Posts Tagged ‘By Sharyn L. Decker’

News brief: Electrical fire chases pair out of Centralia home

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Authorities suspect an electrical short started a house fire overnight in the north end of Centralia.

Riverside Fire Authority was called about 2 o’clock this morning to a home on the 2500 block of Howard Avenue.

Fire Capt. Tim Adolphsen said they found fire in a wall and the attic.

“The damage was fairly minimal,” Adolphsen said.

The resident had found an outside light on the patio burning and put water on it, he said. Firefighters had to cut a couple of holes to get at it, he said.

A young couple in the residence got themselves out safely, according to the captain.

He estimated the damage at about $12,000.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

STOLEN VEHICLE

• Centralia police took a report last night of a car stolen from North Tower Avenue and East Main Street. The victim said he left it in a parking lot with a “for sale” sign on it overnight, according to the Centralia Police Department. The victim learned from Olympia police the car’s license plate was left at the scene of a hit and run accident, Centralia police reported.

BREAK-IN AT CHEHALIS CHURCH

• Chehalis police were called to a church on the 100 block of Prindle Street on Tuesday morning about a theft that had occurred overnight. The door was discovered open and a computer was missing, according to detective Sgt. Rick McNamara.

PARTS LIFTED FROM VEHICLE AT CAR LOT

• Somebody stole a radiator right out of a truck at a car lot in Rochester, a loss of $450, not counting the $850 damage to the vehicle, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office reported today. It happened at JMJ Auto on the 10,100 block of U.S. Highway 12 sometime between 9 p.m. on Tuesday and the next day, according to the sheriff’s office. It was a 1990 Chevrolet truck.

BEER RUN HALTED

• Centralia police were called after a pair of females attempted to roll a shopping art full of beer out the door at the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue about 8 p.m. yesterday. They were stopped by an employee but subsequently fled in a car, according to  the Centralia Police Department. One of the females was identified on a video and will be receiving a summons to court, police reported.

JAILED FOR SHOPLIFTING

• A man who had previously been “trespassed” from a business on the 600 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia was arrested early yesterday morning for second-degree burglary after he went there and was reportedly caught trying to steal something, according to the Centralia Police Department. Ronald R. Meeks, 56, of Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

RETIREMENT HOME WORKER ARRESTED FOR THEFT

• An employee of Chehalis West Assisted Living was arrested on Tuesday for third-degree theft, for allegedly taking $20 from a resident. Drasilla M. Ocamb, 34, of Chehalis, was arrested and released, according to detective Sgt. Rick McNamara. Police were called again yesterday to the retirement center on Northwest Quincy Place about a a resident who was missing numerous rings.

NO LEADS IN RABBIT’S DEATH

• Chehalis police were called to Southwest 11th Street Monday after a resident discovered their pet rabbit dead. Its cage was unlatched and other than an apparent  broken toe, the animal had no visible injuries, according to police. Detective Sgt. Rick McNamara said the individual suspected someone killed the animal but police have no leads and no suspects.

THEFT AND VANDALISM

• Chehalis police were called to a car prowl on Northwest St. Helens Avenue about 5 p.m. on Monday.

• Centralia police took a report of the theft of a flag from a building on the 1000 block of West First Street on Monday afternoon.

• Centralia police were called about someone tearing down a sign to a business on the 700 block of North Tower Avenue on Monday morning.

DRUG ARREST

• Centralia police arrested a Rochester man yesterday for delivery of a controlled substance. Joseph E. Beck, 43, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for that offense and a warrant after contact with an officer about noontime on the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue.

BROKEN BONES LEAD TO ASSAULT ARREST

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported Monday they arrested a 21-year-old Toledo man for second-degree assault following an investigation into a previous incident in which a 23-year-old man suffered a broken pelvis after he was thrown off the deck of of a Fluckinger Road home about seven feet onto concrete. Cody L. Salzer, 21, was booked into the Lewis County Jail last Thursday, according to the sheriff’s office. Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said Salzer told a deputy he didn’t recall assaulting anyone as he had been too intoxicated but friends told him about it the next day.

NO ROBBERY AT MALL

• Chehalis police said on Tuesday they concluded a reported armed robbery at the Lewis County Mall over the weekend did not happen in Chehalis. The case was handed over to the Lewis County Sheriff’s office as it apparently occurred in the county, according to detective Sgt. Rick McNamara.

CAR LANDS 50 FEET OFF ROAD

• One person was hospitalized after a single-vehicle wreck at Highway 603 and Kaul Road northwest of Napavine on Tuesday night. Responders to he 7:30 p.m. call found the vehicle about 50 feet off the road, according to Lewis County Fire District 5.

News brief: Not guilty plea entered in Onalaska fatal shooting case

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Onalaska man accused of manslaughter after shooting at two suspected burglars outside his home in April pleaded not guilty this morning.

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Ronald A. Brady

Ronald A. Brady, went before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court to answer to charges of first-degree manslaughter and first-degree assault.

The 60-year-old is free on a $50,000 unsecured appearance bond.

The events of April 19 left 56-year-old Thomas McKenzie of Morton dead. McKenzie’s wife, Joanna McKenzie, 32, escaped uninjured.

A trial date was set for the week of Jan. 10. Brady is represented by Centralia defense attorney Don Blair.

•••

Read previous stories:

• “Onalaska man accused in fatal shooting of suspected burglar goes before a judge” from Wednesday Oct. 13, 2010 here

• “Onalaska man charged in April’s fatal shooting of suspected burglar” from Sept. 24, 2010 here

News brief: Salkum resident airlifted after crash on U.S. Highway 12

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 72-year-old Salkum man is in serious condition after his pickup truck collided with a semi truck on U.S. Highway 12 in Ethel last night.

John W. Jones was flown by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with a broken pelvis after the approximately 8:30 p.m. wreck, according to the Washington State Patrol. His 1986 Ford R10 pickup was described as totaled.

A hospital spokesperson said Jones is in the intensive care unit this morning.

Troopers reported a 2003 Peterbilt with two trailers pulled onto the highway near Leonard Road heading west and Jones’ eastbound pickup struck one of the trailers.

The trailer sustained an estimated $1,000 damage, but the semi driver was reportedly uninjured. The driver, David D. Belding, 37, of Silverlake, is blamed by the patrol for failing to yield the right of way.

News brief: Pe Ell log truck driver hurt in crash this afternoon

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
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The log truck driven by Charles M. Stine of Pe Ell lays on its side on state Route 6 on Wednesday afternoon. / Courtesy Photo by Bud Goodwillie

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A log truck accident on state Route 6 this afternoon sent its driver to the regional trauma hospital with a head injury.

Charles M. Stine, 26, of Pe Ell, was traveling westbound near Spooner Road when he entered a curve to the right causing his load of logs to shift and his truck to roll to the left, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The 1999 Peterbilt tractor and flatbed trailer came to rest in the eastbound lane, according to the state patrol. The vehicle was declared a total loss.

Troopers were called just after 3 p.m. to the wreck about seven miles west of Chehalis.

Stine was flown by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He was listed in satisfactory condition on Thursday morning.

The investigating trooper reported the driver was wearing a seatbelt. The cause is under investigation.

•••

This news story was updated on Thursday Oct. 21, 2010 at 12:45 p.m.

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Responders examine the log truck that rolled over on state Route 6 near Spooner Road on Wednesday / Courtesy Photo by Bud Goodwillie

Attorneys ask for more time on decision about seeking death penalty

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
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John Allen Booth Jr. looks to see who is in the Chehalis courtroom audience Tuesday as proceedings get underway.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Lawyers for John Allen Booth Jr. requested an extension yesterday of the time for both sides to argue why the death penalty should or should not be sought for the man accused in the August triple slaying inside a Salkum-Onalaska area home.

Booth, 31, was brought up from the jail for the hearing wearing his usual red and white striped jail garb, belly chains and shackles on his ankles.

The only spectator in the Chehalis courtroom besides the team of sheriff’s detectives, news media and an attorney was the Onalaska native’s fiancee.

Booth has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and other charges in connection with the shootings on Aug. 21. A trial date has not yet been set.

Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher told the judge he opposes the length of time Booth’s lawyers are seeking for the filing of the notice for special proceedings. Prosecutors have 30 days from the time of arraignment to to file such notification if they decide to seek the death penalty.

Roger A. Hunko, one of a small number of lawyers in Washington state qualified to work potential death penalty cases, told Judge Richard Brosey it takes time, in his experience, to put together a meaningful “mitigation package”.

Hunko said this is his 18th aggravated murder case. The Port Orchard attorney was brought on to assist defense attorney James Dixon after the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office upgraded the charges making it a potential capital case.

Brosey agreed to the waiver of the 30-day time period.

“The charge here is aggravated murder, with the potential of the death penalty,” Brosey said. “It doesn’t get more serious than that. I think under the circumstances, a date of the first of April is not unreasonable.”

A mitigation package is essentially a life history; a collection of information looking to show why the death penalty should not be sought, according to Hunko.

If convicted of the higher charges, the only two possible penalties for a defendant are life in prison without the possibility of release or death.

A second suspect in the slayings is also being held in the Lewis County Jail. A trial date has not yet been set for that man, 28-year-old Ryan McCarthy.

McCarthy is charged with murder, but not aggravated murder.

•••

Read some of the previous stories on the case:

• “Triple homicide case moves slowly as lawyers wait for evidence from state crime lab” from Friday Oct. 8, 2010 here

• “Death penalty is on the table” in Salkum slayings from Thursday Sept. 30, 2010 here

• “West Sr. pointed shotgun telling pair of ex-cons to leave his house, triggering triple homicide, unsealed court documents allege” from Saturday Sept. 4, 2010 here

• “Unsealed document: More details on Salkum slayings” from Monday Sept. 6, 2010 here

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John Allen Booth Jr., right, listens with James Dixon, one of his two lawyers, in Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday.

News brief: Wanna see Chehalis firefighters in kilts?

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
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Vancouver Firefighters Pipes and Drums

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Chehalis firefighters Jay Birley and Rob Gebhart are bringing their bagpipes out in public again on Saturday night when they entertain at a fundraiser at the Chehalis Eagles.

Their group,  Vancouver Firefighters Pipes and Drums, will entertain at the event that begins at 6 p.m.

The benefit is for the daughter of Jeff and Angie Elder, both of whom work at the Chehalis Police Department. The family needs assistance in covering medical expenses for 9-year-old Keeton Elder.

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Keeton Elder

Keeton has an undiagnosed condition which the family has been dealing with for the past five years. The search for answers has become expensive, according to friends, and not all of it is covered by her parent’s health insurance.

So, Firefighter-investigator Birley arranged for an evening of beer drinking and bagpipe playing. The Eagles donated a keg and tickets for $10 pitchers can be purchased from Birley ahead of time.

Birley says there is an account set up at Security State Bank, named “Benefit for Keeton” and folks should feel free to fill that up as well.

Planning is also underway by friends of the Elders for a Dec. 4 spaghetti dinner and auction fundraiser at the Eagles. For information on that, contact Jenny Warstadt at 360-942-8405 or myhebo@live.com or Julie Hampson at 360-748-9722 or theranch@compprime.com