Archive for May, 2012

News brief: Motorcycle crash near Packwood sends one to Harborview

Sunday, May 27th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A motorcycle rider was airlifted to a Seattle trauma hospital after a wreck in which he was tossed and flipped multiple times this afternoon on U.S. Highway 12 about eight miles east of Packwood, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Paul M. Kellar, 62, of Yakima, was eastbound when he drove off the road to the right and lost control, according to the state patrol.

A trooper called to the scene just before 4 p.m. noted Kellar suffered internal and head injuries as well as broken bones. He was flown to Harborview Medical Center.

Both Kellar and his bike landed in the dirt, according to the trooper.

His 2003 Honda 1800 sustained an estimated $3,000 damage, the state patrol reported. It was removed by family and friends.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

News brief: Pair mugged overnight in Centralia

Sunday, May 27th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Two 20-year-old men reported they were robbed by masked and gun-wielding subjects as they were walking in north Centralia overnight, according to police.

Officers called just before 2 a.m. to an area along the railroad tracks beneath the Sixth Street viaduct were told a pair of males in their late teens to early 20s approached them on foot from behind, police Sgt. Kurt Reichert said.

Both subjects were wearing blue bandanas over their faces, covering everything but their eyes, police were told. One had a gun.

He fired it one to four times into the brush, Reichert said.

A wallet, money, a knife and other personal items were stolen, Reichert said.

The victims are from Chehalis and Toledo, according to Reichert. He didn’t know for sure why they walking near the train tracks.

A search with a police dog failed to locate any suspects, he said.

Breaking news: Mother’s boyfriend held for investigation of rape, murder of Centralia child

Friday, May 25th, 2012
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James M. Reeder is escorted out of court and back down to the jail.

Updated at 11:37 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Prosecutors told a judge this afternoon they believe a Centralia toddler was raped and tortured before she died.

James M. Reeder, 25, appeared before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court this afternoon. He is the mother’s live-in boyfriend.

Reeder was not charged, but was ordered held on probable cause for murder, child rape and assault.

Koralynn Fister, 2, was pronounced dead at Providence Centralia Hospital yesterday after Reeder carried her to a house across the street and said he found her face down in the bathtub after he stepped out to get a towel. He was arrested last night.

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Koralynn Fister

Defense attorney Bob Schroeter said his client absolutely and positively denies the allegations and has no history of any felony.

The judge ordered the Centralia resident held on $5 million bail.

Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer requested a 72-hour hold on Reeder to allow more time for investigation and a final charging decision.

The filed declaration of probable cause describes significant bruising, cuts, abrasions and other wounds found on the child’s body, some in more advanced stages of healing than others.

Among the injuries noted were palm-sized pieces of skin missing from her buttocks, caused according to forensic evaluation, by traumatic injuries inflicted upon the child.

The declaration also mentions missing skin on the top and bottom of a toe, but offers no specific explanation for how any wounds were inflicted.

The pathologist’s examination found four distinct areas of head trauma, according to the declaration. Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said earlier today Koralynn died from that and drowning.

Prosecutor Meyer indicated in his filing he believed probable cause existed for at least two counts of rape and assault.

Meyer’s declaration says none of the injuries were noted in a well-child exam conducted in early April and that Reeder has been living with the mother and her two daughters for about 10 weeks.

The prosecutor wrote that Reeder persuaded the mother about a month ago  to divide up parenting duties and would insist when the mother left, she take the oldest daughter with her, leaving him time alone with the toddler.

A passage in the declaration includes Reeder telling police the bath began shortly after the mother and older child left the residence at about 12:30 p.m., and neighbors reporting it was around 3:15 p.m. when Reeder was beating on their door, holding the girl and yelling for help.

The fire department was called at 3:09 p.m.

The neighbors said Reeder did CPR on their porch until aid arrived. A witness indicated the child was cold to the touch, according to the declaration.

Centralia Police Department Officer Gary Byrnes noticed the smell of burnt marijuana inside the house, the declaration states.

When Prosecutor Meyer asked for high bail, he said Reeder was a danger to others, even the mother.

“I won’t go into graphic detail, but suffice it to say, that in my career this is the worst case of child abuse and neglect that I have seen,” Meyer said.

Defense attorney Schroeter asked for reasonable bail, pointed out to the judge a row of Reeder’s family members sitting in the back of the courtroom.

“Nobody is more distraught about this situation than Mr. Reeder,” Schroeter said.

“All indications are one person took positive action on behalf of this child,” he said. “And that is Mr. Reeder.”

Judge Richard Brosey granted prosecutor’s request to return Reeder to the courtroom on Tuesday afternoon.

Police today continued searching the house off of West Oakview Avenue.

The 4-year-old half sister has been taken into temporary protective custody.

The state Department of Social and Health Services Children’s Administration issued a statement saying they have no record of history involving the child, nor any previous allegations of abuse or neglect against the mother, Becky Heupel or her boyfriend.

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Centralia toddler death: Sibling taken into protective custody

Friday, May 25th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The 4-year-old half sister of the toddler who died yesterday in Centralia has been taken into protective custody, as police continue their investigation into the death.

Two-year-old Koralynn Fister was taken to the hospital yesterday afternoon after her mother’s boyfriend carried the naked and unbreathing child across the street, saying he found her under water in the bathtub.

He had been caring for her at her home, according to police.

The Centralia Police Department last night arrested the boyfriend, James M. Reeder, 25, for first-degree murder.

An autopsy this morning concluded the child died from drowning and blunt head trauma, according to the Lewis County Coroner’s Office. Coroner Warren McLeod has listed the manner death as homicide.

Centralia police detective Sgt. Pat Fitzgerald said the sibling was taken from the hospital by Child Protective Services last night, when the mother went to the police department to be interviewed about Koralynn’s death.

“We’re not at the point where we know whether the other child is in danger,” Fitzgerald said today about why that was done.

They conducted an informational interview with the mother, and detectives are basically working on if she had any culpability, he said.

The state Department of Social and Health Services Children’s Administration issued a statement saying they have no record of of history with the mother, Becky Heupel or her boyfriend.

The mother is not a suspect, Fitzgerald said.

Detectives are back at the home off of West Oakview Avenue today, recovering evidence and searching the house, according to Fitzgerald.

Among the items they are looking for is an object that might have been used on the toddler’s head, he said.

This afternoon, they have no idea what that might have been, he said.

Police said Reeder told them he was bathing the child, left to get a towel and returned to find the toddler face down in the bath tub.

Across the street neighbors said they opened their door to loud knocking around 3 p.m. to find the boyfriend trying to conduct CPR on their porch.

The child exhibited some injuries, recent and otherwise, that caused officers some concern, according to police.

Fitzgerald said the arrest was made in part because of inconsistent statements from Reeder.

Reeder told them the girl hit her head on the tub, he said.

“We have a version she fell back into the tub and struck her head,” he said. “That’s one version.”

Reeder is scheduled to go before a judge at 4 p.m. today in Lewis County Superior Court.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, May 25th, 2012

Updated at 12:11 p.m.

WANTED MAN FOUND UP A TREE

• A police pursuit out of Centralia yesterday morning ended just north of the Scatter Creek Rest Area in south Thurston County and the driver subsequently tracked by a police dog was found hiding in a tree. It started with a call about car prowlers seen in the parking lot behind business on the 700 block of Harrison Avenue just after 8 a.m., according to police. A Centralia officer spotted the suspect vehicle northbound on Interstate 5 near the county line but the tan Chevrolet Blazer continued, until it left the freeway traveling through a grassy area, coming to a stop at a fence several hundred feet away, Officer Buddy Croy said.  Two occupants fled on foot on foot, but Officer Corey Butcher caught the woman right away, according to police. A Thurston County K9 found the driver within about about an hour up a tree in the area, Croy said. Cordis E. McBride, 27, was arrested for eluding a police vehicle. He was also booked for a  felony warrant for second-degree theft, out of Jefferson County. Tessie R. Taylor, 21, was arrested for a warrant for drug possession. Both are from Port Hadlock. Both were booked into the Lewis County Jail.

NEIGHBOR BLAMED FOR THEFT OF FIREARMS

• Detectives yesterday following up a previous burglary at Senn Road east of Chehalis arrested Jeff C. Plancich, 33, of Chehalis. Plancich said he was attempting to help his neighbor get back stolen property, but deputies concluded he was involved in the theft, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He was booked for unlawful possession of firearms and burglary. Three stolen firearms were recovered, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

CAMERA CAPTURES CRIME AT SCHOOL

• Police took a report about 11 a.m. yesterday at Centralia High School on Eshom Road about an attempt to steal a school vehicle. Surveillance cameras captured an image of a suspect, according to the Centralia Police Department.

GARAGE BURGLED

• A golf bag and clubs were reported stolen from a garage on the 500 block of Hamilton Avenue in Centralia yesterday morning.

ONE WANTED, THREE ARRESTED

• Three people were arrested yesterday on Loop Road east of Centralia when several deputies and police officers met to pick up an individual wanted on a warrant just before 12:30 p.m. They were looking for a 37-year-old Centralia man, John T. Malantich Jr., wanted by Department of Corrections officers, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. They arrested a woman in a single-wide trailer who yelled at them and suggested she hadn’t seen him since earlier that morning, according to Chief Civil Deputy Brown. Then, after a 64-year-old man came running at a deputy and shoved him in the shoulder, they arrested him, Brown said. Mark A. Griffith, 64, was arrested for third-degree assault and after he threatened to track down and kill the deputy when he got out of jail, he was also arrested for felony harassment, according to Brown. As a deputy was cuffing Griffith, the wanted man rushed up behind the deputy, refused orders to get on the ground, so a Taser was used on him, she said. The wanted man was booked for his warrant and resisting arrest. Virginia Nall, 47, was booked for third-degree rendering criminal assistance.

TALKING TO A LAMP POST

• Chehalis police were called about 3:30 p.m. yesterday to Penny Playground by a grandmother who said there was a woman there throwing things around and seemed to be “whacked out on drugs.” The 37-year-old woman had been shadow boxing and talking to a lamp pole, believing the post was part of a car accident her mother had been in, Sgt. Gwen Carrell said. Carrell said. She was apparently suffering some type of psychosis, according to Carrell. An officer took the woman to Providence Centralia Hospital, so a mental health professional could evaluate her and try to get her some help, Carrell said. The sergeant said officers in Chehalis get called about once a week for individuals with mental health issues, sometimes even for the same person several times in a week. “It can be very scary to other people,” she said. It happens more in Chehalis than any other city she has worked in, Carrell said, perhaps because in the past here so very many people used to use methamphetamine.

News brief: Search on for home invasion suspect in Rochester

Friday, May 25th, 2012

Updated at 8:53 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Deputies this morning are looking for a man who barged into a Rochester home, bound two women and robbed them at gunpoint.

“When he went out the door, he stole the woman’s car and fled,” Thurston County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Greg Elwin said.

The 2006 black Toyota Scion was found within the past hour near Southwest 180th and Apricot Street, Elwin said.

The women were uninjured.

Elsin said deputies responded to a 911 call about 12:53 a.m. today at the 10,900 block of U.S. Highway 12.

“What we determined is sometime before that, a female resident and her guest were home and someone knocked on the door,” Elwin said.

The houseguest opened it and a man forced them back and bound them with zip ties, he said.

He was described as a “big guy” about 240 pounds and 6-feet 3-inches tall, he said. He was white, but had a mask disguising his face, he said.

He took a purse, a laptop computer and jewelry, and then the car, Elwin said.

A 3-year-old girl who was in the house slept through it, according to Elwin.

Elwin said they don’t have a suspect, but because of the rural nature of the area, they think there might be a connection between the victims and the robber.

Update: Centralia police investigating death of toddler, arrest one

Thursday, May 24th, 2012
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Police Chief Bob Berg and Cmdr. Dave Ross watch over the house as they wait for a search warrant.

Update at 9:53 p.m.: Police just announced they arrested James M. Reeder, 25, of Centralia, for first-degree murder.

Detective Sgt. Pat Fitzgerald said the arrest was made in part because of inconsistent statements and information they got from other sources, he said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CENTRALIA – Centralia police are investigating the death of two-and-a-half year old girl.

The mother’s boyfriend said he was bathing the child, left to get a towel and returned to find the toddler face down in the bath tub according to the Centralia Police Department.

The child exhibited some injuries, recent and otherwise, that caused officers some concern, according to police.

Aid and police called about 3 p.m. to a neighborhood called Hunter’s Walk off of West Oakview Avenue found the man performing CPR on the child. She was not breathing, police said.

She was taken by ambulance to Providence Centralia Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Detectives responded as a matter of routine, in the death of a child, according to police. No arrests have been made as of early this evening.

Yellow police tape blocks off the modular home. The crime scene investigation van is parked in front, while officers wait for a search warrant to go inside and investigate further.

Police Chief Bob Berg said they weren’t prepared to say if it was an accident or intentional.

“It’s death investigation,” Berg said.

Across the street neighbors Ray and Mary Stiltner said they were startled by loud knocking and opened their front door to see the unclothed child laying on their porch with a man.

“He was trying to do CPR on her,” Ray Stiltner said. “His attempts on that continued until they came.”

“He wasn’t doing it very well, I don’t think he knew how,” Mary Stiltner said. “It was very traumatic.”

She called 911.

Mary Stiltner said the man told them the little girl had been in the tub, he was gone for a few seconds and when he returned, she was under water.

Next door neighbors Scott and Cindy North said the woman had moved in about six months earlier.

Cindy North said she wasn’t sure who the man was, as the woman had a different boyfriend until recently.

“I didn’t hear anything, but a lot of times we’d hear the baby crying over there, like it needed attention,” Scott North said.

While neighbors said they saw the man taken away in a patrol car, detective Sgt. Pat Fitzgerald said he went voluntarily to be interviewed at the police department.

The mother of the child is being interviewed there as well tonight, Fitzgerald said.