Updated at 6:31 p.m.
OOPS
• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office says a 20-year-old Vader resident was arrested after he got inside someone else’s semi-truck near Centralia and tried to drive away. A deputy called about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday was told John J. Crear IV was “highly intoxicated” and thought he was in Rochester and trying to drive home, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. Employees at the business on the 3000 block of Foron Road escorted Crear off the property, Brown said, but he was later located in the area and booked into the Lewis County Jail for attempted vehicle theft. Prosecutors are sending the case to Lewis County District Court where misdemeanors are handled.
ROAD RAGE IN CENTRALIA
• A 72-year-old Chehalis man was arrested for allegedly waving around a gun at outside a convenience store on the 1000 block of Belmont Avenue in Centralia about 5 o’clock this morning. Police said Alvin Fitzgerald told them he was angry at a Centralia driver he thought was intentionally tailgating him and shining his bright headlights causing a glare in Fitzgerald’s rearview mirror. When the Centralia man pulled into a parking lot, Fitzgerald followed him and they got out and “exchanged words,” Officer John Panco said. Both motorist went to their vehicles and Fitzgerald returned with a handgun, Panco said. Police confiscated the gun and arrested him for unlawful display of a weapon, according to police. He was then released.
IMPERSONATION UNDER INVESTIGATION
• Deputies are investigating a suspected identity theft after a 42-year-old Onalaska woman said she learned someone was using her social security number to work. When the victim applied for unemployment benefits, she was asked if she had ever worked in an orchard in Eastern Washington, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The first unemployment check she received was short because it was garnished for child support owed by the person who used her social security number, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. The sheriff’s office is working with the state Department of Social and Health Services to investigate the situation which was reported last Thursday, according to Brown.
RACE OVER
• Two Centralia residents were arrested after a police officer heard the “roar” of an engine and observed a pair of vehicles racing on Harrison Avenue and West Reynolds Avenue about 10:40 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Centralia Police Department. Both Dustyn J. Lawrence, 18, and Justin L. Stutman, 25,were cited and then released, according to police.
COPPER WIRE THEFT
• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning a deputy took a report from the 2200 block of Highway 603 near Winlock about more than 750 feet of copper wire stolen. It happened sometime between Thursday and Friday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is listed as more than $3,000.
DRUGS
• Bail was set at $25,000 today for a man arrested early Saturday morning in Winlock for possession of methamphetamine and a violation of a protection order regarding his wife. Michael W. Reddick allegedly was found with four baggies of suspected meth, defense attorney Bob Schroeter said in court this afternoon. The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office asked for $10,000 bail because of the no-contact order offense, and Schroeter requested $5,000 but Lewis County Superior Court Commissioner Tracy Mitchell who normally handles family court said her court takes those violations very seriously and made it $25,000.
CAR PROWL
• Centralia police took a report about 5 p.m. yesterday from the 900 block of Marion Street where someone broke out a vehicle’s window and stole an iPod.
FAKE BILL PASSED IN CENTRALIA
• Police were called about 2:50 p.m. on Saturday about a counterfeit $20 received at a business on the 800 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia.
VANDALISM
• Chehalis police were called yesterday afternoon by a woman who said someone punctured a sidewall of the tire of her vehicle while it was parked at Wal-Mart. There are no suspects, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
WRECKS
• A 31-year-old Chehalis resident was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with a broken leg after a collision on state Route 6 when he drove into the side of a truck that ran a stop sign at Highway 603 west of Chehalis just before 11 p.m. on on Saturday night, according to the Washington State Patrol. James M. Rada’s 1997 Honda was totaled, the state patrol reported. The driver of the Ford Explorer, Hewitt M. Duncan, 77, and his 74-year-old female passenger were unhurt, according to the patrol. Duncan was cited for failing to yield, the investigating trooper reported.
• Two people had possible injuries after a three-vehicle wreck when a Morton motorist reportedly failed to stop at a stop sign north of Mossyrock on Saturday evening. Angela L. Page, 41, of Morton, was given a citation after troopers were called about 6:40 p.m. to the intersection of state Route 122 and Larson Road, according to the Washington State Patrol. A Honda Accord carrying a Bremerton man was totaled but he was not injured, according to the state patrol. His passenger however, a 48-year-old Gig Harbor woman had a possible shoulder injury, the state patrol reported. A 2010 Ford F-150 driven by 27-year-old Matthew A. Cournyer of Mossyrock sustained an estimated $4,000 damage, according to the investigating trooper. Page was taken to Morton General Hospital with possible neck and back injuries, the trooper noted.
FOREST FIRE EXTINGUISHED IN PACKWOOD
• Firefighters on Friday afternoon were called to an area behind the High Valley park in Packwood when fire broke out on former clear cut property now populated by 30- to 40-foot tall trees. Crews from Randle joined Lewis County Fire District 10 about 2 p.m. and were on the scene three and a half to four hours and then personnel from the state Department of Natural Resources stayed on until later in the night, District 10 Chief Lonnie Goble said. “Neighbors called it in real quick, as soon as it started,” Goble said. The burned area comprised an estimated 300 feet by as much as 100 feet, according to the chief. The closest home was about 150 feet away, he said.
BUSTED CORONA BOTTLE ATTACK SUSPECT BACK IN LEWIS COUNTY
• A former Centralia man who allegedly slashed at a man with a broken beer bottle at a South Pearl Street apartment eight years ago was ordered held today on $75,000 bail. Refugio Jose Vazquez-Tellez, 38, was jailed on Friday on a warrant for first-degree assault in connection with the June 26, 2004 incident. Vazquez-Tellez, known to police by his street name Marlboro, fled after he and another man allegedly initiated a fight over getting “ratted out” over a stolen bicycle, according to charging documents. The boyfriend of the mother of the individual they went to see sustained numerous deep cuts to his face, chest and abdomen when he tried to break up the brawl, charging documents state. The following day, Vazquez-Tellez called in sick to his job at Hub City Recycling with a cut hand, police told prosecutors. He never showed up for court after he was charged, Lewis County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said this afternoon. Vazquez-Tellez lives and works in Yakima picking apples and his income is such is he qualified for a court-appointed defense attorney Bob Schroeter said. Immigration authorities have placed a hold on him, according to Schroeter. His arraignment was scheduled for Thursday.