Archive for March, 2014

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, March 31st, 2014

BAREFOOT BANDIT

• Centralia police were called yesterday about 4:20 p.m. when a barefooted man running away from the hospital was seen going through the garage door of a home in the area. Its occupants were not home, but officers arriving to the 1600 block of West Mellen Street found Benjamine D. Winebrenner, 23, in the kitchen and in his pockets were jewelry, money and other items that belonged to the residents, according to the Centralia Police Department. The home belonged to one of his relatives, but he didn’t have permission to be there, Sgt. Kurt Reichert said. The incident followed a call to the hospital about a disorderly person believed to be intoxicated and believed to be Winebrenner, Reichert said. Weinbrenner was arrested for burglary and theft and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

THEFT FROM MUSEUM

• Police were called just after 6 p.m. on Saturday to the Lewis County Historical Museum on Northwest Front Street where someone had broken into an outdoor storage shed. The report said “metal” was taken, according to the Chehalis Police Department. There was no mention of any artifacts getting stolen, detective Sgt. Gary Wilson said.

VEHICLE THEFT

• A shopper at K-Mart in Chehalis on Saturday returned to the parking lot to find her van missing. An officer responding about 11:50 a.m. to the 1200 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue learned the woman may have dropped the keys to her green 2001 Ford Windstar, according to the the Chehalis Police Department.

OTHER THEFT

• Centralia police took a report yesterday morning of a wallet being stolen from a home on the 500 block of Davis Street.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Police were called just before 3 p.m. yesterday to the 200 block of North Market Boulevard in Chehalis where someone had prowled a car as it was parked in its garage. The garage door had been open. The window was broken out of the locked vehicle, according to police.

CRASH VICTIM RECOVERING

• The Centralia woman injured in a two-vehicle collision on Friday night in Rochester is listed in satisfactory condition this morning at a Seattle hospital. Brittny S. Canfield, 20, and Samuel J. Canfield, 22, of Centralia, were transported to Harborview Medical Center following an 8:40 p.m. wreck on U.S. Highway 12 west of Grand Mound. A hospital spokesperson indicates she didn’t have information on the condition of Samuel J. Canfield, which sometimes occurs when a patient chooses to keep their information, even their presence at the facility, confidential. Two others injured were taken to Providence Centralia Hospital where they were treated and released.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, violation of no-contact orders; responses for misdemeanor theft, possible fraud, suspicious circumstances, vandalism, collision in city streets, noisy teenagers walking the streets, someone seen digging through a dumpster … and more.

Firefighters versus flames versus old house

Sunday, March 30th, 2014
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The donated home on Sanderson Road south of Chehalis is allowed to burn freely after training is finished. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 6

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A two-story house built in 1890 was reduced to cinders and its concrete foundation after firefighters were done having their way with it yesterday in Chehalis.

The structure on Sanderson Road donated by former volunteer Bob Knapp served as a training tool for members of Lewis County Fire District 6, and a trio who joined them from Riverside Fire Authority in Centralia.

The practice went well, despite the drizzly weather, according to Firefighter Mike Goodwillie.

“All of our combat firefighters received good live fire training and we got to experiment with our new fire extinguishers,” Goodwillie said. “Most importantly no one got hurt.”

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Capt. Scott Snyder observes as two volunteers head into burning room with their hose; left, Erica Lorenzo and Jarrod Fernstrom. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 6

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Sunday, March 30th, 2014

SUSPECTED PROWLER RESCUED FROM ROOFTOP

• Firefighters were called about 3:30 a.m. yesterday to help police remove a suspected burglar from atop the steep pitched roof of a two-story house in Centralia. Police responding a few minutes to the 100 block of North Oak Street earlier say the 32-year-old man was attempting to break into the home and had broken a window. Riverside Fire Authority Capt. Casey McCarthy said the crew brought ladders and assisted in coaxing the somewhat uncooperative man down. He was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital for possible hypothermia, as it was raining and cold and they didn’t know how long he’d been up there, McCarthy said. Justin S. Hill, 32, from Seattle, was then booked into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree burglary, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DOMESTIC CAR THEFT

• A 43-year-old man was arrested by Centralia police yesterday after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend and took her car by force knowing he does not have a driver’s license. Police responding about 2:30 p.m. in connection with the 1200 block of Mellen Street and booked Billy D. Powell into the Lewis County Jail for second-degree robbery, according to the Centralia Police Department.

DRUGS AND THREAT

• A 22-year-old Chehalis man is in the Lewis County Jail booked for second-degree burglary after an incident at the 400 block of South Pearl Street on Friday night in which he allegedly entered a home and threatened its occupants. Police responding about 10 p.m. located Cole E. Taylor at another residence nearby, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was also arrested for possession of methamphetamine, according to police.

MISSING MEDS

• Police were called about 12:45 p.m. yesterday to a report of medication stolen from a motel room at the 1200 block of Alder Street in Centralia. The victim named a possible suspect, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took a report on Friday of two windows being shot out a rental property with a BB gun on the 1200 block of B Street.

FIRE HYDRANTS WILL BE INTENTIONALLY LEAKING

• Beginning tomorrow, if you see fire hydrants around Centralia spouting large amounts of water, stay clear. Workers will be flushing water lines to remove sediment from the mains and introduce fresh water to dead end lines, according to the city water department. The process requires water to be expelled from the hydrants in large quantities at high velocities, according to the city. They say the flushing could continue for approximately three weeks. According to a news release, households may want to do laundry or perform other water-using activated before 7:30 a.m. and after 5 p.m. to avoid times when the water quality may be disturbed – or at least check their water supply first. To find out when your neighborhood will be affected, call 360-330-7512.

COLLISION

• A 29-year-old motorist was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital after a single-vehicle wreck last night on Interstate 5 in Centralia blamed on distracted driving. Troopers called about 11 p.m. to the Harrison Avenue interchange indicate she was southbound and lost control of her car, struck a barrier on her right and then traveled down an embankment across the exit coming to rest in the ditch. Amber S. Hartdegen, from Tacoma, was not wearing a seatbelt and sustained unspecified injuries, according to the Washington State Patrol. Her 2001 Pontiac Aztek was described as totaled. The investigating trooper reports she was distracted by “items” inside her vehicle.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor domestic assault … and more.

Rochester woman jailed after husband shot in the back

Sunday, March 30th, 2014

Updated

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 50-year-old man is recovering at Providence St. Peter Hospital after he was shot in the back, allegedly by his wife, at their Rochester home last night.

Deputies called about 11:15 p.m. to the 19000 block of Melon Street arrested the 57-year-old woman, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

They had been arguing and fighting since before they left the Lucky Eagle Casino to go home, according to detective Sgt. Ray Brady.

“Just a bad incident,” Brady said. “Unfortunately, domestic violence incidents are all too common.”

Brady said their investigation found after the couple returned home, he removed himself by going out to the garage. Deputies learned she went to the house grabbed a .38 caliber pistol and returned to the garage, where her husband had just left.

“She fired a shot through the closed side door and struck him in the lower back,” he said.

Cynthia L. Fetterly was arrested and booked into the Thurston County Jail for first-degree assault.

The husband as of last night was serious but stable and undergoing surgery, Brady said.

She told deputies she didn’t recall why they were arguing; he said it had to do with becoming separated while at the casino and not being able to find each other, Brady said.

The wife indicated she didn’t intend to shoot her husband, he said.

“She just wanted to scare him, didn’t want him to come back in the house,” Brady said.

The sheriff’s office said the wife appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

News brief: Four hurt in Rochester wreck

Saturday, March 29th, 2014
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Responders at collision on U.S. Highway 12 in between Denmark and Huntington streets east of Rochester. / Courtesy photo by Val Davis

Updated at 12:37 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Four individuals from Rochester and Centralia were hospitalized last night after a two-vehicle collision on U.S. Highway 12 west of Grand Mound.

Troopers called about 8:40 p.m. to the scene near milepost 43 found both vehicles totaled, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The roadway in front of Briarwood Farms in between Denmark and Huntington streets was blocked for more than four hours during the investigation.

Samuel J. Canfield, 22, of Centralia, was traveling westbound and attempted to pass a westbound SUV when his Chevrolet pickup struck the SUV, according to the state patrol.

He and his passenger Brittny S. Canfield, 20, were transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to responders. It’s not clear if she had been seat-belted in, according to the investigating trooper.

The SUV involved was wheels down on the side of the highway but the pickup truck came to rest about 200 feet away on its top next to the railroad tracks, according to Riverside Fire Authority who were called to assist.

“They had to shut down the rail lines to take care of a patient next to the vehicle and another inside the vehicle,” Fire Capt. Casey McCarthy said.

Transported to Providence Centralia Hospital were the driver of the GMC Yukon, Heidi A. Antilla, 46, of Rochester, and her passenger Megan A. Antilla, 19, from Federal Way, according to the state patrol. By this morning, they had been treaded and released, a hospital spokesperson said.

The state patrol indicates drugs or alcohol were involved and they are investigating for possible charges of vehicular assault and driving under the influence. They blamed the collision on unsafe passing.

Salkum logging incident claims life of John B. Leonard

Friday, March 28th, 2014
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John B. Leonard and his wife Linda Leonard at their Chehalis home. / Courtesy photo

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The logger injured by a large maple limb in Salkum yesterday has died.

John B. Leonard was well known in Lewis County, a logger all his life, according to a family friend.

He used to have J.B. Leonard Logging in Chehalis, Marlene Maki said.

He and her husband have known each for six decades, she said.

“John was 69, he acted like he was 39 years old,” Maki said. “He’d pack hay, he was full of life, that’s for sure.”

Lewis County Fire District 8 Chief Duran McDaniel said an investigator from the state Labor and Industries came out to the site yesterday and was to return today.

Firefighters were called just after 9 a.m. yesterday to acreage just north of the 2200 block of U.S. Highway 12 in between Kennedy Road and Sierra Drive, according to McDaniel.

Leonard was loaded into an ambulance and transported to the Salkum Fire station where they were met by a helicopter that flew him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

It was just two men working, according to McDaniel. At first it appeared vibrations from a logging shovel shook the limb loose, McDaniel said, but he has since come to understand it happened somewhat differently.

“It appears a falling tree caught a limb, and came back and got the poor gentleman,” McDaniel said.

McDaniel described the piece of wood as perhaps 6 inches in diameter, and 20 feet long, before the operator jumped down and  sawed the limb to get it removed from the man.

“The operator and the cutter were the best of friends,” he said.

A spokesperson for Labor and Industries said they are investigating a logging fatality in Lewis County, but had no further information this afternoon.

The death is the third from logging in Lewis County since the beginning of the year.

In mid-January, 63-year-old Alex Oberg, of Toledo, was killed while cutting timber alone in the Toledo area. The sheriff’s office said a tree fell onto Oberg as he was employing a “domino” tree falling technique.

Last month, 21-year-old Tyler Bryan, also from Toledo, was working north of Morton when – according to the initial information from the sheriff’s office – a log being pulled up a slope by a cable began spinning and struck him.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Friday, March 28th, 2014

Updated at 7:30 p.m.

FAIL

• Chehalis police arrested a 42-year-old man yesterday at Wal-Mart yesterday for organized retail theft after he allegedly attempted to steal groceries and a chainsaw, and popped over to Home Depot in between where he shoplifted as well. An officer called to the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue about 6:30 p.m. was told a subject selected various items from the shelves but parked his cart inside near the grocery entrance and then left, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Police were told he went to Home Depot, then returned to Wal-Mart and pushed the loaded cart out the door but was stopped in the parking lot by security personnel, department spokesperson Linda Bailey said. Bailey said, more specifically, the subject let go of the cart and tried to run but tripped on the asphalt and fell on his face. Officers found a portable welder from Home Depot inside his vehicle, she said. Donnie D. Resnik, from Sedro Woolley had a warrant from the state Department of Corrections as well and was booked into the Lewis County Jail, she said.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Chehalis police took a report yesterday from the 1500 block of North National Avenue where someone had tried to break in to a vehicle. It occurred sometime the week before, according to the Chehalis Police Department. The passenger door was discovered pried open, leaving on the interior light which drained the battery, police said.

FROM THE COURTHOUSE

• The 37-year-old woman who admitted to helping herself to thousands of dollars worth of lottery tickets while she worked at the Flying K store and gas station in Toledo will remain out of custody until formal entry of her sentence is made in Lewis County Superior Court next week. Winlock resident Katrina M. Bowen was fired in September after the owners discovered the thefts that put them into debt, she was charged in January and then pleaded guilty within days of her first appearance before a judge. There was no plea deal. There was no promise of recommending leniency. Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Eric Eisenberg on Wednesday recommended to the judge she get two years, her attorney asked for 90 days. Judge Richard Brosey sentenced Bowen to four years in prison. Eisenberg said today there have been high profile local cases in which defendants were punished with far less time, but noted cases in which the defendants attempted to pay back the money or went through treatment. She started treatment for a gambling problem but only recently, Eisenberg said. “And to be fair to Ms. Bowen, I don’t know if she has any assets to give back,” he said. Eisenberg said he thought Bowen was admitting – through her lawyer – to have taken about $20,000, but the victims’ estimate the amount was at a minimum $60,000 and at a maximum $177,000. How much she will owe in restitution remains to be determined.

AND MORE

• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with suspended license; responses for alarms, misdemeanor theft, collision on city streets, possible child abuse, suspicious circumstances … and more.