Lewis County Sirens.com

Barb Thompson answers news media questions after the hearing in the state Court of Appeals in Tacoma.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

TACOMA – The new Lewis County coroner and Barb Thompson – mother of former state trooper Ronda Reynolds whose 1998 death in Toledo remains under scrutiny – were at the state Court of Appeals in Tacoma yesterday as three judges pondered the case.

Former Lewis County Coroner Terry Wilson’s appeal of a 2009 judge’s order to remove suicide from Reynolds’ death certificate remains active, even though newly elected Coroner Warren McLeod has indicated he wants to revisit the cause and manner of death.

Ronda Reynolds

The case was the subject of a judicial review in Lewis County in November 2009 after which a panel of citizens concluded then-Coroner Wilson’s determination that Reynolds’ died of suicide was arbitrary, capricious and incorrect. A judge ordered Wilson to change the manner of death, but Wilson appealed.

A panel of three judges heard from attorneys on both sides yesterday in downtown Tacoma.

The 2009 judicial review was unprecedented and Thompson wants to see its scope expanded while the coroner’s office lawyer has been fighting to see it narrowed.

“I think one of the reasons we’re here today is to try to clarify the law,” Thompson said.

Her lawyer, Royce Ferguson, wants a judge to be able to decide more than that a coroner’s decision was wrong.

“If it’s not suicide, what is it?” Ferguson said. “And if it’s homicide, who changes (the death certificate)? The judge? The coroner? The prosecutor?”

Olympia attorney John Justice, who was hired by the Lewis County Prosecutors Office to represent Wilson, told the three appeals judges yesterday that’s beyond the scope of any case law.

Thompson has been vigorously questioning her daughter’s death – believed by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office to be suicide – for more than a dozen years.

The 33-year-old woman was found with a bullet in her head and covered by a turned-on electric blanket on the floor of a closet in the home she shared with her husband of less than a year, Ron Reynolds, the principal at Toledo Elementary School

Even though one of McLeod’s first acts after he took office in January was to change Reynolds’ death certificate from suicide to undetermined – and then he announced he wanted to hold a coroner’s inquest – he put that on hold as the appeal works its way through the system.

It could be months before the Appeals Court rules, according to Ferguson.

And yesterday, the justices questioned how any decisions they might make could apply to the new coroner, as he is not named in the case.

“My question is, is anything we do going to have any meaning at all?” Judge David Armstrong said during the proceedings.

Judge Joel Penoyar encouraged both sides to agree to substitute McLeod’s name for Wilson’s in the appeal.

McLeod spoke afterward, saying he has to consult with his attorney before deciding what he may or may not do but the way he sees it, he inherited the case.

Ideally, he still wants a coroner’s inquest, McLeod said. And he’s starting to question his inclination to hold it in another county, and to entirely turn the proceedings over to an outside coroner, he added.

It needs to be resolved, it’s gone on too long, McLeod said.

“I want to see the truth come out, I want to see this case resolved finally,” he said. ” For Barb, for the citizens of Lewis County.”
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Watch KOMOtv.com’s video from the Appeals Court here

Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod listens to Ronda Reynolds' mother after the hearing in the state Court of Appeals in Tacoma.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Attorneys yesterday confirmed they are ready for trial next week in the case of the Onalaska man who allegedly shot at two suspected burglars outside his house last year, killing one of them.

Ronald A. Brady, 60, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 56-year-old Thomas McKenzie of Morton and first-degree assault for allegedly opening fire on McKenzie’s estranged wife Joanna McKenzie as she fled.

Ronald A. Brady

Brady has pleaded not guilty.

The trial in Lewis County Superior Court is expected to last about five days.

Deputy Prosecutor Colin Hayes however indicated to the judge yesterday there were still last minute negotiations going on, which may or may not lead to a plea agreement and no trial.

Hayes is handling the case with Deputy Prosecutor Shane O’Rourke. Centralia defense attorney Don Blair represents Brady.

The lawyers met with Judge James Lawler yesterday afternoon to sort out the ground rules for trial, including how much and how to characterize Joanna McKenzie’s presence at the property that night.

She has made a so-called Alford plea, not admitting guilt, to attempted burglary.

According to charging documents: On April 19, Brady reported somebody had broken into his house he had been renovating on the 2100 block of state Route 508, moving items stored in his garage. He saw a back window had been broken and found the garage door opened about two inches.

Brady returned to his nearby rental home where he lived, collected his .22 caliber rifle and 12-gauge shotgun and then went back to his unoccupied house on state Route 508. He told sheriff’s detectives he was staying there in case the burglars returned

He described to deputies hearing noises, opening his garage door and finding two flashlights shined in his face; then he opened fire.

Thomas McKenzie died from a gunshot wound to his chest and leaves behind nine children and other family members.

Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield announced last summer he believed the shooting was justifiable and he wouldn’t arrest Brady.

In September, the Lewis County Prosecutors Office charged Brady with first-degree manslaughter for Thomas McKenzie’s death and two months later upgraded the charge to first-degree murder, “based on the facts of the case.”

Among the witnesses listed are, for the defense, private investigator Jerry Berry; and for the prosecution, Brady’s neighbor Jack Tipping,  Joanna McKenzie, a fire chief, a pathologist and several sheriff’s deputies.

Brady’s defense is general denial and self defense, according to documents filed in his case. He remains free on a $50,000 unsecured appearance bond

First-degree murder is a class A felony with a possible penalty of life in prison and a $50,000 fine. Its elements include intent and premeditation.

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Read background on the case, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A judge sent a former Chehalis official directly to jail today when he was sentenced for stealing cash from a city safe.

Jeffrey C. Shine, 41, was arrested and fired in April. The 16-year employee was the city’s building official, responsible for looking over construction sites and making sure code is followed.

Shine pleaded guilty today to second-degree burglary and third-degree theft.

Prosecutors say he admitted going into the community development building at night wearing gloves and stole about $750. An estimated $360 was money donated for the medically ailing daughter of Jeff and Angie Elder, a pair of police department employees. The burglary was discovered in mid-November; the bottoms were cut from locked money bags.

Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt was blunt when he sentenced the Longview resident this morning to two months in jail and two years of community custody.

“You cannot steal from the vulnerable and the citizens of Chehalis without there being great consequences,” Hunt said. “As you go down to the jail, what you should be thinking about is who it is that put you in this position.”

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer had asked for three months incarceration, the top end of the standard sentencing range for the crime.

Defense attorney Kenneth Johnson requested “something comparable to a suspended sentence with no jail time.

Johnson spoke at length about the penalties his client has already endured.

His career is basically “down the drain, his good name is ruined and he’s embarrassed his family, Johnson said.

The family lost two-thirds of its income, his wife has a Montessori school in Longview that basically shuts down in the summer, and they are facing potential bankruptcy and the loss of their house, he said.

“It was a combination of a bad situation he got himself into and his depression which led to this crime,” Johnson said.

Johnson said Shine found himself the victim of a swindle after he made an $18,000 credit card purchase over the Internet of what he thought was gold but turned out to be worthless. The bills were coming due and he was afraid his wife would find out, according to  Johnson.

“This is a defendant the court is not likely to see back, he’s very embarrassed and wants to make it right,” he said.

The judge was unswayed by Johnson’s appeal and by Shine’s statement’s before the sentence was announced.

Shine called it a stupid decision.

“I destroyed my job, I’m just severely embarrassed,” he told the judge. “I just can’t explain how remorseful I am.”

Johnson said his client had even offered to pay the city back, but they declined.