INTOXICATED MAN ARRESTED FOR THREATS TO KILL
• A 51-year-old Chehalis man was jailed yesterday after he allegedly made threats to kill his wife – reportedly overheard by a 911 dispatcher – and also the deputy who detained him. The sheriff’s office called just after 9 p.m. yesterday to the 200 block of North Prairie Road in Chehalis arrested Thomas H. Erickson, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. Because he was intoxicated, he was taken to the hospital to be medically “cleared” before he could be booked into the jail, according to Brown. Along the way, Erickson allegedly told the deputy he knew where the deputy lived and was going to kill him and his family, Brown said. Erickson was reportedly uncooperative and was physically removed from the patrol vehicle and taken into the hospital, Brown said. He was subsequently booked for felony harassment and fourth-degree assault, Brown said.
POLICE: BAND OF BURGLARS CAUGHT ON VIDEO
• Five teenagers were arrested yesterday afternoon on Main Street in Centralia as police investigated burglaries at an unoccupied home on the 1000 block of Eckerson Road in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department. The owner had set up a so-called game cam that captured images of four boys and a girl carrying boxes out yesterday and the day before, according to Officer John Panco. The stolen goods were for a garage sale, Panco said. The faces were recognizable, leading officers to a group of 14 and 15 year olds from Centralia and Chehalis, according to Panco. They were all booked into the Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center for burglary, he said.
THEFT
• Centralia police were called about 8 p.m. yesterday to a burglary at a home on the 1000 block of South Tower Avenue. Someone forced their way through the back door and stole CDs and movies, according to the Centralia Police Department.
• A deputy was called yesterday morning about stolen custom tools and a remote control for a rock crusher near Scanewa Lake south of Glenoma and Randle. The victim told a deputy the Komatsu machine was parked off Forest Service 240 Road off Falls Road and the items from its toolbox vanished sometime since Thursday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The tools are steel and heavy, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. The loss is roughly estimated at $5,000.
• Tools were taken when a shop was broken into at the 1000 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia, police were told about 8:30 p.m. yesterday.
• Chehalis police were called about 1:30 p.m. yesterday to the 300 block of South Market Boulevard about a chop saw stolen from the back of a truck.
• Police were called about 4:15 p.m. yesterday to a parking lot on the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue in Chehalis where a purse had been taken from a vehicle.
DRUGS
• A 20-year-old Rochester resident was arrested for possession of methamphetamine about 1 p.m. yesterday at the 2000 block of North Pearl Street, according to Centralia police. Jesse A. Ruege was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
CENTRALIA BUSINESS SHOT UP WITH BBs
• Police were called to a business on the 100 block of Pine Street in Centralia yesterday morning where eight windows had been shot with BBs.
BIG RIG WRECKS ON I-5 NEAR VADER
• The Washington State Patrol said a semi truck was totaled when it struck an overpass on northbound Interstate 5 near Vader yesterday. Troopers called at 3 p.m. to the scene near milepost 60 reported the driver appeared to have no injuries, but was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital as a precautionary measure. The crash was blamed on inattention.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter