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News brief: Lewis County museum theft trial postponed

Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 12:45 pm

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The trial for the former museum director accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the organization’s accounts is expected to last as long as five days, but won’t start next week as planned.

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Deborah Sue Knapp

Debbie Knapp, 52, remains free on an unsecured bond, following her arrest in December.

She has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of theft in connection with an investigation that the Lewis County Historical Museum’s endowment fund of more than $460,000 was drained.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead said attorneys are still examining years of financial records.

“There’s so much stuff, everybody needs more time,” Halstead said yesterday.

Knapp’s defense is listed as “general denial” on court documents.

She is represented by Chehalis attorney Ken Johnson.

Prosecutors allege Knapp routinely issued herself extra pay through payroll draws and used the museum debit card for personal expenses.

Prosecutors have said they expect further charges when an audit of the financial records is completed.

This week in Lewis County Superior Court, attorneys and a judge rescheduled Knapp’s trial for the week of October 15.

In November, when museum members learned the non-profit organization was in the red and the endowment fund was empty, four officers on the 13-member board were replaced, the accounts were closed and the museum was shut down temporarily. It has since reopened.
•••

For background, see “Prosecutor: Former museum director gave herself thousands of dollars in fraudulent payroll draws” from Friday December 30, 2011, here

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Rochester teen who drowned will be buried in California

Friday, May 18, 2012 at 8:27 pm
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Christopher Puentes-Garay pictured in a recent photo at school. / Courtesy photo

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Maria Puentes is hoping to take her son home.

Home to Los Angeles to be buried.

Christopher Puentes-Garay, a 16-year-old Rochester High School student, died unexpectedly while swimming Tuesday afternoon in the Chehalis River with one of his brothers, his cousin and another friend.

The single mother of four moved her family to Rochester just last summer, according to her sister Tracy Yanez.

“She moved her boys out of Los Angeles for a safer place to live,” Yanez said.

Puentes-Garay vanished under the water shortly after he jumped in to catch up to his cousin and her friend, according to authorities.

It happened on the 12,600 block of Independence Road, about two miles west of the bridge at Michigan Hill Road near Rochester.

Searchers found his body the following day, at the bottom of the river less than 50 yards from where he was last seen.

Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock said an autopsy today confirmed he drowned, but he didn’t have a certain explanation as to why.

It could have been the current, or it could have been the water was very cold, according to Warnock.

“He was in apparent good health,” Warnock said. “For he, his friends and his family, it was just a normal day.”

Up until he drowned.

One thing that can happen, is when a person’s body temperature is warm and they jump into cold water, their diaphragm can constrict and make it difficult to breathe, according to the coroner.

Puentes-Garay was the oldest of four children, a boy who was the “man of the house” and would make cakes for his mother, Yanez said.

He will also leave behind five cousins mourning in Rochester.

“My 3-year-old today, said “Mom, now Chris can sit on the moon’,” Yanez said. “She understands.”

Students at Rochester High School are making T-shirts in his memory.

Maria Puentes’ managers have coordinated fundraising so she can take her son back to Highland Park, where his grandmother is, according to Yanez.

Donations can be made at Twin Star Credit Union, where a special account has been set up, she said.

A car wash is set for tomorrow at Bailey’s IGA at 10333 U.S. Highway 12 in Rochester, to start at about 10 a.m.

•••

For background, read “Search resumes for teen lost in Chehalis River” from Wednesday May 16, 2012, here

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Rural Chehalis home gutted by fire

Friday, May 18, 2012 at 5:41 pm
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Josh Mischler, a friend of the resident, helps firefighters move some items out of the garage, while others continue to spray water and foam on the home.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Firefighters responding to a call of a possible brush fire southwest of Chehalis this afternoon found a house fully engulfed in flames.

Nobody was home at the time, but a couple arrived while crews were still extinguishing the blaze to find their single-story home gutted.

Lewis County Fire District 5 was called about smoke by a passerby on Pleasant Valley and Brown Road East. When they arrived about 3:40 p.m. the the roof on the home on Larkspur Road had already collapsed, according to fire department member Megan Van Egdom

They fought the fire from the outside.

The closest next neighbors are fairly far away and said they only noticed some smoke, Chief Eric Linn said.

Lewis County Fire Districts 6 and 15 joined them, shuttling water tenders in. The area has no fire hydrants.

VanEgdom, assistant medical service officer for the department, said the cause is unknown.

“We don’t know, they’re gonna have to bring an investigator out,” she said.

Chief Linn said they were advised there were pets in the house, but they hadn’t found them yet..

Three children live there as well, according to VanEgdom.

The Red Cross was contacted and a volunteer chaplain responded to assist the residents.

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The roof collapsed before firefighters even arrived.

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Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, May 18, 2012 at 10:42 am

BIG CLUB GETS MAN IN TROUBLE

• A 58-year-old Centralia man was arrested for felony harassment after he allegedly threatened his neighbor with a large club yesterday morning. Officers called about 8 a.m.  to the 1000 block of North Tower Avenue booked John M. Allocca into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS

• Three people were arrested yesterday afternoon after a call about suspicious activity at Schaeffer Park north of Centralia. An officer recognized a passenger as someone wanted on a warrant and he was arrested for that as well as possession of marijuana, according to police. Seth P.E. Shamley, 30, of Olympia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police. Another passenger, Shamarah M. Mumford, 28, of Lacey, was also arrested for misdemeanor possession of marijuana, according to police. The driver, Charissa N. Shamely, 33, Olympia, was arrested for possession of heroin and a suspended license, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A 16-year-old Centralia boy was arrested for possession of suspected cocaine and methamphetamine after an officer contacted him and another person walking on the 1800 block of North Pearl Street about 1:45 p.m. yesterday. The other individual, Mario Vasquez Jr., 21, also of Centralia, was arrested for an outstanding warrant, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail. The juvenile’s name was not released.

THEFT

• Someone cut the catalytic converter from a truck while it was parked in the lot at the Twin City Town Center on Thursday, according to police. An officer called just after 5 p.m. learned it happened sometime after about 8 a.m. while its owner was at work at the Grocery Outlet, according to the Chehalis Police Department

• Chehalis police were called yesterday morning to an apartment complex storage room where someone had broken a hasp and made off with six pairs of hand pruners, two sets of black and blue rain gear, a small gas engine and a grease gun. It happened at the 200 block of Southwest 11th Street, according to police.

WRECK

• A 46-year-old Chehalis man was arrested for driving under the influence following a two-vehicle collision yesterday afternoon at the 5100 block of Jackson Highway near Toledo. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports Roger Nissell pulled out of a parking lot and failed to yield to a northbound pickup truck. Nissell was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office. There were no injuries and only moderate vehicle damage, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

EXPECT FIREWORKS NOISE TOMORROW

• Folks may see and hear large-scale fireworks over the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds tomorrow night as a Seattle company puts on a training for those who conduct public fireworks displays. Be prepared for intermittent noise between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m., says fair manager Gail Sobolesky. Unfortunately, the public is not invited.

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Two named employee of the year at Centralia Police Department

Friday, May 18, 2012 at 7:55 am

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CENTRALIA – Two individuals were named employee of the year at the Centralia Police Department as honors were announced in recognition of courage, service and sacrifice.

Named as employee of the year for 2011 were Officer John Panco and records technician Taresa Robertson.

The announcements came during last week’s city council meeting, in advance of National Police Week.

The same night, certificates of commendation were presented to Officer Neil Hoium and Officer Patty Finch.

Panco and Officer Ruben Ramirez, were recipients of life-saving ribbons, for conducting CPR on an unresponsive elderly man.

Police Cmdrs. Jim Rich and Dave Ross joined Chief Bob Berg in presenting the awards.

Five members of the police department were recognized for five year of service, and records technician Gayle Mulligan was recognized for 45 years of service with the police agency.

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Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 10:45 am

FIVE MISSING APPLIANCES

• A deputy was called about 10:40 a.m. yesterday to a rental residence on the 800 block of Bunker Creek Road outside Chehalis where appliances had been stolen from a carport. Taken sometime since last Thursday were a washing machine, two refrigerators and two stoves according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is estimated at $450, according to the sheriff’s office.

CAR PROWL

• Chehalis police will be checking security video from Wal-Mart after getting a call abut 8:10 p.m. yesterday abut a car prowl in its parking lot on the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue. An employee said she left her window rolled down about an inch and subsequently discovered a lunch box, phone and sweatshirt missing, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• Just after 10 p.m., an officer was called to the parking lot in the Twin CIty Town Center at the 1500 block of Louisiana Avenue where someone had stolen a purse from a vehicle the victim said had been locked.

DRUGS

• Police arrested a 29-year-old Centralia resident for possession of methamphetamine after he was seen stuffing something in his pants as he got out of a vehicle last night. Conrad J. Perry was contacted in connection with alleged driving negligently about 8:30 p.m. at the 2300 block of North Pearl Street, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

VANDALISM

• Police were called to Kaija’s garden and pet store on Northwest State Avenue just before 9 o’clock yesterday morning to a report someone had thrown feces all over a window. An officer’s report noted  the material had been left in a flower bed there, and someone also had cut open bags containing red rock.

TEEN FOUND UNDER TRUCK

• Police were called to Northwest Prindle and Front streets in Chehalis just before 3 o’clock this morning after a firefighter discovered a teenage girl underneath a semi-truck there. She was scared, cold and did not recall what happened, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Her mother was contacted and took her to the hospital, for reasons not noted in the police report, according to Officer Linda Bailey.

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Sheriff: Underage drinking party preceded Chehalis teen’s death on roadway

Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 7:39 pm

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed 16-year-old Tyler Gonzalez was one of many juveniles drinking alcohol at a residence near where he was run over by a vehicle and killed over the weekend.

Detectives have interviewed several attendees at the underage party and have learned who provided the alcohol, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said today.

It’s possible that person could be in trouble, but the investigation isn’t finished yet, according to Brown.

“I don’t have a lot more I can release about who provided the alcohol,” Brown said. “They’re aware. We’ve talked to them.”

The sheriff’s office is awaiting the return of toxicology test results from Gonzalez, according to Brown. They can take as long as two months.

The sophomore from W.F. West High School died early Saturday morning after he left the party and for unknown reasons laid down in the roadway, according to the sheriff’s office.

It happened about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday on Brockway Road near Chilvers Road, about a mile west of Chehalis. He was struck by an SUV.

Sheriff Steve Mansfield called it another sad and tragic incident involving alcohol and juveniles.

“Poor decisions and choices were made with the end result being the loss of a young man’s life,” Mansfield stated in a news release. “The consequences of underage drinking continue to serve as a solemn reminder of how quickly people’s lives and families can be destroyed and altered forever.”

The young people, around 10 of them, were drinking beer and hard liquor in a shop building that sits back from the home, according to Brown.

“The parents were unaware there was a party going on, they were asleep,” she said.

The Washington State Patrol investigated the incident and indicated no charges were expected for the 50-year-old driver of the SUV.

The coroner has concluded the death was an accident.

W.F. West High School students will be hosting a candle light vigil in their classmate’s honor at 7 o’clock tomorrow night in the school’s Bearcat Stadium.

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Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 2:38 pm

HOLE CUT IN FLOOR TO RETRIEVE WANTED MAN FROM CRAWL SPACE

• Police last night found the 24-year-old defendant wanted after fleeing a courtroom last week, hiding in the crawl space under his parent’s Centralia home. Officers at about 11:45 p.m. went to the house on the 100 block of West Roanoke Street and were told Ryan W. Aumiller was not there but they could come in and take a look around, Sgt. Brian Warren said. They suspected he was under the house but when they contacted him by cell phone, he insisted he was somewhere else, Warren said. After about a half hour of negotiating, they gave him a countdown, telling him a police dog would be sent under the house if he didn’t come out, according to Warren. Warren’s K-9 partner Kayo located Aumiller, who stopped responding to officers and was in too tight of quarters to get to, according to Warren. The resident used a skill saw to cut a hole in a bedroom floor and Aumiller was “extracted” that way, according to authorities. Aumiller was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital to be treated for a dog bite and a possible drug overdose, according to Warren. He was transferred to the jail this morning.

CHEHALIS RESIDENT: DRUG MONEY STOLEN

• Police are still waiting to hear back from a 25-year-old Chehalis man who called 911 on Monday night and said he was assaulted by a man who stole $100 from him that was intended to purchase drugs. “It appears they were going to buy drugs, the suspect punched the vicim and took his money,”  Officer Gwen Carrell said this morning. The man told police he got out the car from the suspect and walked home. The victim was intoxicated and asked to come back after he sobered up to give a better statement of what happened, she said.

GUN THEFT

• Several firearms were among the valuables stolen in a burglary on the 1000 block of Highway 603 outside Chehalis, the Lewis County Sheriff’s office reported yesterday. A deputy called to the home on Monday evening was told it happened sometime between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. that day. Among the missing weapons were a Bushmaster AR15, a Mossberg shotgun, a rifle and a pistol, as well as several more guns from a bedroom, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Also taken, a Dell laptop computer, a 40-inch television, a Blur-ay player and other items, according to the sheriff’s office.

CRIME STOPPERS WANTS TO SOLVE SEMINARY HILL BURGLARY

• Lewis County Crime Stoppers is hoping for tips that will lead detectives to whoever was behind a residential burglary last month in Centralia and got away with an estimated $2,900 of valuables including a .22 pistol, prescription medications, computer equipment, jewelry and Nikon binoculars. The break-in at the 2600 block of Seminary Hill Road occurred between 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on April 24, according to Crime Stoppers. The organization takes anonymous tips at 1-800-748-6422 and pays up to $1,000 for information leading to the clearance of crimes.

METAL THEFT

• An 18-year-old Longview man was arrested in connection with iron pipes from his parents Toledo-area home that were taken to a Longview recycler, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office said Laine C. Buck unloaded about 600 pounds of the metal in just one of the trips they say he made. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail on Monday for second-degree theft.

GARDENING THEFT

• Police were called about 1:30 p.m. yesterday to the 700 block of Southwest Cascade Avenue in Chehalis where someone had stolen a weed eater and gas can.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police took a report about 11:30 a.m. on Monday that someone stole a purse from a vehicle while its owner was shopping at the 500 block of Harrison Avenue.

• Police were called to a parking lot at Northeast Division Street in Chehalis about 9:20 a.m. on Monday after someone got into a locked van and stole prescription Hydrocodone. A door handle was damaged, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

WOMAN’S MISSING LAPTOP RETURNED

• Chehalis police got a phone call on Monday that somebody had found a laptop computer in a parking lot on the 100 block of West Main Street the previous Friday. An officer left a message about it with a woman who previously reported she misplaced her computer when she took it out of her vehicle after an accident, according to  Officer Gwen Carrell.

DRUGS

• A 24-year-old woman was arrested just before midnight for possession of heroin following contact with police at the 100 block of East Roanoke Street in Centralia. Kari N. Driver was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department. Driver is to be released without charges pending further investigation.

• Centralia police reported they arrested a 22-year-old Napavine man  on Monday night at the 2500 block of North National Avenue for possession of methamphetamine. Clifford R. Amos was booked into the Lewis County Jail after contact with an officer about 8:30 p.m., according to the Centralia Police Department.

ASSAULT

• Chehalis police were called to Green Hill School on Monday afternoon after a 16-year-old student-inmate allegedly kicked a staff member in the leg. The case will be referred to prosecutors for a possible charge of custodial assault, according to Chehalis police.

ANIMAL CRIMES

• Police took a report about 5:45 p.m. Monday from the 1200 block of Alder Street in Centralia that someone shot a female’s dog with a pellet gun. It did not need medical attention, according to police. The investigation was not yet finished.

• A Packwood resident is getting a fine after his black labrador bit a 70-year-old man in a wheel chair who was on his way to the post office yesterday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It happened near the 12,000 block of U.S. Highway 12 . The victim was taken to Morton General Hospital with two puncture wounds and a hematoma, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

• Morton police were called to investigate a report of several raccoons in a tree behind a residence on the 300 block of Adams Avenue about 5:30 in the morning one day last week. The animals fled prior to the officer’s arrival, according to police.

VEHICLE FIRE

• A Chehalis man escaped injury when his pickup truck burnt up last night as he was heading home from Stan Hedwall Park on Rice Road. Matt Wilkes said he smelled gas and thought he’d “baby it home” but then the 1989 Ford F-150 caught fire about a mile up the road. Chehalis Fire Department Capt. Casey Beck said the cab of the vehicle was engulfed in flames before crews extinguished the fire. Beck blamed a fuel leak.

SUSPICIOUS FIRE CENTRALIA

• Firefighters doused a blaze in a large shipping container behind a home on the 2400 block of Seward Avenue in Centralia about 8 o’clock last night. Police talked with a 14-year-old boy who admitted to starting the fire on his friend’s property, according to Riverside Fire Authority assistant Chief Rick Mack. The case will be referred for potential charging, according to police, but authorities would like to get the teenager diverted in their Juvenile Fire Setters Program, Mack said. The contents of the container were mostly refuse, Mack said.

COUPLE ESCAPES HOUSE FIRE

• A problem in an HVAC system appeared to be behind a house fire on Monday west of Millersylvania State Park, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority. Firefighters from Rochester, Little Rock and four other area departments responded to the approximately 3:40 p.m. call, according to Lt. Lanette Dyer. Two adults alerted by a smoke alarm escaped without injury from the tri-level home on the 10900 block of Lone Tree Lane Southwest, according to Dyer. She described the damage as moderate.

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Search resumes for teen lost in Chehalis River

Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 8:35 am

Updated at 9:23 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Responders are preparing to go back in the Chehalis River this morning hoping to find a 16-year-old Rochester High School student who vanished while swimming yesterday.

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Courtesy photo by West Thurston Regional Fire Authority

More than 30 rescue personnel scoured the river and its banks after the call yesterday evening to an area southwest of Rochester.

While they suspended their search at dark, there is the possibility the teen somehow made it to shore, according to a spokesperson for West Thurston Regional Fire Authority.

“He might have hunkered down for the night for shelter,” Lt. Lanette Dyer said. “There’s still hope. We’re gonna stay on the positive side.”

The approximately 5 p.m. call to 911 came immediately after the teen went under water, according to Dyer.

The West Thurston fire department said shortly after the boy jumped in the river to catch up with two 18-year-old girls, his 14-year-old brother on the shore realized something was wrong.

“He wasn’t yelling for help, but he kept going up and down in the water,” Dyer said.

The 14-year-old alerted the girls who turned around and started swimming back toward him, but he went under and didn’t come up, she said.

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office said the dive rescue team is returning this morning. The Special Operations Rescue Team (SORT) comprised of firefighters from several agencies is expected back as well. The Washington State patrol put a plane in the air and ground crews were en route to walk the land along the river, she said.

The spot is on the 12,600 block of Independence Road is about two miles west of the bridge at Michigan Hill Road.

Dyer said with the beautiful spring weather yesterday, the river looked inviting but this time of year, the waters are not as safe as they might appear.

“It’s smooth as glass on top, and underneath, it’s just ripping,” she said.

The boy is Christopher P. Garay, 16, from Rochester.

His mother was among some three dozen individuals, including many of his classmates, who gathered yesterday during the search, according to Dyer.

“One of the things she asked us to share with the media is to ask for all people not to give up hope,” Dyer said. “And she has put her faith in God and she is relying on that faith to see her son through.”

Update at 2:30 p.m: Searchers found his body about 11:30 a.m. today, at the bottom of the river less than 50 yards from where he was last seen, according to sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin.

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Breaking news: Searchers looking for teenage boy in Chehalis River near Rochester

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 6:23 pm

Updated at 8:55 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A dive rescue team has been dispatched to the Chehalis River southwest of Rochester to search for a 16-year-old boy.

Aid and deputies responded to the approximately 5 p.m. call to an area near the Independence Road Bridge, at Michigan Hill Road, according to the Thurston County Sheriffs Office.

“He was with a group of people and tried to swim across,” sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said. “He went below the surface and did not come back up.

Responders are operating in rescue mode and hoping to find him, Elwin said just after 6 p.m.

Even though some time has passed, the cold temperature of the water gives them hope he can be revived if he is found submerged, according to Elwin.

Just before 9 p.m. tonight, Elwin said there was no change.

“It’s getting dark here pretty soon, we’ll suspend our efforts,” Elwin said.

Searchers don’t yet have a morning plan, he said.

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Autopsy: Chehalis teen’s death caused by injuries from SUV

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 4:38 pm

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Authorities are still attempting to unravel why a 16-year-old Chehalis boy was laying on a county road in the middle of the night when he was run over and killed by a vehicle.

Tyler S. Gonzalez died from multiple internal injuries about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday on Brockway Road near Adna, according to the Lewis County Coroner’s Office.

Coroner Warren McLeod said the sophomore from W.F. West High School didn’t live in the neighborhood and he doesn’t know what led up to the death beyond being struck by a full-sized SUV.

“People are looking for answers about why he was laying on a road,” McLeod said today.

Those are details are for law enforcement to figure out, he said.

The autopsy turned up nothing suspicious to suggest the death was caused by anything else, however it’s possible toxicology tests could shed more light, according to McLeod.

Gonzalez was wearing dark clothing and had no identification on him when it happened, according to responders.

The Washington State Patrol said a 50-year-old Onalaska woman was northbound on Brockway and rounded a slight right hand curve when she hit him. They noted there are no street lights in the area and they did not expect to file any charges against the driver.

The coroner concluded the death was accidental.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office is investigating why he was out there and what he had been doing.

Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said she expected to hear more from detectives this afternoon. They’re looking into rumors that have developed, she said.

“I know they’ve been talking to juveniles (who were) at a party in that neighborhood,” Brown said.

Students at W.F. High School in Chehalis are making plans, in part to honor their classmate and to raise money for whatever expenses his family may incur for burial, according to Principal Bob Walters.

“The students really want to do something to support the family, in Tyler’s memory,” Walters said.

Gonzalez had been in the school district, he thought, since kindergarten, Walters said.

“He just seems to be a good kid, blended in, had some close friends and was well-liked,” he said.

A vigil is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday in the high school stadium, organized by the student body, he said.

Details will be announced after they are finalized for next week’s planned spaghetti feed fundraiser and car wash, according to Walters.

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News brief: Land clearing ignites brush fire in Ethel

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 9:03 am

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Firefighters from four departments responded to a brush fire in Ethel yesterday that spread to as much as three acres on former timberland being cleared for new housing.

Lewis County Fire District 8 was called about 3:30 p.m. to the 200 block of Volcano Drive where the day before someone had been burning stumps and brush to clear some property, according to Fire Chief Duran McDaniel.

Flames spread to replanted fir trees as tall as 12 feet and to the under brush, according to McDaniel.

No structures were threatened, he said.

Personnel from the state Department of Natural Resources arrived about 4:30 p.m. and then brought in a 10-person prison inmate crew to finish up, according to McDaniel.

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Guilty pleas ending Ash Street gang-related shooting case

Monday, May 14, 2012 at 9:01 pm
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Ulises Carrillo-Cruz, 20, looks over paperwork with his lawyer as he admits to firing a shot that injured a woman outside his Centralia apartment.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The case involving four men charged after a woman was shot in the shoulder outside an apartment complex on Ash Street in Centralia is coming to a close.

All have pleaded guilty in what police called a gang-related dispute that came to a head at the end of December, and possibly had its roots in a drive-by shooting almost two years ago in Chehalis.

Ulises Carrillo-Cruz, 20, was sentenced to 13 months in prison today, after admitting he fired the shot that that struck 28-year-old Genevieve Purser.

Carrillo-Cruz pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, a charge that didn’t exactly match the situation but was close enough when lawyers came up with a plea agreement, according to defense attorney J. P. Enbody.

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Colin Hayes said both attorneys agreed the two groups involved had a dispute that included past violence.

Hayes said both sides faced some risks if going to trial as to whether self defense may have come into play, as he described to a judge today the reason for the deal.

Carrillo-Cruz was originally charged with first-degree assault as well as unlawful possession of a firearm.

He, his older brother Rolando Carrillo-Cruz, 25, and two 18-year-olds, all Centralia residents, were arrested on Dec. 27 after a mid-day confrontation at the Edison Terrace Apartments.

The two brothers were at their mother’s house in Chehalis in August 2010 when someone drove by and fired a round that struck a parked vehicle, according to Enbody.

“After that, and we’re still trying to figure out why, the bad blood continued,” Enbody told the judge.

Enbody said they think it had to do with the brothers having contact with the estranged wife of one of the men alleged to have been responsible for the drive-by shooting.

Just weeks before December’s incident, Enbody said, some of those involved who he said were part of the so-called LVL gang went to his client’s apartment on Ash Street with baseball bats breaking windows.

“And the last thing they said, is we’ll be back,” Enbody said.

Enbody told Judge James Lawler he was giving background for the judge to consider when he handed down the sentence.

His client had a broken leg in a cast when he sees the same group, including one individual flashing a gun arrive in vehicles and start coming their way, yelling and flashing gang signs, he said.

The brothers had bought a gun to protect themselves, he said.

Enbody said his client fired a warning shot, that hit the ground less than halfway toward those arriving.

He hired a firearms expert who met with Centralia police detective Pat Beall at the site to try and figure how the second shot occurred, he said.

“Beall mentions a limp wrist or something, and the recoil,” he said. “The second shot goes off.”

Enbody said his client took two polygraph tests that supported his version of what occurred.

In the defendant’s written statement, he admitted to recklessly inflicting substantial bodily harm upon the victim. There was no statement from the victim mentioned aloud during today’s proceedings in Lewis County Superior Court.

Ulises Carrillo-Cruz’ answered simply “Yes sir” to each of the judge’s questions.

The standard sentencing range for his conviction was 12 to 14 months, according to the judge.

Lawler called the attorneys’ recommendation of 13 months in prison a fair resolution, which he would abide by.

Rolando Carrillo-Cruz has already been sentenced to six months in prison. He pleaded guilty in early February to rendering criminal assistance, in order to take advantage of a plea offer, according to his court file.

Both Carrillo-Cruz’s are facing possible deportation. Enbody said he didn’t know the details, only that his client said he’d lived in Lewis County since he was six months old.

Francisco J. Robles, 18, admitted in late January to hiding the gun when he pleaded guilty to rendering criminal assistance. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30

Javier E. Martinez, 18, admitted in mid-January to rendering criminal assistance; he stated he flushed some shell casings down a toilet. His sentencing is set for June 7.
•••

For background, read “Centralia men charged after apartment complex shooting” from Thursday December 29, 2011, here

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Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, May 14, 2012 at 12:13 pm

ASSAULTS AND DISPUTES

• Chehalis police called just before 5 p.m. on Saturday to a home on Northeast Franklin Avenue in Chehalis arrested a 59-year-old man for assault after he allegedly grabbed his girlfriend or ex-girlfriend by the throat. The scene was broken up by other residents but Mark Johnson was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• A deputy took a report yesterday from a woman on the 100 block of Virginia Drive in Centralia that her husband had the day before pushed her to the floor and also assaulted her several times during the previous three months. The deputy was told he had previously “choked her out”, put a pillow over her face until she passed out and also left bruises, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being referred to prosecutors for a possible second-degree assault charge for the 23-year-old man, the sheriff’s office said.

• Police were called about 3:40 p.m. on Saturday about a dispute the night before at a residence on Southeast Adams Avenue. A 45-year-old Chehalis woman said she pepper sprayed her boyfriend when he tried to come back in after being told to leave, according to the Chehalis Police Department. No arrests were made but the case is being referred to the city prosecutor for possible charges, according to police.

• Centralia police called just before 1 p.m. yesterday to the 1100 block of South Tower Avenue arrested a 21-year-old for disorderly conduct. Kevin J. DeLong, of Centralia, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

THEFT

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning someone went through a window at at a Mineral-area residence and stole several items including a spotting scope, binoculars, alcohol and custom made antler-handled knives. The break-in happened sometime between May 3 and last Friday when it was reported, according to the sheriff’s office.

• Centralia police took a report of items being stolen from a a garage on Saturday morning form the 700 block of Euclid Way.

• Chehalis police were called on Saturday to take a report about a burglary to a garage that occurred during the previous week. Among the items missing from the 800 block of Southwest Cascade Avenue were a 14-inch chain saw bar and a small fuel tank for a boat, according to the Chehalis Police Department

• Someone stole a pistol, a holster and tools from a vehicle after they used a brick to break its window at West Third and J streets in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 6:45 a.m. on Saturday.

• A deputy was called to the parking lot at Cardinal Glass on the 500 block of Avery Road on Friday night where a woman said that while she was working someone got inside her locked vehicle and stole $160 cash from inside her purse.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called about 11:30 p.m. on Saturday about a window being broken out of the front door of an apartment on the 500 block of Hillkress Street.

WRECK

• Aid was called about 1:45 a.m. yesterday to the 1000 block of Kresky Avenue in Centralia about a vehicle striking a power pole. No injuries were reported, according to Riverside Fire Authority.