News brief: Tenino motorcyclist in critical condition

July 10th, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The motorcyclist injured on state Route 507 near O’Connor Road Friday night is in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Sky M. Lelo, 38, from Tenino, is in the intensive care unit, hospital spokesperson Susan Gregg said this morning.

Troopers called to the scene in south Thurston County just after 6:30 p.m. on Friday determined Lelo had been traveling northbound on a Harley Davidson XL1200 when he attempted to avoid traffic and was ejected.
•••

For background, read “News brief: Motorcyclist injured on state Route 507” from Saturday July 8, 2017, here

Eluding defendant’s many cases bundled up for sentence to mental health assistance

July 9th, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The 54-year-old rural Chehalis man who struck another vehicle during a lengthy high-speed police pursuit along U.S. Highway 12 at the east end of the county in May has been sentenced to the mental health alternatives program

James P. Sauter was contacted by police at least three times that month in Centralia, Chehalis and then finally when he turned his truck into a field and got it stuck on a log about 21 miles east of White Pass on May 25.

Callers to 911 reported the white Dodge pickup truck with emergency lights installed in its grill was traveling at a high rate of speed and forcing other drivers to pull off the road. Authorities said he had a silver badge pinned to his vest and a can of pepper spray in his pocket when he was apprehended.

Lewis County Prosecutor Will Halstead told a judge in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday he combined the charges with cases from municipal courts.

Halstead and defense attorney Jacob Clark entered into a plea agreement which Judge Joely O’Rourke accepted.

Sauter pleaded guilty to attempting to elude, hit and run attended, use of drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Only the first count is a felony and it carried a standard sentencing range of two to five months in jail.

He had already spent about 49 days in jail and the lawyers asked the judge to suspend the rest of his time for two years with various conditions related to the mental health alternative program and allow him release on Friday.

Clark said he felt it was a resolution which would help keep both Sauter and the community safe.

He said his client would be taken directly to a short stay at a hospital diversion house. He said Sauter would be back in court for reviews, weekly at first.
•••

For background, read “Driver with flashing grill lights, badge arrested after police chase” from Friday May 26, 2017, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

July 8th, 2017
2015.0518.2013.1113.sirenslights5860.secondone

•••

THEFT CENTRALIA

•  A motorcycle was reported stolen from a resident’s carport area at the 500 block of Yew Street in Centralia early yesterday morning. A stereo was also taken from a vehicle parked in the driveway, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police were called to the 2000 block of Borst Avenue about 10 a.m. yesterday where a burglary to a shed was reported in which some keys were stolen.

• Six lighted fence post caps were reported stolen during the night from the 1300 block of Eckerson Road in Centralia, according to a report made to police on Thursday morning.

• A business at the 200 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia reported yesterday they had received a fake – motion picture money – $100 bill, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A package containing opened mail was found by citizens and turned in the Centralia Police Department on Thursday. The items were bill payments from various citizens to businesses, according to police. It was determined that the suspect or suspects are using something sticky to “fish” the mail out of U.S. Post Service mailboxes.

• A summons was issued to a 29-year-old Centralia woman for third-degree possession of stolen property in connection with a bicycle, which was returned to its owner on Thursday, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFT CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police were called to the 700 block of Northwest New York Avenue following a report of a burglary to a garage on Thursday afternoon.

SCAMMED

• A Centralia resident lost more than $2,000 when she was tricked in an apartment rental scam, according to the Centralia Police Department. The 21-year-old woman sent the funds via a money service to a person supposedly in another state, never received the paperwork and figured out it was a scam, according to police. She reported it on Thursday.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Centralia police were called about 7:20 a.m. today for a vehicle that had been rummaged through during the night at the 600 block of Yew Street. It’s unknown if anything was taken, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Sunglasses and a backpack were reported stolen overnight from a vehicle parked at the 600 block of South Ash Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 7:20 a.m. today.

• An officer responding to a 2:35 a.m. call today for a vehicle prowl at the 600 block of South Washington Avenue in Centralia took note a set of keys had been taken.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday that $980 cash was stolen from one of three vehicles which were prowled at the 100 block of Cheney Drive in Glenoma sometime between 9 p.m. on Wednesday and 4:45 a.m. on Thursday.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday that someone entered a motorhome at the 100 block of Thompson Road in Cinebar and stole a 42-inch flat screen television, a DVD player and a 1972 Honda XL250 motorbike. The theft was reported on Thursday and occurred sometime since April 1, according to the sheriff’s office.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• At least five and possibly six vehicles were damaged when a man behind the wheel of a sedan suffered a medical emergency yesterday in the parking lot at the Twin City Town Center in Chehalis. Firefighters called to the scene at 12:25 p.m. report the driver was taken to the hospital with bumps and bruises but nobody else was injured.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for drugs, warrants, shoplifting, disorderly conduct, misdemeanor assault, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license, protection order violation; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, vandalism, vehicle collision, suspicious circumstances … and more among 369 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 48-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

News brief: Jail kitchen emptied out because of chemical exposure

July 8th, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – An inmate working in the kitchen at the Lewis County Jail inadvertently mixed household cleaning chemicals today causing a reaction that prompted an evacuation from a portion of the facility.

The chemical exposure was contained to the kitchen area, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said the main jail population is unaffected.

The kitchen area was evacuated, with two staff members and approximately eight inmates removed to be evaluated by jail medical personnel, according to Breen.

The Chehalis Fire Department responded to the call shortly after 3:30 p.m. and began to ventilate the area as well as contain the mixture of chemicals into one container, according to Breen.

Hazardous materials response personnel are en route in order to dispose of the mixture, he stated in a press release.

The sheriff’s office is asking the public to limit phone calls to the jail while clean up operations are underway.

Breen said he didn’t know what the inmate worker mixed together or specifically how anyone was affected.

News brief: Motorcyclist injured on state Route 507

July 8th, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 38-year-old Tenino man was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after he wrecked on his motorcycle yesterday evening north of Centralia.

Troopers called just after 6:30 p.m. to the scene at state Route 507 near O’Connor Road determined Sky M. Lelo was traveling northbound when he attempted to avoid traffic, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The 2002 Harley Davidson XL1200 came to rest on the road and Lelo was ejected, according to the state patrol. He was wearing a helmet.

The collision is under investigation.

The scene was not cleared until after 3:30 a.m., according to the state Department of Transportation.

Centralia infant exposed to meth smoke died of something different

July 7th, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County coroner has ruled the death of the Centralia baby found to have methamphetamine in its system was accidental.

The 3-month-old died of smothering, secondary to “overlaying and bed sharing,” Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said today.

That’s why doctors recommend parents don’t sleep with babies in adult beds, he said.

“You can suffocate an infant with a kleenex, or if anything goes over their mouth and nose it can suffocate them very easily,” he said.

Centralia police and aid were called on May 6 when the little girl’s mother awoke and found her unresponsive. Attempts to revive her were unsuccessful.

The Lewis County Corner’s Office performs autopsies as a matter of routine in baby deaths.

After the results of a blood test from the autopsy showed positive for the presence of meth last week, the mother was arrested and then charged with endangerment with a controlled substance.

Sabrina L. Sumter allegedly admitted to smoking methamphetamine regularly, including in her home.

Sumter pleaded not guilty yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court. Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer added a second count of the same offense related to Sumter’s other child. Sumter remains held in the Lewis County Jail on $25,000 bail.

The offenses have a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

The allegation is the defendant knowingly allowed the infant to be exposed to, to inhale, to ingest or have contact with methamphetamine. The mother is not charged with causing the death.

The child’s name was Aleigha Celerino-Garcia. Her father was not around at the time of the death and has since been deported to Mexico, according to Meyer.

Meyer said has not seen the final autopsy report although he knows what the coroner’s findings are.

“Right now I think the charges are appropriate,” Meyer said this afternoon.

McLeod said while he saw this type of death many times when he worked in Nevada, this is the first time he has encountered it here in Lewis County.

His office is considering getting involved with a non-profit group that helps provide cribs for parents who can’t afford them, he said.
•••

For background, read “Charge: Centralia infant exposed to meth smoke, cause of death unknown” from Thursday June 29, 2017, here

Search continues for missing man in Mineral Lake

July 7th, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Mineral Lake is being checked today with sonar devices in an attempt to find a 54-year-old boater who vanished on Wednesday.

Investigators are still working on learning the specifics of what occurred, but have been searching since that afternoon for Gerald L. Harris, a Mineral resident.

2017.0707.gerald.harris.small

Gerald L. Harris

Deputies were dispatched about 4 p.m. on Wednesday to a report of a  female in a boat along the shoreline, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The 49-year-old Mineral woman said her significant other had been on the boat and was believed to be in the water, sheriff’s Chief Deputy Dusty Breen wrote in a press release this afternoon.

Deputies gained the assistance of other boaters on the lake and began to check the area, Breen stated. They checked Harris’s residence and other locations in the community but could not find him, according to Breen. They “entered” Harris as a missing person.

Yesterday, members of the sheriff’s office boating unit conducted additional searches with no results. Today, they are being helped by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, according to Breen.

Breen indicated the woman was unable to provide very specific information, but didn’t elaborate on why that was.

Anyone who may have observed Harris or his significant other on Wednesday, or who has additional information on the incident, is asked to please call the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office at 360-748-9286 or Lewis County Communications at 360-740-1105.
•••

For background, read “News brief: Authorities investigate possible drowning in Mineral” from Thursday July 6, 2017, here