Sirens: Cutting Christmas Lights; Waving a Gun; Retail Theft; Criminal Impersonation

If you see a Centralia police officer packing a large, intimidating-looking gun, it’s not a grenade launcher. It’s a 40 mm less-lethal round launcher, which the Centralia Police Department equipped every officer with last summer as a safer alternative to bean bag rounds. Bean bag rounds have the...

Bail has been set at $10,000 for a Centralia man accused of taking out “a large machete-like knife” and running toward a man during a dispute on Tuesday. A witness reported that the victim had arrived at a property in the 2200 block of North Pearl Street to pick up tools and was approached by the defendant, Juan Espinoza Martinez, 55, of Centralia, who spoke to the victim before he allegedly “pulled a knife and ran at (the victim).”

At about 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Centralia police and the Washington State Patrol arrested a man in Centralia who was suspected of second- and fourth-degree domestic violence assault and illegally possessing a firearm. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and the Riverside Fire Authority also responded to the scene in Centralia’s...

The Centralia man accused of abusing two horses in his care last year and failing to answer his court summons on Tuesday turned himself in at the Lewis County Jail on Thursday. The defendant, Isaac A. Knee, 31, was released on $10,000 unsecured bail on Friday after defense attorney Rachael...

A 44-year-old Kelso man was detained Monday by the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office after allegedly firing a shotgun inside a home. Larry Duane Howard made his first appearance before a Cowlitz County Superior Court judge Tuesday afternoon. He faces malicious mischief, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest charges. Bail is set at $10,000.

Winlock Mayor Brandon Svenson made it into the basic law enforcement academy originally sponsored by the City of Toledo in 2022. Chief Sam Patrick signed Mr. Svenson's form 1270 that a thorough background check had been completed prior to approving Svenson for that academy. According to Svenson's training history report, he graduated academy June 19, 2022, while still sponsored by the Toledo Police Department.

A man was shot and injured Wednesday afternoon outside a Lakewood convenience store after he intervened in a robbery, according to Pierce County deputies. After the man was shot, deputies said the gunman robbed a 14-year-old boy who was walking by, stealing his backpack at gunpoint. No suspects have been...

An enthusiast and card collector himself, 44-year-old Dan Keiper, of Winlock, last October opened his own sports cards, collectibles and memorabilia store in downtown Centralia. Keiper’s Cards, located at 320 North Tower Ave., suite 104, features mostly sports cards and collectables but also sells other collectible cards, such as Pokemon...

More than 700 Lewis County elementary school students toured “Safety City” Jan. 23 through Jan. 27 to learn about safety in their schools, communities and homes. The students eagerly asked questions of Lewis County law enforcement officers, firefighters, first responders and employees of the 911 Communications Center. The...

The Wednesday, Feb. 4, 1953 edition of The Chronicle reported a pillow thief had been apprehended in Portland after a series of thefts in Chehalis, Centralia, Toledo, Tenino and Yelm. The thief, Jack Keinberger, was 52 years old and had admitted stealing the pillows. “(Centralia) Police Chief Otto Rucker said...

A woman who was retained as counsel for a defendant in Lewis County Superior Court last year is now facing felony charges for unlawful practice of law. The woman, Malika M. Duke, 44, of Spokane, is accused of representing a Centralia man in a Lewis County Superior Court case despite not having an attorney license in Washington state.

A 30-year-old woman from Yelm was pronounced dead at the scene of a fatal traffic collision on state Route 507 in Roy on Wednesday, Feb. 1. According to a Washington State Patrol memo, the woman was traveling northbound on state Route 507 when the 2005 Hyundai Sonata she was driving collided with a 2014 Ram ProMaster in the southbound lane at around 6:10 a.m.

An Onalaska woman who has been charged with seven counts of animal cruelty fulfilled a summons to Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday with her attorney, where she pleaded not guilty to all charges. Katherine A. Pratt, 48, of Onalaska, is facing three counts of first-degree animal cruelty, which is...

A jury found a 31-year-old Thurston County man guilty of murdering his elderly parents in 2021. Josiah Sweeney, 31, has been convicted on two counts of first-degree aggravated murder, first-degree burglary with a deadly weapon and assault in violations of a protection order, according to Superior Court records. The jury...

The Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office is continuing an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a man found in Porter Creek near Elma last week. Gerald Eugene Beglinger, 53, is scheduled for an autopsy on Friday by the county coroner's office. "We're trying to backtrack and find the...

Olympia police on Monday arrested a 34-year-old man on suspicion of fourth degree assault with sexual motivation after he allegedly touched a 17-year-old girl inappropriately. The potential charge is a gross misdemeanor, Lt. Paul Lower said Tuesday. About 5 p.m. Monday, the girl exited an apartment in the 1800 block...

• TRACY S. DAVIS, 56, Chehalis, died Jan. 29 at Providence Centralia Hospital. Arrangements are under the care of Cattermole Funeral Home. • JOSEPH KRUPLA III, 71, Cinebar, died Jan. 28 at Arbor Health Morton Hospital. Arrangements are under the care of Cattermole Funeral Home. • JOHN ROBERT WOHLERS, 80,...

In a unanimous vote on Tuesday morning, the Board of County Commissioners voted to expand curbside recycling services to the easternmost end of Lewis County. As of October 2007, curbside recycling by the county’s Solid Waste Utility Department has included all of unincorporated Lewis County from Pe Ell to Morton. With the passing of Tuesday’s ordinance, LeMay, the company that collects curbside trash and recycling for Lewis County, will expand services in Randle, Glenoma and Packwood.

Helga Mahoney, of Centralia, is celebrating her 100th birthday. Friends are invited to join her family for a reception from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Fords Prairie Grange, which is located at 2650 Reynolds Avenue in Centralia. The Chronicle publishes birthday announcements at no charge for those 80 and older.

The City of Toledo has cut ties with former reserve officer Brandon Svenson — who also serves as mayor of Winlock — due to the possibility that his background check was not properly completed before he was hired by the Toledo Police Department in January 2022. Svenson, who...