HOUSE OF RISING SON OWNER BOOKED FOR ALLEGED DRUG SALES
• The woman who opened her Chehalis home to men transitioning out of prison was arrested yesterday in connection with an investigation into prescription drug dealing. Judy Chafin, 61, and Keith D. Williams, 48, were in a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation about 3:15 p.m. at Southwest Cascade Avenue and Seventh Street, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Deputy Police Chief Randy Kaut said officers were originally focused on Williams and sales of hydrocodone but came to believe Chafin was involved as well. The pair were booked into the Lewis County Jail for delivery of a controlled substance, Kaut said. Chafin owns House of the Rising Son in Chehalis and managed other similar homes, including one on Nix Road west of Chehalis that became the target of neighbors and the sheriff’s office who didn’t want multiple felons living together out in the county.
SOUNDS LIKE FICTION
• A 48-year-old Centralia woman was arrested for fraud after she allegedly tried to pass a fake $100 bill at several businesses and finally spent it at a coffee shop on the 100 block of South Tower Avenue yesterday afternoon. Geraldine R. Taylor was questioned and said she found it in a fairy tale book about two years ago, according to the Centralia Police Department. “That kind of story didn’t seem credible,” Officer Mike Lowrey said. Taylor was booked into the Lewis County jail, according to police. The Secret Service will be contacted and they may or may not be able to figure out who printed the phony currency, according to Lowrey.
CARIBBEAN CONTEST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE
• A Centralia woman in her 60s contacted police on Wednesday after she fell victim to a scam in which she was told she had won thousands of dollars but she first needed to wire $400 to get it. It began with a phone call from someone in Jamaica, police were told. After she paid the money, she got another call asking for more, according to police. Officer Mike Lowrey said it’s a common scheme and folks need to know they should never have to pay anything to win something. Another red flag is being told you’ve won if you haven’t even entered a contest, Lowrey said.
SUPER BAD MANNERS
• A 29-year-old Centralia man was arrested yesterday after a woman spotted him, called police and said he was same man who days earlier pulled his vehicle over as she was walking, opened the car door and was sitting inside with his pants around his ankles. Javier Arias-Lara was arrested for indecent exposure and then released, according to the Centralia Police Department.
THEFT
• A deputy was called yesterday to the 700 block of Cousins Road west of Chehalis where sometime since Sunday someone had stolen a piece of equipment – a DR power grader valued at $1,000, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
• Sometime between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. yesterday, a television and a box of pictures were stolen from a storage unit on the 3200 block of Ives Road outside Centralia, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
• A pair of women were arrested for organized retail theft at the Centralia Outlets on Wednesday afternoon. Roberta D. Olsen, 20 of Kent, and Alisha A. Johnson, 29 of Tukwila, were booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• A pair of 15-year-old Centralia boys were caught on surveillance video yesterday allegedly for stealing cans of spray paint from a store on the 1600 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia. The case is being referred to juvenile prosecutors for evaluation, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• Chehalis police were called to a location on Northwest State Avenue on Wednesday morning about the theft of a hoist.
METH ARREST
• A 27-year-old Centralia man was arrested for possession of methamphetamine after he was contacted by police early yesterday morning inside city-owned property at the 1100 block of B Street in Centralia. Michael E. Bieker, a homeless person, was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
VANDALISM
• Police took a report regarding a variety of graffiti posted on a vehicle at the 900 block of South Pearl Street early yesterday morning. The obscene pictures and “inappropriate” words were left on the car with a washable pen, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• Centralia police took a report about 7:45 p.m. yesterday at the 500 block of North Tower Avenue regarding a right passenger side window of a vehicle getting shot out with a BB or pellet gun.
WRECK
• A 47-year-old Longview man was cited for driving too fast for conditions after he took a corner in the rain and spun numerous times into the oncoming lane before getting struck by another vehicle. It happened yesterday on the 1500 block of Bishop Road near Chehalis, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He got a cut on his forehead and the pair of 60-year-olds from Chehalis in the other vehicle were not injured, according to the sherif’s office. His Pontiac Sun and their Toyota Matrix both sustained major damage though, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.
AND MORE
• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving under the influence, misdemeanor domestic assault, failing to register as a sex offender; responses for shoplifting and other misdemeanor theft, the discovery of a counterfeit $20 bill, possible fraud; complaints of loud music … and more.