Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The man who opened fire on two suspected burglars at his Onalaska house killing one of them, was charged yesterday with first-degree manslaughter and first-degree assault.

Ronald A. Brady, 60, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted for the events that happened in April.

Thomas McKenzie, 56, of Morton, died from a gunshot wound to his chest, according to charging documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court. His estranged wife, Joanna McKenzie, 32, was fleeing when Brady fired at her, according to charging documents.

Thomas McKenzie’s family was overjoyed upon learning the news, the dead man’s younger sister said this morning.

“I’m so happy; oh gosh, I’ve been bawling my eyes out,” Colleen Wolczak said. “It doesn’t bring my brother back, but I am so grateful.

“A normal person would not be laying in wait in the garage.”

Brady admitted firing at the pair outside his house he was rebuilding on the 2100 block of state Route 508, describing to deputies opening his garage door and finding two flashlights shined in his face, according to charging documents.

He told sheriff’s detectives he was staying overnight at the house in case burglars from earlier in the day returned. Brady resides in a nearby rental home.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield, after the investigation was finished in mid-July, announced he concluded Brady’s use of deadly force was justified and that he would not arrest the homeowner. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, however, passed the case on to the prosecutor for his review.

Brady’s phone number is disconnected and could not be reached for comment this morning.

The sheriff’s office investigation determined Thomas McKenzie had gone with his wife to the house intending to burglarize it and the homeowner reacted to protect himself.

Joanna McKenzie was arrested and charged with attempted residential burglary in July.

Charging documents offer the following allegations:

On April 19, Brady reported somebody had broken into the house, 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 rental home and collected his .22 caliber rifle and 12-gauge shotgun and then went back to his house on state Route 508.

At about 9 p.m., he could see through the partially open garage door headlights from a vehicle pulling into his driveway and then he heard someone knock on his door. Brady said he also heard someone pound on the wall and say something to the effect the police were coming.

Brady told deputies after he opened the garage door and found flashlights shining in his face, he opened fire at one of them.

“Mr. Brady stated after shooting Mr. McKenzie, he opened fire on Joanna McKenzie as she fled,” charging documents state.

She ran toward the highway and flagged down a motorist to call 911 for help.

Joanna McKenzie told a deputy the couple was at the house with permission to take parts off a truck parked in its driveway.

Her trial for attempted burglary is set for the first week in October.

Wolczak, who spoke by telephone from her home in Salem, said she’s grateful as well her brother’s wife is charged with a crime.

She acknowledges her brother could have been at the house to steal something but blames Joanna McKenzie and her lifestyle for much of that.

“He was fighting and hoping to get his family back, and made poor choices,” Wolczak said.

The couple’s 3-year-old child is now in state custody and Thomas McKenzie’s two other minor children now live with their mother, according to Wolczak.

•••
Read previous stories related to the case:

• “Two more homicide cases now await charging decisions by Lewis County prosecutor” from Saturday Sept. 11, 2010 here

• “Three Lewis County homicides still unresolved as triple-slaying prosecution begins” from Wednesday Sept. 8, 2010 here

• “When is it OK to use deadly force in Lewis County?: Not so simple to answer, sheriff says” from Thursday July 15, 2010 here.

Read the charging documents in Joanna McKenzie’s burglary case here for more details on what prosecutor’s think happened that night.

• “News brief: Sheriff decides not to arrest man who shot burglar in Onalaska” from Monday July 12, 2010 here

• “News brief: Morton woman arrested for burglary in connection with April incident in Onalaska when her husband was fatally shot” from Monday July 12, 2010 here

• “April’s Onalaska shooting death case still awaits decision, reports” from June 15, 2010 here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A lawyer representing the Centralia parents charged in the case of an infant with broken bones told a judge yesterday there is an issue of a possible genetic condition that could have caused the fractures.

Defense attorney Chris Baum is the court-appointed attorney for 30-year-old Raymon E. Bell. The mother, Brandi J. Larson, 28, is represented by Mike Underwood, but Baum spoke for both parents yesterday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court.

Both pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of second-degree assault of a child involving two children.

Charging documents describe a 29-day old baby with fractures in her upper left arm, her lower left leg and her right foot. A test also showed the child had THC – an element of marijuana – in its system, according to the documents.

The findings came after the parents took the newborn to the emergency room at Providence Centralia Hospital on June 20 and a social worker contacted Centralia police.

Bell reportedly told hospital personnel he was holding the baby and stumbled, causing it to strike its arm and leg.

The baby has been taken into state custody.

The charges were initially filed last week, and on Monday, prosecutors added the charges involving a toddler. Those charges allege assault of a 2-year-old occurring in April or May of last year. The nature of that alleged assault is not described in court documents.

Bell and Larson are being held in the Lewis County Jail on $25,000 bail.

Baum asked Judge Nelson Hunt yesterday to reduce bail for Bell, a Centralia College student, saying he did have some criminal history that dates back to 2002, but “by and large, he’s been on the straight and narrow.”

The judge said no. Hunt also declined to reduce bail for the mother – a part time Jack-in-the-Box worker.

A trial date was set for the first week in November.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

ONALASKA – Nickolas Barnes’ mother has run out of tears.

Just as the anniversary of the death of her 15-year-old son approached, Rachael Smith and other family members learned prosecutors were charging a man with manslaughter, alleging he caused the Onalaska teenager’s death by providing alcohol at an underage drinking party.

Nickolas Barnes

Nickolas died of alcohol poisoning Sept. 21 of last year, two days after he was found passed out in the front yard of an Onalaska home and was driven to Providence Centralia Hospital.

On Tuesday night, exactly one year later, the teenager’s family held a gathering in his memory.

“Nick would be saying, life goes on,” his grandmother Susan Patterson said. “Thank you for being Nick’s friends. From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank each and every one of you for your help to us through this year.”

About 40 individuals shared coffee, cookies and stories at the new Onalaska Community Youth Center.

Nineteen-year-old Eric Messal spoke of goofy teenage boy capers that made Patterson “shush” him. Patterson talked of the tenderness her grandson showed when their home flooded and he made sure his great grandmother got put in a rescue boat first.

Nickolas was a sophomore who really liked football, Messal said.

He grew up in West Seattle and moved to the small rural community in the eighth grade.

His “substitute” grandparents traveled to Onalaska to attend the gathering. Betty Anderson said she thought it was a wise thing for Nickolas to get away from the influences of the city as he grew older.

The evening was meant to remember his life, not his death, his grandmother said. But outside and away from the crowd, one of Nickolas’s former girlfriends talked about losing a friend.

Tiffani Weiher, 16, said partying is not for her any more.

“Ever since Nick passed, I’ve really re-thought everything,” she said. “I’ve made sure I got closer to God, and my friends.”

Tiffani wasn’t there, but she knows the drinking game being played that night at the house, she said.

Shot for shot, she said. “The first person to pass out has to be the party favor,” Tiffani said.

Nickolas’s friends removed his clothes and wrote on his body with a black marker, according to court documents. They later tried to put his pants back on him and covered him with a blanket.

“Personally, I just think it’s the stupidest game ever,” Tiffani said.

Nickolas’s blood alcohol level was .32, according to charging documents, which is four times the legal limit for an adult while driving under the influence.

Charging documents in Lewis County Superior Court describe a gathering last year in which nine teenagers drank beer which belonged to the only adult who was present, 28-year-old James W. Taylor who lived at the Onalaska house with two teenage children and some other adults.

Some of the teens reportedly gave Taylor money to purchase more beer around 10:30 p.m. that night.

Charging documents in Taylor’s case include the following:

At about midnight, Nickolas and a 16-year-old boy played “shot for shot” with vodka. The two consumed more than 11 shots and then Nickolas drank from the bottle until two boys took it away from him.

A few minutes later, Nickolas passed out.

Prosecutors allege Taylor told the teenagers to “let him sleep it off.”

The vodka was brought by Nickolas for a previous party there, the documents say.

At about 1:30 a.m. or 2 a.m. two adults arrived and found him in the front yard, not breathing, his lips blue.

Taylor and another man took Nickolas to Providence Centralia Hospital, where twice he was revived and flown to Mary Bridge Children’s’ Hospital.

He was taken off life support the evening of the 21st, according to his grandmother.

Taylor, now 29, was charged last Friday with second-degree manslaughter, meaning prosecutors believe he negligently caused the teenager’s death.

He was also charged with failing to summon assistance for Nickolas and with seven counts of furnishing liquor to minors. If convicted as charged, he could face as much as 27 months in prison, according to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.

Taylor is scheduled appear before a judge on Oct. 5.

•••

Read previous stories:
• “News brief: Criminal charges filed in Onalaska teen’s alcohol poisoning death” from Friday Sept. 17, 2010 here.
• “Two more homicide cases now await charging decisions by Lewis County prosecutor” from Saturday Sept. 11, 2010 here.
• “Three Lewis County homicides still unresolved as triple-slaying prosecution begins” from Wednesday Sept. 8, 2010 here.