Lewis County Sirens.com

Anthony Foxworth Sr. and his attorney go before a judge today in Lewis County Superior Court

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Centralia parents of a boy who at 16 years old was so malnourished he weighed less than 60 pounds, couldn’t stand on his own and was missing patches of hair are pleading guilty to criminal charges after a deal was struck with prosecutors, rather than risk going to trial.

Anthony Foxworth Sr., 45, pleaded guilty today in Lewis County Superior Court as charged, to one count of first-degree criminal mistreatment. His wife is scheduled to plead guilty next week, based on the same agreement, according to her lawyer.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer today told the judge he would be recommending a prison term of four years and three months.

The charges were filed at the end of last year, after an investigation that began almost a year earlier. The couple has not been held in jail.

The Centralia Police Department got involved after the Foxworth’s took their son to the doctor because he had abdominal pain, and his condition was such that he was put in Mary Bridge Childrens’ Hospital in Tacoma. Allegations in charging documents included that the teen had not been enrolled in school since 2011 and had not seen a doctor since 2007.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Melissa Bohm wrote in charging documents he had a younger brother and sister who were in school, appeared healthy and presented little concern.

But he was wearing pull-ups and his skeletal age was determined to be that of a 13-year-old child, Bohm wrote. The boy was put in foster care where he began to gain weight and grow taller.

No explanation has been shared by authorities, except, according to Bohm, Mary Foxworth said she thought he was starving himself because he was depressed; and admitted she didn’t know when he began to lose weight because she was too wrapped up in her own depression.

Her attorney Jacob Clark today said, outside the hearing, the risks of going to trial were too great, because if found guilty a judge could impose a much longer sentence.

“You go from a standard (sentencing) range of 51 to 68 months, all the way up to (potentially) 10 years,” Clark said.

Anthony Foxworth’s lawyer Chris Baum spoke of the same issue regarding his client in the proceeding this afternoon before Judge Joely O’Rourke.

“I told him he doesn’t have to plead, if you don’t want to we could go to trial,” Baum said. “But if we go to trial, the state’s made it clear, they’re going to put a bunch of aggravators on it.”

Today’s hearing didn’t last more than five minutes. Judge O’Rourke accepted the plea and found Foxworth Sr. guilty.

Baum outside the courtroom said part of the plea agreement is prosecutors will recommend the low end of the standard sentencing range.

“It’s kind of a sad situation all the way around,” Baum said. “He didn’t intend for this to happen and I know he feels bad.”

The legal standard for the offense is recklessness, he said, not intent.

The couple are both set to be sentenced on Nov. 1.
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For background, read “‘Skin and bones’: Parents charged with severe neglect of teen” from Thursday January 5, 2017, here

Missing, Hilda Wenz

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Chehalis police are asking residents to look around their yards and inside outbuildings this morning as they search for an elderly woman who has not been seen since midnight.

Hilda Wenz, 92, was last seen at the assisted living facility where she resides on the 400 block of Northwest Quincy Place in Chehalis.

“When they checked on her this morning at approximately 8 a.m., they were unable to locate her,” Chehalis Police Department spokesperson Linda Bailey stated in a press release.

Wenz has no mobility issues for her age and can walk unassisted, according to police. Bailey said Wenz is unfamiliar with the area.

She is about 4-foot 10-inches tall, weighs about 135 pounds and is described as a white female with white hair. It is unknown what clothing she may have been wearing.

A Silver Alert has been issued.

Chehalis West Assisted Living Center is located in a neighborhood just west of downtown and east of Interstate 5, on Quincy at Northwest Gertrude Street. Its sits adjacent to a set of railroad tracks.

Police are asking the public to assist by looking around on their property for Wenz. Anyone who may have seen her is asked to call the police department at 360-748-8605 or Lewis County dispatch at 360-740-1105.

Jose F. Chagolla Flores steps away from the defense table after his bail hearing in Lewis County Superior Court

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Onalaska teen who allegedly stabbed another teen in the chest in Wal-Mart’s parking lot told police he was engaged with someone else when the 17-year-old showed up and hit him in the face hard enough to knock him to the ground, according to authorities.

Eighteen-year-old Jose F. Chagolla Flores said he got up off the ground, was “hell mad” and tired from working – and hates to be hit in the face – so he pulled out his knife and stabbed the 17-year-old, according to charging documents.

Chagolla Flores was ordered held on $500,000 bail when he went before a judge yesterday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court. He was charged with first-degree assault.

The condition of the 17-year-old victim, who has not been named, is unknown.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh told the judge the allegation is the boy was stabbed in the heart. She said in a conversation with a detective, the suspect claimed to be a gang member.

Temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller said her client lives with his mother, who was in the courtroom along with his father. He has juvenile “matters” that are sealed, she said.

Tiller said he was working but probably has now lost his employment so she believed he qualified for a court-appointed lawyer.

According to the Chehalis Police Department and charging documents, officers were dispatched just before 9 p.m. on Thursday for a fight between two males at the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue. Wal-Mart employees told them on was white and the other was black, charging documents relate.

The males had already left in separate vehicles.

Soon after, police were advised of a 17-year-old boy who was seeking medical treatment at Providence Centralia Hospital for a stab wound. They contacted the patient, who was not cooperative with officers. He was transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and would later go through surgery to repair the damage done by the knife.

Friends of the 17-year-old in the hospital waiting room said he’d gotten into a fight with another male who stabbed him. The friends gave police a name for the suspect.

The following day, Chagolla Flores was located at a friend’s home. His vehicle was found at a residence on Brockway Road and was impounded.

Chagolla Flores reportedly gave a statement to police, that he had been meeting a third party at Wal-Mart to sell marijuana and they were about to do the transaction when the 17-year-old showed up. And then he relayed his account of what transpired.

He was arrested and “the knife” was located in his backpack which was with him.

“Officers did not see any injuries to Chagollan’s face and when asked he stated he had injuries except to one on his hand which was caused from the knife,” Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wrote in charging documents.

Charging documents gave his name as Jose F. Chagollan Flores and Chehalis police stated yesterday his name was Jose Chagollan. Tiller advised the court the “N” at the end was incorrect.

His arraignment is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Thursday in  Lewis County Superior Court.

The Chehalis Police Department yesterday morning indicated the condition of the victim and extent of his injuries were unknown. Department spokesperson Linda Bailey this afternoon said she still had not learned that information.
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For background, read “One injured, one arrested following stabbing outside Wal-Mart” from Monday October 9, 2017, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The fire department in Winlock shared details of its weekend rescue of a woman from near the bottom of an approximately 50-foot deep well.

She was reportedly unhurt, but spent more than an hour with a foot hold that kept her in waist-deep water while responders carried out an extrication, according to Lewis County Fire District 15.

It’s not yet clear how it might be related but later the same evening, on Sunday, one of the woman’s brothers allegedly shot and killed a younger brother and then himself at the same property. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the two deaths; no names have been released.

Firefighters and deputies were called at 4:14 p.m. on Sunday to the 600 block of Tennessee Road north of Winlock, because the woman had been attempted to disinfect the well with chlorine when the floorboards broke loose and she fell into the well, according to authorities.

Responders found she was conscious and she told them she was not injured, according to Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Anderson. They learned she was initially completely submerged, but was able to swim to the water’s surface and find a foothold, Anderson stated in a press release.

The sheriff’s office described her as trapped by debris which had collapsed through the opening.

The hand dug well was inside a pump house and crews had to stabilize the area to prevent a pump, a pressure tank and more flooring from tumbling down on top of the woman, according to Anderson.

Rope rescue technicians from the Centralia area’s Riverside Fire Authority were summoned and a hole had to be cut in the roof of the structure to provide access for a rope and pulley system. Firefighters lowered a life vest and helmet down to the vicim for protection, according to Anderson.

She remained conscious and communicating throughout the operation, he said.

A rescue harness was lowered and the woman was finally hoisted to the surface at approximately 5:29 p.m., Anderson stated.

The sheriff’s office said yesterday morning the woman is 64 years old, but later indicated she is 63 years old.

Anderson said in his press release she was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital in stable condition, but didn’t know specifically for what reason.

The sheriff’s office has said that during the rescue operation, the woman’s 59-year-old brother was disruptive and arguing with his 56-year-old brother, so he was asked to leave.

Deputies were called back to the property at about 6:30 p.m., when witnesses said the 59-year-old man had returned with a handgun and shot his 56-year-old brother multiple times before turning the gun on himself. Rescue crews had all departed before that occurred, according to Chief Deputy Dusty Breen.

The Lewis County Coroner’s Office is expected to release the names of the two men once they have completed family notifications for both.
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For background, read “Two dead after family dispute in Winlock” from Monday October 9, 2017, here