Posts Tagged ‘By Sharyn L. Decker’

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, June 6th, 2017
2015.0518.2013.1113.sirenslights5860.secondone

•••

OFFICER ASSAULTED

• A 36-year-old Chehalis woman was arrested for allegedly hitting an officer in the face after an officer responded to a call related to a medical issue just after 7 p.m. yesterday at the 700 block of Southwest Chehalis Avenue. Jessica M. Tagle was arrested for third-degree assault according to the Chehalis Police Department. After getting treatment for an unspecified reason, Tagle was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

THEFT

• Chehalis police were called about 11:45 a.m. yesterday to the 300 block of Southwest Third Street to take a report that during the night someone stole a light bar off a truck. It is described as a 5D Cree brand, 50-inch, 672 watt, LED set of lights, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• An officer was called again yesterday morning to the 1300 block of Belmont Avenue in Centralia about a license plate getting stolen off a vehicle there.

• Centralia police were called about 11:35 a.m. yesterday for a vehicle prowl at the 300 block of South Diamond Street in which vehicle registration papers were taken.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called about 5:10 p.m. yesterday on a report of graffiti on the block house in Fort Borst Park in Centralia.

LOST AND FOUND

• A man’s wedding band was found and turned in to the Chehalis Police Department yesterday.

• A handgun was found in the roadway yesterday on Northwest Pacific Avenue in Chehalis, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Police are hoping to locate its owner. It was not loaded, according to police.

AND FROM MORTON

• Morton police report they are investigating a theft reported last Wednesday afternoon in which a wallet was taken from a vehicle parked in front of a business at the 100 block of Third Street.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• Chehalis police were called just after 4 p.m. yesterday to the 200 block of Southwest Third Street after a motorbike struck a parked Chevrolet Equinox and then left. The door and the bumper were damaged, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, protection order violation, misdemeanor assault; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, hit and run, suspicious circumstances, vehicle collision, third-hand report that someone in a car may have stopped and told a child there was “free ice cream down the block” … and more among 156 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

Toledo man charged with rape for encounter that stemmed from dating website

Monday, June 5th, 2017
2017.0605.benjamin.breitenbach.9553

Benjamin J. Breitenbach, in red, is led into a courtroom for a bail hearing in Lewis County Superior Court.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Bail was set at $25,000 this afternoon for the Toledo resident accused of raping a woman this weekend he had met on a social media dating website.

Benjamin J. Breitenbach, 37, allegedly admitted to law enforcement to having sex with the alleged victim but said it was consensual, according to court documents.

Breitenbach was arrested after being contacted at his home about 10 p.m. on Saturday.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy responded to a call about 6 p.m. on Saturday and spoke with the woman who said the two communicated on the site Plenty of Fish and she went to his home that afternoon on the 200 block of Kangas Road.

She said she had met him on the site about a month earlier.

“(She) further explained she and Breitenbach had been exchanging small talk for approximately 10 minutes when he suddenly attacked her on the sofa,” Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Melissa Bohm wrote in charging documents.

He allegedly grabbed her breasts, twisting them causing a great amount of pain, and used that leverage to push her into an adjacent bedroom where he raped her despite her protests.

He left the room, she was able to depart in a near hysterical state and called 911, according to Bohm.

The sheriff’s office this morning reported the 41-year-old woman sought medical attention.

Breitenbach denied to law enforcement any kind of roughness, according to Bohm.

He was charged today in Lewis County Superior Court with second-degree rape, a class A felony with a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Temporary defense attorney Rachael Tiller this afternoon told a judge Breitenbach is employed but she believed he qualified for a court appointed lawyer. Centralia attorney Don Blair was appointed.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher asked the judge to hold the defendant on $25,000 bail, because of the violent nature of the alleged offense.

Meagher said Breitenbach had only three warrants in the past, related to minor driving offenses.

Judge James Lawler agreed with the request but stated he had thought the state would have asked for a higher amount.

Breitenbach’s arraignment is scheduled for Thursday morning in Lewis County Superior Court.
•••

For background, read “Claim: Meet-up associated with dating website leads to rape in Toledo” from Monday June 5, 2017, here

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, June 5th, 2017
2015.0518.2013.1113.sirenslights5860.secondone

•••

Updated at 5:33 p.m.

BREAK-IN CENTRALIA

• Centralia police were called just before 6 p.m. on Saturday to the 1400 block of South Gold Street where an unknown person broke the lock off a tool shed and went inside. It is unknown at this time what is missing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A female reported that sometime someone cut through a window screen, reached inside a building and stole her purse at the 100 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia. The theft was reported just before 3 p.m. on Saturday, and had occurred within the previous hour, according to the Centralia Police Department.

OTHER THEFT

• A 32-year-old woman was arrested yesterday for allegedly attempting to cash two checks over two days in April at Cedar Village IGA in Winlock payable to herself on the account of a woman who said she never gave her permission to take or use any of her checks, according to court documents. Lucia D. Spross, with a residence listed as in Longview in court documents, was booked into the Lewis County Jail. She was charged today with two counts of forgery and a judge in Lewis County Superior Court allowed her release pending trial on a $10,000 unsecured bond.

• Police were called about 8 p.m. on Saturday to take a report of the theft of a credit card in a case associated with the 1200 block of Mellen Street in Centralia.

• A black Schwinn bicycle was stolen from in front of a business in the 200 block of Downing Road in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 11:50 .m. yesterday. The bike is described as having saddle bags over the rear wheel, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Centralia police were called to the 1300 block of Belmont Avenue on Saturday night and again on Sunday morning, first for a report the rear license plate of a Ford Escape had been stolen and then a report that the back plate was missing from a Ford Focus.

BAD BILL

• A customer at the 1100 block of South Market Boulevard in Chehalis who attempted to spend what turned out to be a counterfeit $50 bill on Saturday night clearly didn’t know it was fake, according to the Chehalis Police Department. An officer took possession of the bad bill, according to police.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took a report yesterday just after 7 a.m. that during evening hours someone threw a rock through the door of a business in the 200 block of West Pine Street.

• An individual reported just before 9 a.m. on Saturday that someone threw a rock through the windshield of her vehicle at the 1000 block of Kresky Avenue in Centralia.

GARAGE FIRE ADNA

• Four fire departments responded about 3:05 p.m. on Saturday to the 200 block of Chilvers Road when black smoke was reported seen coming from the garage of a residence. Arriving crews attacked the fire which was contained inside the garage, according to Lewis County Fire District 6. It was knocked down in just 16 minutes, according to department spokesperson DJ Hammer. The cause is under investigation.

• Firefighters responded to a report of a possible brush fire about 8:40 p.m. yesterday at Deep Creek Road near Bunker Creek Road but found a permitted burn with a proper fire line established around it, according to Lewis County Fire District 6.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• A 17-year-old girl was transported to the hospital as a precaution after a single-vehicle wreck on the 300 block of Toledo-Vader Road on Saturday afternoon in which the 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix she was driving was totaled. Deputies responding following the approximately 3:30 p.m. incident and the driver indicated she had apparently fallen asleep before her car traveled about 50 yards into a ditch, a culvert and then a tree, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The girl was cited for reckless driving, according to the sheriff’s office.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, trespassing, probation violation, misdemeanor assault, driving under the influence; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, hit and run, third-degree theft, suspicious circumstances, vehicle collision… and more among 503 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 72-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

Suspicious death in K-Mart parking lot still under investigation

Monday, June 5th, 2017
2017.0604.kiakmartdeath9543

Detectives begin to examine the interior of a car after getting a search warrant on Sunday.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Chehalis police say it appears the woman found dead yesterday inside a car at K-Mart died from a gunshot wound.

Officers responded just after 10 a.m. yesterday to a call of a suspicious death at the 1200 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

The light green 2001 Kia Rio was situated in a parking space at the far south end of the lot.

Department spokesperson Linda Bailey said a gun was found with the woman.

A search warrant was obtained, evidence was collected and the car impounded, according to police.

Police are awaiting a report from the coroner to confirm the identity, according to Bailey.

There was identification found with her, but the car is registered to someone else, Bailey said. The vehicle has Washington license plates, according to police.

As of this morning, nobody had contacted police about a missing person, Bailey said.

It’s the third time in six weeks a person has been discovered deceased inside a vehicle in the city of Chehalis.

The cause and manner of death in the previous two cases have not yet been released, although they did not include gunshot wounds, according to Bailey.

On April 21, the body of a 16-year-old boy was discovered inside his car parked at the Twin City Town Center, also on Northwest Louisiana Avenue. Cole Burbank of Camas had been reported missing eight days earlier by his parents and police subsequently concluded his Honda Accord had been parked at the shopping center since the day he disappeared.

Early on the morning of May 6, a man was found dead after a car fire, in a Honda Accord parked on residential property just south of the Yard Birds Shopping Center off Northeast Kresky Avenue. Robert A. Mansker, 48, was from Kelso.

The Lewis County coroner has said he is awaiting the results of various tests in those cases.

Bailey said the police department will release details in the new case as they become available.
•••

For background, read “Body discovered in vehicle in Chehalis store’s parking lot” from Sunday June 4, 2017, here

Body discovered in vehicle in Chehalis store’s parking lot

Sunday, June 4th, 2017
2017.0604.carbodykmart9547

Detectives begin to examine the interior of a car after getting a search warrant.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Police are investigating after a person was found dead inside a car parked in the lot at K-Mart in Chehalis today.

Chehalis Police Department Sgt. Rick McNamara said it was reported about 10 o’clock this morning.

He didn’t have much information and said a press release will be issued.

Officers, detectives and personnel with the Lewis County Coroner’s Office were gathered this afternoon at the south end of the lot on Northwest Louisiana Avenue.

The light green passenger car was parked at the far side of the lot and blocked off by police tape and a semi-circle of responders’ vehicles.

McNamara said they were working on finding out the identity of the person, he believed was a female. They had just secured a search warrant in order to get inside, he said.

The car has Washington license plates but the sergeant declined to say if police yet knew who the registered owner is.

It was just six weeks ago when the body of a 16-year-old boy from Camas was discovered in a Honda Accord parked in the lot of a shopping center just to the north of K-Mart, the Twin City Town Center. While the coroner is still waiting for the results of toxicology tests on Cole Burbank, authorities have said his death was not suspicious.

McNamara this afternoon said police don’t know yet if foul play might be involved in this death, but it’s customary to investigate as a suspicious death.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, June 2nd, 2017
2015.0518.2013.1113.sirenslights5860.secondone

•••

Updated

STUDENT ARRESTED FOR SHOOTING THREAT

• A 16-year-old Onalaska boy who allegedly threatened to get a gun, bring it to school and shoot a classmate “point blank” was arrested yesterday and booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said the alleged comment was made on Wednesday at Onalaska High School and was investigated that day and yesterday. Breen said a deputy was initially called to the school about 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday by another 16-year-old boy who discovered two tires were slashed on his vehicle. The boy said he suspected who had done it and that it stemmed from an exchange where he called the other boy a derogatory term after the other boy tried to poke him with a nail file in the buttocks during class, Breen said. The threat about the firearm occurred later in the day, according to Breen. When a deputy contacted the suspect’s father, the suspects father turned over four laptop computers which appeared to have been stolen from the school unbeknownst to the school, according to the sheriff’s office. The suspect was arrested for felony harassment and second-degree theft, according to Breen.

TWO MORE IMPLICATED IN VADER BURGLARY

• Deputies arrested a 36-year-old woman in Vancouver yesterday in connection with a March residential burglary at the 1000 block of state Route 506 in Vader in which  more than $40,000 worth of property was stolen. Stephanie M. Linke previously lived in the Vader area, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Linke’s significant other, 42-year-old Dustin I. Wynn, was arrested in the same case last month, Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said. Another suspect believed to have been involved was referred for charges that same day, Breen said. She is Kacie L. Conmy, 29, of Longview, and was transferred to the Lewis County Jail last week to face charges in the case. The sheriff’s office said among the valuables stolen were two vehicles, 13 guns and more than 50 antique model cars.

DRUGS

• Dakota W. Davidson, 22, of Centralia, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine after contact with police about 1 o’clock this morning at Harrison Avenue and Galvin Road, and then booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called to the 400 block of Lakeshore Drive at 9:50 p.m. yesterday on a report of a vehicle prowl, according to the Centralia Police Department. Taken were tools in a bag, according to police.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for drugs, warrants, shoplifting, misdemeanor domestic assault, driving with suspended license, driving with no license; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, hit and run, suspicious circumstances, vehicle accident … and more among 171 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, June 1st, 2017
2015.0518.2013.1113.sirenslights5860.secondone

•••

DOMESTIC ASSAULT

• A Toledo man was arrested last night after he allegedly punched then repeatedly threw a family member to the ground after taking the phone away from her as she attempted to call 911 because he had poked his finger into her forehead, and assaulted another family member by throwing her into a wall and chair when she tried to intervene. Deputies called just before 11 p.m. to the 500 block of Evans Road found that Lloyd W. Swanson had also allegedly punched a glass curio cabinet, punched holes in the wall and punched through a screen door, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Swanson, 47, reportedly threatened to kill one of the family members, according to the sheriff’s office. His right forearm was cut, Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said. Swanson was booked into the Lewis County Jail for felony harassment, and faces other potential charges such as fourth-degree assault, malicious mischief and interfering with domestic violence reporting, according to Breen.

OTHER ASSAULT

• A 19-year-old Centralia resident who allegedly spit in a security guard’s face at the 900 block of South Scheuber Road yesterday afternoon was arrested for fourth-degree assault. Colt M. Conzatti was issued a citation following the approximately 3:20 p.m. call and then released, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Chehalis police were called over to Green Hill School yesterday to take a report of custodial assault that occurred on Saturday. A 16-year-old student-inmate allegedly hit an employee, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

FALSE NAME

• A 23-year-old Centralia man who allegedly gave someone else’s name as his own during a traffic stop last night at the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue was arrested for identity theft. Bradley G. Dubay, 23, was allegedly driving with a suspended license and he was booked in to the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

CAR PROWL

• Chehalis police were called to the 900 block of South Market Boulevard about 11 a.m. yesterday for a vehicle prowl in which a center console was stolen from a Jeep Wrangler.

VANDALISM

• Police were called about 11 a.m. yesterday to the 1500 block of Crescent Avenue in Centralia for vandalism to a moped.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• A driver and his passenger were injured and transported to Providence Centralia Hospital last night after a rollover wreck on state Route 6 about 10 miles east of Pe Ell. Austin T. Lewis, 20, of South Bend, was traveling eastbound in a Honda Civic when the car left the roadway, rolled and came to rest in a ditch, according to the Washington State Patrol. He and his passenger, Danielle G. Elder, 20, from Camas, had both been wearing seat belts, according to the state patrol. Troopers called just after 9 p.m. to the scene note the car was totaled. He was cited for unsafe lane travel, according to the investigating trooper.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, breach of public peace, protection order violation, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, hit and run, third-degree theft, harassment, suspicious circumstances, vehicle accident, misdemeanor domestic assault, third-degree malicious mischief  … and more among 138 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.