Updated
KIDS LOCK SELVES IN BEDROOM DURING BREAK-IN
• Deputies were called to a home south of Adna yesterday when someone broke into a house where three children were home alone. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said a 13-year-old boy babysitting his two younger siblings led the children into a bedroom, locked the door and called his mother who phoned 911 about 12:35 p.m. Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said the children had seen a red van and a man in the driveway and then heard banging and slamming on the door. Their dog was barking, the teen heard footsteps inside the house, Brown said. It was on the 200 block of Penning Road. They never actually encountered each other and for whatever reason, the intruder left, according to Brown. An arriving deputy stopped a red van on the 100 block of Penning Road and found a woman with a crowbar, according to the sheriff’s office. The house was cleared and the children found safe and unharmed. A dog track was conducted, but no one else was located. A door to the home had been forced open and nothing initially appeared to be missing, according to Brown. Deputies suspect it may be the same red van seen at a home burglary on the 200 block of Brockway Road in Adna earlier this week, she said. Darlene J. Lockard, 50, of Olympia, was arrested for attempted residential burglary, as well as possession of methamphetamine and a pipe, according to the sheriff’s office. She was booked into the Lewis County Jail.
RV PARK RESIDENT: WOKE UP TO MAN SITTING ON BED
• Deputies and troopers responded about 8:15 p.m. yesterday to the 2900 block of U.S. Highway 12 in Silver Creek to reports of a man carrying a large knife walking through an RV park, making threats and claiming hundreds of people were after him. Clarence R. Coleman, 60, of Silver Creek, was taken into custody, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. One couple said they had awoken that morning and found Coleman sitting on their bed mumbling about people trying to get him, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Coleman was arrested for brandishing a weapon and first-degree trespass and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the sheriff’s office. He denied entering anyone’s trailer, Brown said.
UNCOOPERATIVE MAN WITH KNIFE
• Centralia police called to an address on the 1300 block of Logan Street last night about an individual banging on doors and trying to get in found a man outside with a cut on his arm and the bloody tip of a knife sticking out of his pocket, according to the Centralia Police Department. Sgt. Stacy Denham said they ended up using their Taser on him because he wouldn’t obey officers who tried to detain him. Denham said he didn’t know if the people inside knew Hever Rodan Escalante or not. The 26-year-old Escalante, who must have only cut himself, was arrested and booked for obstructing a public servant, according to Denham.
ONLINE TRICKSTER TAKES ONALASKA RESIDENT FOR OVER $2,000
• A 27-year-old Onalaska man was ripped off in a classic scam in which a buyer he met online claimed he accidentally paid with a check written for too much money and asked the seller to wire him the difference. Of course the check turns out to be bad. A deputy contacted the victim on Wednesday who said he’d sold a motor for $500 through Craigslist and the purchaser sent him a check for $2,800, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The buyer then told him his secretary mistakenly filled in the wrong amount, according to the sheriff’s office. The victim said his account showed the check cleared on July 7 and the following day he wired the difference to Kentucky, to the man who called himself Steven Mack, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. On Wednesday however, the victim learned the check had been written on a closed account, Brown said. The engine, however, never got shipped to the buyer.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ASSAULT
• Police were called just before 3 o’clock this morning to the 100 block of Cedar Street in Centralia where a 40-year-old man allegedly choked his girlfriend during an altercation. Michael Watkins, 40, of Centralia was arrested for second-degree assault and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
MOTORIST PROPOSITIONS PANHANDLER
• Police were called about 11:35 a.m. yesterday to the off ramp at Interstate 5 and Harrision Avenue in Centralia when a man held out a dollar to a woman there asking for money, propositioned her and was exposing himself, according to the Centralia Police Department.
STOLEN VEHICLE FOUND
• A truck reported stolen in Thurston County a week ago was found yesterday parked and unoccupied at the 700 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia.
DRUGS
• Two individuals were arrested about 11 a.m. yesterday at a motel on the 100 block of Southwest Interstate Avenue in Chehalis, one for warrants and both for drugs, according to police. Centralia police say Kari N. Driver, 24, of Chehalis was arrested for possession of heroin and Ryan L. Lester, 32, of Rochester, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and multiple warrants.
GAS CAN DRAGGED BENEATH CAR
• A woman traveling down Interstate 5 through Chehalis yesterday afternoon ran over a gas can laying on the road which was left wedged in the undercarriage of her car, according to Lewis County Fire District 6. Firefighters stood by where she pulled over near milepost 75, and a tow truck lifted the vehicle, Firefighter Mike Goodwillie said. His partner used a tool to retrieve the can which Goodwillie was told had been full when she hit it, but lost its contents as it was dragged.
GRASS FIRE
• A spark from a golf cart being driven by kids ignited a grass fire on the 3000 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia yesterday. Firefighters called about 4 p.m. found the dad using a garden hose, according to Riverside Fire Authority Capt. Ken Colombo. It spread to about 50 feet by 100 feet and was extinguished by the fire department, Colombo said. The long grass has been cut but the died clippings still lay on the ground, according to the fire captain.
CAR VERSUS BIKE
• Police and aid were called about 3:45 p.m. yesterday to an incident in Centralia where the license plate on a car pulling out of an alley slashed the ankle of a woman passing on a bicycle. It happened near West Main Street and Tower Avenue. The 22-year-old was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to Riverside Fire Authority. The driver was not cited, police noted.
TWO HOSPITALIZED AFTER OFF-ROAD ACCIDENT
• A 47-year-old man was flown by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with a punctured lung after a dune buggy type vehicle wrecked in Randle last night. The driver was taken to Morton General Hospital with multiple bruises, according to the Washington State Patrol. Troopers called about 9:30 p.m. to a hay field off the 1000 block of Cline Road learned the Polaris ORV rolled onto its side after striking a pothole. The passenger, James E. Townsend, 47, of North bend, was ejected, according to the state patrol. The driver was Dean A. Roberts, 50, of Mount Vernon.
FIRE BREAKS OUT, BURNS OUT IN BOISTFORT HOME
• The cause of a fire that consumed an entire room in a Boistfort area home is under investigation. A resident of the 400 block of Moon Hill Road arrived home, opened the door to the single-wide mobile home and saw smoke, according to Lewis County Fire District 13. He closed the door and called 911, Fire Chief Gregg Peterson said. When the fire department arrived, however, while the room used for storage was charred, it had burned itself out, he said. It happened on Wednesday evening while the residents were away for a few hours. Peterson said smoke caused damage through the rest of the home.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter