Archive for March, 2011

News brief: Training fire scheduled near Rochester High School

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Firefighters plan to burn down a Grand Mound area house to clear some property owned by the Rochester School District.

The training fire adjacent to Rochester High School is scheduled to take place on May 14, a Saturday.

West Thurston Regional Fire Authority expects to begin interior exercises at 8 a.m. and conclude between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. with defensive operations, according to Battalion Chief Jacob Yake.

Th school district donated the building to the fire department, according to Yake.

The address is 19735 Carper Rd S.W.

Yake notes Carper Road will be closed at Old Highway 9 and near 197th Avenue Southwest.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

TWO POLICE PURSUITS OVERNIGHT END WITH ARRESTS

• A 31-year-old man wanted for probation violations led deputies on a high-speed pursuit overnight – a good portion of it on two spiked and flattened tires – through Littlerock and Rochester before driving into a ditch and being arrested. It began when an Olympia police officer on his way home contacted the driver near the Ritchie Brothers complex on Case Road Southwest, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. Donald M. Bush, listed as transient, had a Department of Corrections warrant for second-degree escape from community custody, meaning he had not been in proper contact with his community corrections officer, according to Lt. Greg Elwin. Bush sped away in his 2007 Ford Escape reaching speeds of 100 mph as two sheriff’ deputies got behind him, Elwin said. His tires were spiked at Littlerock Road near 130th Avenue yet he continued to Mima Road Southwest and then Bordeaux Road Southwest before coming to rest in a ditch, according to Elwin. The pursuit covered sixteen miles in 14 minutes, Elwin said. Bush reportedly told the officers he knew he would be going back to prison if he were caught. Bush was booked into the Thurston County Jail for eluding a police vehicle.

• A 17-year-old driver was arrested after he reportedly screeched his Crown Victoria sideways through a Chehalis intersection last night in front of sheriff’s deputies standing outside a door at the sheriff’s office evidence facility. Deputies jumped in their patrol cars and when they rounded a corner, observed the car stopped up on the curb atop the remnants of a concrete planter it had pushed nearly a block, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. It happened about 10:30 p.m. The teenager was arrested for driving under the influence and turned over to a sober driver, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said.

TWO ARRESTED FOR BURNING CAR FOUND IN ONALASKA

• A Honda Civic found burning off Kruger Road in Onalaska earlier this month led to the arrest yesterday of two individuals who had reportedly stolen the car and lit in on fire to try to hide it, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives yesterday arrested James A. Bitner, 28, of Centralia for second-degree arson. His accomplice, Courtney R. Blurton, 24, of Onalaksa was also arrested, according to Chief Deputy Stacy Brown. The vehicle had been stolen on Feb. 26 from Coal Creek Road.

VEHICLE PROWLS

• Centralia police were called yesterday to the 2800 block of Russell Road where tools had been stolen from the back of a truck overnight.

• Centralia police took a report yesterday morning of jewelry stolen from a vehicle on the 1000 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia.

Partial skull discovered near Mineral is an adult

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The partial human skull found near Mineral on Saturday appears to be from an adult, but detectives don’t know if it belongs to a male or a female, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said this afternoon.

They’re hopeful there is enough DNA to help identity the individual, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said this afternoon.

It was found by a hiker in a wooded area and will be sent to a forensic pathologist for further examination.

“We really don’t know how long its been out there,” Brown said. “Weather conditions affect that, and we’re not experts.”

The find was reported Saturday and detectives, along with two dogs, have searched the area for potential evidence, according to Brown. It was in a brushy area on the ground, she said.

Brown said she expects members of Lewis County Search and Rescue to go out there and help look sometime in the next couple of weeks.

“We did find other evidence, or potential evidence at the scene,” she said, without specifying what it was.

The sheriff’s office isn’t saying how much of the skull was recovered or even a location more specific than near Mineral.

“Until we know what we have and what kind of an investigation we’re looking at, we’re not releasing a lot,” Brown said.

Its too early to consider what missing persons it could match up to, according to Brown. She did say they don’t have any indication its Kayla Croft-Payne, who vanished almost a year ago at age 18.

Mineral is along state Route 7, near where the Lewis, Pierce and Thurston county lines meet.

Besides Croft-Payne, who was living in the Chehalis area when she disappeared, the sheriff’s office lists two other missing persons on its web site.

Henri W. Maillard, 20, disappeared in July 1994 after a drive up the Skate Creek Road near Packwood with a friend, according to the sheriff’s office.

Delmar W. Sample, a 53-year-old pharmacist from Onalaska, failed to report to work in Chehalis in March 2005. Sample’s truck was found near Lake Quinault on the Olympic Peninsula.

Registered sex offender notice: Man moves to Chehalis

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office announced this week a level three registered sex offender in Lewis County recently changed addresses and now lives in Chehalis.

Waylon B. Huestis, 30, is living on the 200 block of Northwest Chehalis Avenue.

Huestis is not wanted by law enforcement, but notification to the community is meant to inform the public and enhance public safety, according to the sheriff’s office.

Huestis was released from prison last October after a conviction a little more than 10 years ago in which he, at age 19, sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl, according to the  Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The victim reported he used physical force to overcome her resistance, according to sheriff’s detective Jamey McGinty.

The conviction was second-degree child rape.

He is on Department of Corrections supervision for three years following his release.

The sheriff’s office designated him as a level three sex offender, meaning they believe he has a high risk to reoffend.

Huestis is described as 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 156 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.

To see more details from the bulletin and a photo of Huestis, visit the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office web site level three sex offender page, here.

Questions? The sheriff’s office says call 360-748-9286 for detective McGinty or Chief Criminal Deputy Gene Seiber.
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To search for registered sex offenders living within a specified radius from your home, work or school, visit the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Offender Watch page, here.  There, you can also find safety tips and other information, as well as register to receive email alerts if a new offender registers with an address near you. The same link can always be found on the sidebar of Lewis County Sirens.

Registered sex offender notice: Man returns to Mossyrock area

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office announced a level three registered sex offender in Lewis County who left for a short time returned to his Mossyrock area home.

Dale G. DeHaven, 53, is living on the 100 block of Winston Creek Road.

DeHaven is not wanted by law enforcement, but notification to the community is meant to inform the public and enhance public safety, according to the sheriff’s office.

DeHaven was released from prison in 2005 after a 1993 conviction for the violent sexual assault of an 8-year-old female who was the daughter of a casual acquaintance, according to sheriff’s detective Jamey McGinty. The conviction was first-degree child rape.

Before that, he served time in prison in connection with the violent assault of a 76-year-old neighbor woman, according to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office designated him as a level three sex offender, meaning they believe he has a high risk to reoffend.

DeHaven is described as 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds with gray hair and brown eyes.

To see more details from the bulletin and a photo of DeHaven, visit the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office web site level three sex offender page, here.

Questions? The sheriff’s office says call 360-748-9286 for detective McGinty or Chief Criminal Deputy Gene Seiber.
•••

To search for registered sex offenders living within a specified radius from your home, work or school, visit the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Offender Watch page, here.  There, you can also find safety tips and other information, as well as register to receive email alerts if a new offender registers with an address near you. The same link can always be found on the sidebar of Lewis County Sirens.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

VEHICLE VERSUS CHILD IN CENTRALIA

• A 12-year-old boy on a bicycle was struck by a pickup truck yesterday at the stoplight on Harrison Avenue and the southbound freeway off ramp in Centralia, according to police.. Officers called about 2 p.m. reported the boy – a Centralia resident – sustained a serious injury to his foot. The details are still being investigated, according to the Centralia Police Department. The child was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment. His name was not released.

THEFT

• A light blue 1991 Mazda pickup truck was stolen from a driveway on the 1000 block of Long Road in Centralia, according to a report made to police yesterday morning.

• Somebody stole a five-ton floor jack and other items from the 2600 block of Harrison Avenue outside Centralia, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy called last night learned it was taken sometime in the previous month along with a Kenmore dryer, irrigation pipes, a farm implement and miscellaneous scrap metal. The loss is estimated at $1,000.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took a report yesterday of a brick thrown at a car parked in front of a house on the 800 block of H Street.

• An officer was called to the 600 block of Hamilton Avenue in Centralia yesterday where a windshield was shattered and a rock found inside the vehicle.

• Chehalis police took a report late yesterday afternoon of a vehicle’s’ outside mirror damaged by a brick on Northwest Florida Avenue.

RESISTING ARREST

• A 21-year-old Toledo man was jailed last night after he ran from deputies investigating a report of a suspicious person on the 100 block of Collins Road near Toledo. Darrell R. Jackson was arrested for a warrant and for resisting arrest after the approximately 8:30 p.m. call.

DRUGS

• Police called about noon yesterday to Centralia Middle School arrested two student for misdemeanor possession of marijuana. The boys, ages 13 and 15, were booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center.

Breaking news: Skull found in woods near Mineral

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a partial human skull found by a hiker on Saturday near Mineral.

Detectives, with help from members of Lewis County Search and Rescue, are continuing to search the wooded area for potential evidence, according to a news release this morning.

The skull will be sent to a forensic pathologist for further examination, according to Chief Deputy Stacy Brown.

More to come