Updated at 1:54 p.m.
GUN THREAT LANDS MAN IN JAIL
• A 22-year-old Chehalis area man was arrested last night after he allegedly said during a dispute with a woman outside a home on the 200 block of Clinton Road he was going to shoot her current boyfriend in the head. The 32-year-old boyfriend told deputies he was inside the residence, could hear the remarks and was in fear the threat was going to be carried out, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responding just before 9 p.m. were told by another individual they had seen John R. Estes III holding a 9 mm pistol in his hand, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning. Estes was located outside a home on the 400 block of Spooner Road, unarmed, and booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to Brown. Brown did not say why Estes was upset.
VIRTUAL THREAT LANDS BOY IN LOCKUP
• Centralia police arrested a teenage boy on Wednesday night for cyberstalking, after he allegedly threatened on the Internet to kill someone. Further details were not readily available, although the case is associated with an address on the 1500 block of Lewis Street in Centralia.
ATTEMPTED CONVERSATION GETS MAN JAILED
• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reports this morning they arrested a 46-year-old man who allegedly early on Wednesday morning crawled through a window of a residence in Toledo where a woman and her six children had a protection order against him. Joel Harger, of Rochester, said he wanted to talk, a deputy was told. Harger subsequently turned himself in and was booked into the Lewis County Jail for residential burglary, according to the sheriff’s office.
VIOLENCE AND THEFT
• Centralia police were called yesterday afternoon to a motel on the 1000 block of Eckerson Road where a boyfriend allegedly assaulted his girlfriend and took her debit card. The boyfriend is being sought for questioning for robbery, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• A 26-year-old homeless man was arrested for second-degree robbery yesterday after he allegedly fought with store security who attempted to detain him for shoplifting. Police responded about 5:35 p.m. to the 500 block of South Tower Avenue and subsequently booked Martin A. Ridinger into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
THEFT IN CENTRALIA
• A home on the 1000 block of Eckerson Road in Centralia was burglarized, according to a report made to police about 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday.
• Police were called about 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday to the 1200 block of Elm Street in Centralia where a garage was broken into.
FRAUD IN CHEHALIS
• Chehalis police were contacted yesterday by a cardholder alleging fraudulent purchases associated with a location on Northwest State Avenue. An officer is waiting for further information, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
CAR PROWL
• Chehalis police took a report yesterday afternoon of a vehicle prowl on Southwest Third Avenue in which medication and a CD case were missing.
FROM THE COURTHOUSE
• A Centralia father accused of shoving his 6-year-old child’s head into a wall pleaded guilty yesterday to a lesser charge, in a negotiated plea agreement. Aaron R.J. Zucati will be sentenced on Feb. 11 in Lewis County Superior Court. Zucati made a so-called Alford plea to fourth-degree assault, not admitting guilt but agreeing if a judge or jury read and believed the prosecutor’s version of events, it would be highly likely he would be found guilty. Zucati, 33, was charged in November with third-degree assault of a child following an investigation by Centralia police. Prosecutors alleged he shoved the little girl’s head into the wall, angry because she and her four siblings were talking and not just eating dinner quietly. Police found a hole in the wall Zucati said came from the child’s elbow. Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead told the judge yesterday that while the other children’s version of what occurred remained pretty consistent, the 6-year-old said her head was slammed against the wall 10 times and later said it was one time. Halstead also noted numerous issues behind the scenes between Zucati and the mother with allegations of manipulation of the children. Fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor, carries a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.
FIRE INVESTIGATION
• The cause of a fire last week at Winlock home remains under investigation. Firefighters called about 12:45 p.m. a week ago Wednesday to the 400 block of Northwest Columbia Avenue found fire in an area of a garage converted to living quarters, according to authorities. “We got a pretty good knock down and that helped, but there was a lot smoke damage,” Firefighter Patrick Jacobson said. Winlock Police Department Chief Terry Williams said he’s still waiting to hear back from the investigator as to what ignited the fire.
AND MORE
• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for misdemeanor theft; responses for alarms, misdemeanor domestic assault, shoplifting and other misdemeanor theft, collisions on city streets and county roads … and more.