SPENDING SPREE ENDS HERE
• Three people were arrested last night for allegedly passing several counterfeit $20 bills in Centralia, currency that was produced with a copy machine, according to the Centralia Police Department. “They’re not very good copies,” Sgt. Kurt Reichert said. Officers were called just after 7 p.m. to a business on the 600 block of Harrison Avenue by a merchant who was victimized and provided a license plate number of the suspects, according to police. Subsequently located and booked into the Lewis County Jail for forgery were Jake Johnson Jr., 39; Patricia L. Mohar, also known as Patty Dukes, 42; and Tonya L. McNulty, 43; all of Centralia, according to police. Officers allegedly found three more fake bills in their possession. Reichert said the investigation is continuing into as many as four other similar instances in the area in recent weeks, including one in which someone used two phony twenties to pay their court fine.
‘HOT’ WHEELS FOUND AT BORST AVENUE
• A random check of a license plate just after 6 a.m. yesterday led police to contact five people at a Centralia home and arrest one for being in possession of a stolen vehicle, according to the Centralia Police Department. At least one other person was arrested for an outstanding warrant, police said. Officers got a search warrant for the house on the 2500 block of Borst Avenue to look for the vehicle’s keys, according to Sgt. Kurt Reichert. Gabriel Escamilla, 19, who rents a room there was booked into the Lewis County Jail because of the vehicle which had been stolen from Thurston County, Reichert said.
ATTEMPTED BREAK-IN
• Police were called about 5:50 p.m. yesterday to house on the 1000 block of Woodland Avenue in Centralia where someone had apparently tried to remove the knob from the front door. It didn’t appear they got inside, according to the Centralia Police Department.
VANDALISM
• A pair of 15-year-old Centralia boys caught on Thursday allegedly stealing spray paint from a Harrison Avenue business are also in trouble after reportedly admitting numerous taggings throughout the city over the previous couple of days, according to the Centralia Police Department. The cases are being referred to juvenile prosecutors for evaluation, according to police.
NO TURN SIGNAL LEADS TO TROUBLE
• A 28-year-old Centralia woman who reportedly allowed someone with a suspended license to drive her car found herself jailed last night after the driver forgot to use a turn signal, got pulled over and police found a small baggie of suspected methamphetamine. Tasha R. Hernandez was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of meth after the contact with an officer about 6:40 p.m. yesterday at the 600 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia, according to police.
• Spencer R. Barney, 25, of Centralia was arrested about 6:40 p.m. yesterday at the 600 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia, for an outstanding warrant and also for being in possession of a dangerous weapon; a medium sized knife, according to the Centralia Police Department
AND MORE
• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, driving with a suspended license; responses for misdemeanor assault, misdemeanor theft … and more.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter