputy McKnight was told Petersen had used a knife at the home – on the 500 block of West Washington Street – and despite multiple commands heard by others to take his hand out of his pocket, Petersen said, “That ain’t gonna happen”.

Meyer said Petersen was pacing back and forth, and then tensed up his shoulders and started running at the deputy.

“McKnight was left with no choice,” Meyer said. “(Petersen) was intending to do him harm, and McKnight was in fear for his life.”

McKnight fired. According to Meyer, one bullet entered Petersen’s left forearm and exited between his fingers, and another entered his right forearm and his torso and went out the back. The other struck him in the head.

His left hand was still in his jacket pocket, Meyer said.

No weapon was found in the pocket or anywhere else, Meyer said.

“But realize, where the shooting occurred was approximately seven blocks from the incident,” Meyer said.

McKnight did not fire a warning shot, Meyer said; his understanding is that would be contrary to the deputy’s training.

It was just McKnight and Petersen on the street, at the intersection of West Vine Street and Second Avenue, several blocks from Mecca’s home, Meyer said.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield said this week it will take some time to conduct the internal investigation. It will include a “shooting review board”, as well as a review of policy, procedures and training, he said.

It’s like a self-critique of his office, the sheriff said on Thursday.

“To make sure everything is working like it should and there’s nothing we need to change,” Mansfield said.

McKnight, who started at the sheriff’s office a little more than four years ago was one of the younger officers they’ve hired, Mansfield said, and as best he could recall on Thursday without checking, it’s the the first law enforcement agency he’s worked at, he said.

Officers from both inside and outside his office will sit on the shooting review board, he said.

“I have no reason to believe this (for McKnight) will turn out any different than the prosecutor has said,” Mansfield said.

The following are more details from Meyer’s report, the Napavine police incident report, and Mecca, about what happened at Mecca’s home, and afterward.

Late that Sunday night, early Monday morning, Mecca and her friend, 29-year-old Jared Brockman were sitting on the couch when they heard someone tapping on a window and then heard someone on the front porch. It was Petersen. He said, “let me in”, she said. They told him to leave.

Brockman then heard Petersen hitting his truck, so he went outside and yelled at him to knock it off, Mecca said. That’s when Petersen turned and ran towards the front door.

They shut the door, locked it and Brockman leaned against it with his shoulder. Petersen was kicking the door, they thought. They called 911

At 1:57 a.m., Brockman tells 911 a guy is trying to break into the house, and it’s Steven Petersen. Brockman arms himself with a baseball bat.

Law enforcement begins to respond and “set up containment” in the area.

Napavine Police Department Officer Noel Shields is dispatched at 1:59 a.m. He walks into Mecca’s yard with his flashlight. He sees footsteps in the wet grass that lead toward Meadow Lane. He sees Mecca and Brockman on the porch.

Deputy McKnight responds and is sent to the area of Third Avenue and West Vine Street for “containment”.

Also responding are sheriff’s Sgt. Pat Smith and Deputy Kevin Anderson.

Officer Shields observes holes in the hood of the truck and five holes in the front door that appear to be caused by a knife. Three of the punctures went through the door.

Shields informs the other responding officers that Petersen is possibly armed with a large knife.

Shields, in checking the property, gets to the back door and then hears four to five gunshots.

Blocks away and moments earlier, McKnight had seen something in his rearview mirror, a couple blocks from him. He sees something again he concludes is a person near Second and Vine. He turns around and pulls his patrol vehicle to the intersection

McKnight uses his spotlight and stops on one side of the intersection, while the person later identified as Petersen is on the other side.

McKnight exits his patrol vehicle, keeping his distance, and makes contact with Petersen.

McKnight identifies himself and tells Petersen he needs to see his hands.

Petersen paces back and forth, ignoring McKnight, who then draws his weapon.

McKnight tells Petersen he just needs to talk and continues to give him verbal commands..

After being given a verbal command, Petersen told McKnight, “It ain’t gonna happen buddy.”

Petersen’s body posture changes, his shoulders come forward and he begins to advance on McKnight.

McKnight still could not see his hands.

McKnight feared for his safety, and fired his weapon.

After hearing the shots, Shields runs from the Mecca’s house toward the scene. Anderson and Smith arrive.

At 2:14 a.m., Lewis County Fire District 5 is told by a 911 dispatcher to respond.
•••

Read Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer’s findings on Deputy Matt McKnight’s officer-involved shooting from June 20, 2011, here

Read “Breaking news: Deputy shoots, kills burglary suspect in Napavine” from Monday June 20, 2011, here