Registered sex offender notice: Man returns to Centralia

June 7th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office announced a level three registered sex offender recently moved from Thurston County to Centralia.

Seth R. Liebich, 24, is registered as living on the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue.

He is not wanted by law enforcement, but notification to the community is meant to inform the public and enhance public safety, according to the sheriff’s office.

Liebich, who is developmentally delayed, was convicted as a 16-year-old of indecent liberties with forcible compulsion involving a 19-year-old developmentally delayed female in Lewis County, according to sheriff’s detective Jamey McGinty. He was arrested at age 13 for sexual contact with a 7-year-old relative, but found not competent to stand trial, according to McGinty.

He has served his time and completed a sex offender treatment program, according to McGinty.

The sheriff’s office designated him as a level three sex offender because a history of sexually inappropriate behavior and an inability to control his compulsion, according to McGinty.

Liebich is described as 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 230 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes.

To see more details from the bulletin and a photo of Liebich, visit the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office web site level three sex offender page, here.

Questions? The sheriff’s office says call 360-748-9286 for detective McGinty or Chief Criminal Deputy Gene Seiber.
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To search for registered sex offenders living within a specified radius from your home, work or school, visit the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Offender Watch page, here. There, you can also find safety tips and other information, as well as register to receive email alerts if a new offender registers with an address near you. The same link can always be found on the sidebar of Lewis County Sirens.

News brief: Log truck rolls onto its side in Chehalis

June 7th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A log truck driver was uninjured when his truck tipped onto its side near Kit Carson restaurant in Chehalis this afternoon.

It happened about 3:15 p.m., according to the Chehalis Fire Department

The truck was on Parkland Drive turning north onto Southwest Interstate Avenue when it “flopped” over, pretty much blocking all the lanes, according to fire Capt. Rob Gebhart.

The adult male driver was unhurt and the load fell off but stayed bundled together, Gebhart said.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

June 7th, 2011

BAD-LOOKING WRECK

• A five-vehicle collision on Harrison Avenue in Centralia yesterday looked like it should have killed somebody but nobody ended up with more than minor injuries, according to responders. Police and aid were called about 1:10 p.m. to the area beneath Interstate 5 and found one car on its side on the sidewalk and four others involved. Centralia police reported a Rent a Center truck rear-ended a pickup truck and sped forward striking three other vehicles before coming to rest with significant damage. No arrests were made, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFT

• Someone burglarized a home on the 1600 block of Windsor Avenue in Centralia yesterday morning, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Missing was a Wii game system.

• A deputy took a report yesterday about a theft of fence posts and other items from a barn on the 400 block of Jarvis Road in Mossyrock. It occurred sometime between 6 a.m. on Saturday and 8 p.m. on Sunday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

UNLAWFUL IMPRISONMENT

• A 42-year-old Centralia man was arrested yesterday morning for unlawful imprisonment and fourth-degree assault, domestic violence, according to police. Juan P. Mendez-Bezan was booked into the Lewis County Jail after contact with police on the 2900 block of Mount Vista Road in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS

• An 18-year-old Centralia woman was arrested for possession of heroin overnight. Kyrstin R. Daarud was booked into the Lewis County Jail after contact with police about 2 a.m. at Courtland and West Plum streets in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.

INDECENT LIBERTIES

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office arrested and jailed an individual yesterday for indecent liberties. No information was released about the case.

County leaders moving closer to tax for drug court

June 7th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Lewis County commissioners have drafted an ordinance to increase the local sales tax to fund drug court and other measures to reduce substance abuse and help keep mentally ill individuals stable and are asking for community feedback before voting on the measure.

A public hearing on the matter is set for June 20 during the regular 10 a.m. board of commissioners meeting.

Judge Nelson Hunt was told last fall the county budget could only pay for drug court one more year and has garnered support for a tax increase of one-tenth of one cent.

County Commissioner Bill Schulte said they have received about 500 letters in favor of the idea and only two or three opposed to it.

He spoke about the benefits of investing money up front to keep some people out of the jail.

“It looks like it could be cheaper,” Schulte said. “So dollar-wise, it looks like it’s starting to make sense.”

Supporters have said the increase would amount to about $20 per household per year.

Commissioner Ron Averill says there just isn’t enough money in the regular county budget, even though he considers it an investment that would reduce costs overall.

Both men said nine local city councils have endorsed the idea, with only three individual members opposed. (Judge Hunt later noted it was only eight of the nine municipalities in the county; Vader opposed the idea.)

The third county commissioner, Lee Grose, was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Sales tax in most of Lewis County, as in many places around the state is 7.7 percent. It varies in cities and counties as each tacks on portions of pennies to fund local initiatives.

Sales tax in Chehalis and Centralia is 7.9 percent.

It is as low as 7 percent in Skamania County and as high as 9.5 percent in much of King County.

Members of the public will get an opportunity to ask questions and share their opinion on the proposed ordinance at the hearing before a vote is taken by the commissioners.
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CORRECTION: Eight of the nine municipalities in Lewis County endorsed the sales tax idea; not all nine as two of the county commissioners said.

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Read background here

News brief: Law enforcement searching for Napavine shooting suspect

June 6th, 2011
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Javier Jimenez Villalavazo

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Detectives are looking for a 22-year-old man known as “The Joker” in connection with the shooting of a woman in Napavine, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Javier Jimenez Villalavazo is considered armed and dangerous; anyone who knows his whereabouts is asked to call 911, according to a news release.

The sheriff’s office is assisting the Napavine Police Department in an investigation that led them to the 100 block of Haywire Road this morning.

A 24-year-old woman was shot twice outside an apartment there, they believe about 10 p.m. last night, according to news releases from the sheriff’s office. She has already been released from the hospital.

The incident came to the attention of law enforcement this morning, from the emergency room at Providence Centralia Hospital.

She was shot twice, the sheriff’s office reports. Her name was not released.

Villalavazo is described as 6 feet tall and weighing about 220 pounds, with a shaved head and brown eyes.

The sheriff’s office says his last known address is in Chehalis, but witnesses report seeing him in Centralia this morning.

The sheriff’s office says probable cause exists for his arrest for first-degree assault.

Further details are not available.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

June 6th, 2011
2011.0605.fire.maple.iron.samuelson_2

Smoke billows from a Centralia house on Sunday morning. / Courtesy photo by Rod Samuelson

HOUSE FIRE IN CENTRALIA

• Fire broke out in a Centralia home yesterday morning causing extensive damage in its basement, according to Riverside Fire Authority. Firefighters called about 7:17 a.m. found heavy smoke on the first floor of the two story house on the 300 block of North Iron Street, fire Capt. Terry Ternan said. The four occupants were already outside safely, he said. Nobody was hurt. It appeared to originate on a couch, according to Ternan. Investigators are looking into the possibility it was caused by a cigarette, he said.

CAR PROWLER SNAGS THREE FIREARMS

• Three handguns were stolen from inside a vehicle in a carport on the 200 block of Southeast Washington Avenue in Chehalis overnight, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The owner called police about 7 a.m. when he went to get in his SUV and found the door open. Also taken was a golf bag with clubs, according to police.

THWARTED BURGLARY

• Centralia police were called about 5:30 p.m. yesterday to a business  on the 100 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia where two males were chased off by an employee after attempting a burglary, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MORE THAN $5,000 CASH STOLEN FROM CHEHALIS-AREA HOME

• Somebody stole more than $5,200 cash in a burglary on the 100 block of Middle Fork Road outside Chehalis on Friday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Someone entered the home sometime between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. and damaged a safe, took the money, a computer and other items, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. There is a suspect, Brown said this morning.

CAR WRECKS

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports a car was totaled when its driver swerved to miss an oncoming truck and drove onto railroad tracks on the 100 block of Rogers Road in Chehalis on Friday. The truck continued on, according to the sheriff’s office. The 21-year-old female driver of the car is from from Tumwater, the sheriff’s office said. They did not report if she was injured.

CAR WINDOWS BROKEN

• Centralia police were called about 12:30 p.m. yesterday to the 1600 block of Oxford Avenue where both passenger side windows of a car were shattered.

FIVE CAUGHT SELLING BEER TO MINOR

• A bartender and four clerks were cited on Saturday night for furnishing alcohol to a minor during an undercover operation, , according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies working with agents from the Washington State Liquor Control Board and an underage “operative” contacted Theresa J. Fuller, 44, of Lacey, at K-Mart in Chehalis; Brandy F. Westfall, 27, of Chehalis, at the Chevron station on the 1100 block of state Route 6; Lili N. Holster, 30, of Chehalis, at The Pub in Pe Ell; and two un-named clerks at gas stations on Tower Avenue in Centralia, according to the sheriff’s office. All were cited and then released.

News brief: Woman shot in Napavine

June 6th, 2011

This news item was updated at 8:57 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A woman was shot and wounded outside an apartment complex in Napavine, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Detectives believe it occurred about 10 p.m. last night; they believe it was not a random incident and have a person of interest, according to a news release this morning.

Detectives are on the scene at the 100 block of Haywire Road.

The victim, a 24-year-old Centralia woman, was treated at Providence Centralia Hospital and has already been released, according to the sheriff’s office.

She was shot twice, the sheriff’s office reports. Her name was not released.

It happened inside the city limits of Napavine, but sheriff’s detectives are conducting the investigation due to the technical expertise needed for a complex investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.

More to come.