News

The man accused of stabbing another man in the back during an altercation in a Centralia parking lot on Thursday has been charged with one count of second-degree assault. 

A witness reported the altercation in the back parking lot of Rite Aid on Harrison Avenue to 911 dispatchers at about 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 9. 

When officers arrived, they saw one man walking away from the scene and another man still in the parking lot. 

“The male that remained at the scene was bleeding heavily from his back,” the Centralia Police Department said in a news release. 

“Centralia officers and responding aid crews from the Riverside Fire Authority and AMR took quick action to stop the bleeding and the victim was quickly transported from the scene,” the news release stated. He was later flown via Life Flight to a St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tacoma and “is expected to survive his injuries,” according to court documents. 

One of the officers at the scene reported the wound on the victim’s back was “consistent with being stabbed” and had gone through the victim’s rib cage, according to court documents. The officer said he “saw an immense amount of blood dripping from the wound and pink foam, consistent with a lung injury.” 

The man who left the scene was “quickly detained” and has been identified as Leonardo Mendoza, 28, of Chehalis, according to the Centralia Police Department. 

When asked by an officer if he had any weapons on his person, Mendoza reportedly “said he had a knife in his pocket but that he did not stab anyone with it,” according to court documents. 

He was arrested on several unrelated outstanding warrants. When searching Mendoza during the arrest, an officer located a cellphone, a black permanent marker and “a black folding knife that appeared to have blood on it,” according to court documents. 

When questioned, Mendoza allegedly said he had been sleeping when he woke up to the victim choking him, according to court documents. The officer reportedly “asked Mendoza if this was the first guy he ever stabbed,” to which Mendoza allegedly said, “yeah.” 

Paramedics reportedly did not see “any evidence of trauma” to Mendoza’s neck. 

The witness who called 911 reported she was in the Rite Aid drive-thru at the time of the dispute. “She stated that the two subjects mostly fought out of her view, but that she could hear them fighting” and reported seeing the victim kick out at Mendoza at one point during the dispute. Mendoza reportedly “had something gold-colored in his hand” at the time. 

Mendoza was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail just before 2:55 p.m. on May 9, according to jail records. 

His preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court was scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday, May 10. 

Construction equipment is now on site as contractors for WinCo Foods begin building its new location just off the Interstate 5 Mellen Street exit at Centralia Station, a new Port of Centralia shopping center development that has long been in development.

WinCo is a warehouse-style supermarket chain that offers bulk food items and is open 24 hours a day. Port officials have long described WinCo as the anchor tenant for the development, with hopes that it will attract other businesses to the surrounding area.

The project is being carried out in three stages, the first of which is finished with all pay estimates completed. It involved readying the construction site and roads surrounding the project site, including the Yew Street extension, and was completed by the Toledo-based contractor Midway Underground.

Stage one’s final pay estimate was made during the Port of Centralia meeting April 17.

“We appreciate all of Midway’s hard work on this. It was a challenging project through a lot of challenging weather,” Port of Centralia Executive Director Kyle Heaton said during the meeting. “But they did a good job, and we’re very pleased with the product.”

Midway Underground began work on Centralia Station’s first stage after its project bid was approved in August of 2022.

“It’s been in the works for quite a while and I'm happy to see it come to completion,” Port of Centralia Commissioner Kyle Markstrom said. “... While there were some change orders throughout the project, I don’t think there was anything that really caught us by too much surprise. I appreciate everybody’s work on getting all of those things handled.”

The Port of Centralia has announced a welcome reception for WinCo Foods at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, June 20, at the intersection of Art Lehman Avenue and Yew Street. An official date for the opening of the supermarket has not been announced.

Port Auditor Amy Graber told The Chronicle last month that only one pay estimate remained for stage two of the project.

Stage two, which has also been completed, involved building a new off-ramp named Art Lehmann Drive stemming from the I-5 Mellen Street exit. Art Lehmann Drive gives Centralia Station direct access to I-5 and was built by the Kent-based contractor Scarsella Brothers.

Now that the first two stages are complete, the final stage has begun as WinCo builds its supermarket, parking lot and a second building for other businesses at Centralia Station.

As for the cost of the project so far, nine pay estimates had been made to Midway Underground as of September 2023 totalling $5,369.837.28, according to previous Chronicle reporting.

Midway Underground’s original stage one bid was $6,116,322.03, but as of last September, five change orders had been approved, raising stage one’s expected cost to $7,302,768.67.

Since September 2023, the following pay estimates were approved by the Port of Centralia for Midway Underground:

• Pay estimate 10 approved on Oct. 18, 2023 for $713,018.26

• Pay estimate 11 approved on Nov. 15, 2023 for $601,072.15

• Pay estimate 12 approved on Dec. 6, 2023 for $431,747.90

• Pay estimate 13 approved on Feb. 7, 2024 for $292,569.47

• Pay estimate 14 approved on Apr. 17, 2024 for $225,006.49

No other change orders for stage one were submitted. With the 14th and final pay estimate approved, Midway Underground was paid $7,633,251.55 for stage one’s work.

Scarsella Brothers had received two pay estimates for the project's second stage totalling $1,342,363.46 as of September 2023. Its original bid for stage two — approved in April of 2023 — was $2,337,681.75.

Since last September, the following pay estimates were approved by the Port of Centralia for Scarsella Brothers:

• Pay estimate three approved on Sept. 20, 2023 for $194,056.73

• Pay estimate four approved on Oct. 18, 2023 for $357,354.01

• Pay estimate five approved on Nov. 15, 2023 for $283,226.78

• Pay estimate six approved on Feb. 7, 2024 for $23,173.73

• Pay estimate seven approved on March 6, 2024 for $96,763.85

The first change order for stage two with Scarsella Brothers was also approved during the Port of Centralia’s Jan. 17 meeting for the amount of $40,264.68, and a second change order approved on Feb. 7 totalling $81,725.25.

With these two change orders, stage two’s expected cost rose from the original bid to $2,459,671.68. The seven pay estimates made to Scarsella Brothers now total $2,296,938.56.

Stage one and two’s combined cost so far is $9,930,190.11 with a final pay estimate still to be made to Scarsella Brothers.

Aside from the payments to the contractors, the Port of Centralia also made a payment on Feb. 7 to the Washington state Department of Transportation totalling $177,000 for inspection and technical support for the new I-5 Mellen Street exit for Centralia Station dating back to 2018.

Payment estimate six for stage two is listed as pay estimate seven in the Port of Centralia’s meeting minutes and agendas, but no sixth pay estimate was ever made in between the fifth and seventh.

Two pay estimates for the first stage, both listed an “No. 9” in the meeting minutes despite being made on separate dates for separate amounts, were also made before pay estimate 11 was mentioned in the minutes.

The Chronicle contacted the Port of Centralia for clarification and is awaiting the return of the port’s finance staff member, who was out of the office, Heaton said in an email.

To view the Port of Centralia’s past meeting minutes and agendas, visit https://portofcentralia.com/documents-center/meeting-agendas-and-minutes/. 

Information about C.L. Young is tough to come by.

An internet search turns up dated responses on long-archived message boards, while the Lewis County Historical Museum has no archival information on Young’s time in Lewis County.

That lack of knowledge is one of the reasons Jim Corbett is so excited about what he found while digging around a pawn shop years ago.

“I would say that this is probably the best surviving example of this guy’s work,” Corbett said.

The find: a maple wood violin inscribed, “Built by C.L. Young, Chehalis, Wash. 1912.”

In an interview Thursday, Corbett said he hopes to arrange a ceremony to donate the instrument during the Centralia Campout, which will take place from Aug. 10 to 18 this year.

“This is a piece of Washington State History,” Corbett said. “This is a really nice violin.”

A musician himself, Corbett said he discovered the instrument in a Seattle pawn shop more than 35 years ago. Now, he wants to donate the item to the historical museum for the next generation to enjoy.

Ideally, he said, the 112-year-old violin would be frequently played.

“An instrument needs to be played. It’s good for the wood,” he said. “It’s absolutely playable. It’s not fragile. It’s not falling apart.”

A fan of folk music, Corbett said he taught himself how to play the fiddle and is a member of the greater Seattle fiddle community. The interest, he said, eventually turned to violins.

Corbett found the fiddle while searching through a pawn shop on Seattle’s First Avenue nearly four decades ago. The pawn shop, he said, misread the inscription and believed the instrument was built in 1972 and put the instrument on sale for $100.

“It’s a good instrument,” he said. “But the value in it is the historical value, not the monetary value.”

Though nothing is officially planned, the 21st annual Centralia Campout will be held at 1300 K St. in Centralia.

For more information on the festival, visit centraliacampout.com/home.  

With President Joe Biden set to visit Seattle this weekend for a series of election fundraisers, Third Congressional District Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Washougal, renewed her call for Biden to take additional action on border security.

“Border security must be the top national security priority for President Biden," Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement Friday morning, joined by Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, Mary Peltola D-Arkansas, and Don Davis, D-North Carolina.

The criticism comes a day after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unveiled a proposal that would allow the agency to remove some asylum seekers quickly. If adopted, the rule would allow asylum officers to consider potential public safety threats earlier in the screening process, which the department said would allow for the removal of “individuals who pose a threat to the United States much sooner than is currently the case, better safeguarding the security of our border and our country.”

According to DHS, the proposal would apply to a small group of migrants, though it will shorten the process for their removal.

“The proposed rule we have published today is yet another step in our ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of the American public by more quickly identifying and removing those individuals who present a security risk and have no legal basis to remain here,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement announcing the proposal. “We will continue to take action, but fundamentally it is only Congress that can fix what everyone agrees is a broken immigration system.”

In the statement, DHS called on Congress to “pass needed reforms and provide DHS the resources and tools it needs.”

“These proposed changes do not give the Border Patrol the authority it needs to bring order to our Southern border, and the proposed changes will not be enough to stop the drug cartels from trafficking fentanyl over the border and into communities across America,” the group of Democratic lawmakers said. “Put simply, the proposal is not good enough, and it is taking far too long for President Biden to take the steps he urgently needs to take to restore operational control of our Southern border.”

According to DHS, from May 12, 2023 to May 1, 2024, DHS removed or returned more than 720,000 individuals, “the vast majority of whom crossed the southwest border,” and the total number of removals and returns since mid-May 2023 exceeds the “removals and returns in every full fiscal year since 2011.”

According to the Associated Press, the Border Patrol made 137,480 arrests of people crossing the southern border in March, a decrease from the 140,638 arrests the agency reported in February. The Associated Press noted that border crossings typically increase during warmer months.

Though Biden isn’t scheduled to visit the Third District, the criticism from Gluesenkamp Perez should perhaps come as little surprise.

Last month, she was one of five Democrats who voted for the End the Border Catastrophe Act, a proposal that would have reimplemented the “Remain in Mexico” policy and restarted construction of a wall along the southern border, among other immigration restrictions. The legislation fell short of a two-thirds majority needed to pass.

“President Biden has failed to end the crisis at our southern border, so I voted to do what he refuses to do: secure our border and stop the violent drug cartels pumping fentanyl into our country,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement following the vote.

In February, Gluesenkamp Perez introduced bipartisan legislation to enhance security in the U.S. Southern border, reimplement a “remain in Mexico” policy for one year and provide defense-only funding to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. A $95 billion foreign aid package later passed without border security measures.

After introducing the Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act, Glusenkamp Perez said, the “government has an obligation to maintain secure borders and stand up for our allies facing existential threats to their democracies.”

As Gluesenkamp Perez enters her first reelection season, border security will likely remain at the forefront of voter concerns. An NBC News poll conducted in April found that 21% of voters said immigration is the top issue in the country, which ranked only behind inflation.

Both Republican challengers running to unseat Gluesenkamp Perez have criticized the Biden Administration’s border policy. In a tweet Tuesday, Leslie Lewallen said America “has a crisis at our Southern Border.” Joe Kent, who is seeking an electoral rematch in November, said in a Tweet Wednesday that Gluesenkamp Perez voted “to leave the border open” which allowed “millions of illegals into our nation.”

• COLTON ISAIAH TALLEY, 45, Onalaska, died April 29 at his residence. Arrangements are under the care of Funeral Alternatives of Washington.

• VICKY ALICE BAKER, 72, Winlock, died May 3 at Madigan Army Medical Center. Arrangements are under the care of Funeral Alternatives of Washington.

• RICHARD RUSH, 75, Chehalis, died April 26 at home. Arrangements are under the care of Newell-Hoerling’s Mortuary.

• JEAN “JEANNE” RECTOR, 81, Centralia, died April 28 at home. Arrangements are under the care of Newell-Hoerling’s Mortuary.

• KENNETH POACH, 58, Chehalis, died May 1 at Providence St. Peter Hospital. Arrangements are under the care of Newell-Hoerling’s Mortuary.

• WILLIAM WOOD, 81, Winlock, died May 3 at home. Arrangements are under the care of Newell-Hoerling’s Mortuary.

• KATHERINE “GAIL” MAGNUSON, 82, Centralia, died May 4 at Sharon Care Center. Arrangements are under the care of Newell-Hoerling’s Mortuary.

• GLORIA WOODING-ZERBE, 76, Centralia, died May 5 at Providence Centralia Hospital. Arrangements are under the care of Newell-Hoerling’s Mortuary.

CENTRALIA POLICE DEPARTMENT

Assault

• Police were dispatched to the report of a protection order violation in the 800 block of South Gold Street just before 8:05 a.m. on May 8. The suspect, Travis L. Combs, 50 of Centralia, left the area on foot before officers arrived. While officers were searching the area, a business in the 100 block of North Tower Avenue reported a disorderly male had entered the business and vandalized property inside. A short time later, a business in the 600 block of North Tower Avenue reported a disorderly male entered the business and vandalized property inside.  “Employees from both businesses provided a description of the suspect which matched Mr. Combs,” according to the Centralia Police Department. A short time later, an officer located Combs, who allegedly struck the officer when the officer attempted to place him into custody.  Combs was eventually placed into custody after the officer utilized his patrol service K9 “to gain compliance from Mr. Combs,” according to the Centralia Police Department. Combs was booked into the Lewis County Jail for third-degree assault. Additional charges, including violation of a protection order, resisting arrest and third-degree malicious mischief, were referred to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office. Charges were filed against Combs in Lewis County Superior Court on May 9.

Criminal trespass

• A homeless man who was allegedly drinking alcohol in public in the 400 block of West Main Street at 10:15 a.m. on May 8 was trespassed from a business.

• A homeless Packwood man was trespassed from a business in the 700 block of South Gold Street just after 12:55 p.m. on May 8 after he reportedly yelled at employees.

• Two homeless people who were engaged in verbal dispute outside a business in the 600 block of South Tower Avenue just before 11:35 p.m. on May 8 were trespassed from the business.

• A homeless man who was acting disorderly inside a business in the 2000 block of Borst Avenue at approximately 2:25 p.m. on May 9 and refused to leave was trespassed from the business.

• Two disorderly subjects were trespassed from a business in the 3200 block of Galvin Road just after 4:05 p.m. on May 9.

Drug violations

• A 19-year-old Centralia woman was cited for knowingly possessing meth in the 100 block of South Silver Street at approximately 11:35 p.m. on May 8.

• A woman was reportedly trespassing in a wooded area on private property in the 1100 block of West First Street just after 12:30 p.m. on May 8. Officers located the woman, 27, of Centralia, who allegedly admitted to possessing meth and fentanyl. She was cited for knowingly possessing a controlled substance and was booked into Chehalis Tribal Jail for an outstanding Centralia Municipal Court warrant.

Overdose

• Officers responded to a report of a male who was unresponsive and possibly overdosing at the intersection of East Second Street and North Tower Avenue just before 5:15 p.m. on May 8. When officers arrived on scene, the male was being treated by paramedics with the Riverside Fire Authority. A witness on scene advised officers that a female in a red van pulled up to their business and requested Narcan for a male overdosing in the vehicle. “The male was reported to be unresponsive and blue in the lips,” according to the Centralia Police Department. Employees helped get the man out of the vehicle and administer Narcan before Riverside Fire Authority (RFA) personnel arrived. The male regained consciousness several minutes later, after RFA paramedics continued life saving measures. The female in the red van departed after the male was removed from the van.

Hit-and-run

• A hit-and-run was reported in the 1400 block of Lewis Street just after 1:15 p.m. on May 8.

• A possible hit-and-run where a man was struck by a vehicle’s mirror after a brief altercation in the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue just after 10:25 a.m. on May 9 is under investigation.

Vehicle accidents

• A vehicle reportedly veered off the roadway and crashed into a residence in the 1400 block of Winterwood Drive just before 4:40 p.m. on May 8. No injuries were reported.

• A vehicle vs. moped crash was reported at the intersection of Alder and West Chestnut streets at 8:55 a.m. on May 9. The reporting party advised that the driver of the vehicle left the scene in another car, and the moped rider “had gotten up saying he was fine.” The vehicle involved was not located. When aid crews arrived, the male on the moped “advised that he did not wish to be seen by them and advised he did not want to talk to them and rode off and advised that he was late to work,” according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A non-injury, two-vehicle collision was reported in the 1600 block of Harrison Avenue at approximately 3:25 p.m. on May 9.

• Possible injuries were reported following a two-vehicle collision in the 2600 block of Borst Avenue at approximately 6:10 p.m. on May 9.

Scam

• At 3:10 p.m. on May 8, a citizen in the 400 block of South Gold Street reported they responded to a Facebook advertisement for a rental house in Chehalis and paid $100 via PayPal for the rental application fee. The citizen later discovered that the ad was a scam and that the house was not for rent.

Theft

• A retail theft that occurred on May 5 was reported just after 4:55 p.m. on May 8. A female suspect had reportedly stolen a $230 pair of cowboy boots, leaving her worn boots in the store and exiting with the new boots. Officers have video footage of the suspect and the case is under investigation.

• A retail theft was reported at a business in the 100 block of West High Street at 6:25 p.m. on May 8. A customer reportedly confronted the suspect after seeing them conceal merchandise. The suspect left the store while yelling at the customer and fled in a silver Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

• A 37-year-old Winlock woman was cited for shoplifting an alcoholic beverage from a convenience store in the 900 block of Harrison Avenue at 1:40 a.m. on May 10.

Unlawful weapon display

• A man in a pickup reportedly displayed a firearm to occupants of another vehicle after being honked at in the drive-thru lane at a fast food restaurant in the 1200 block of Lum Road just after 7:15 p.m. on May 8. The case is under investigation.

Child abuse

• A 22-year-old Centralia resident was arrested in the 3200 block of Galvin Road just after 10:40 a.m. on May 9 and was booked into the Lewis County Jail on an outstanding warrant and for obstruction. Criminal mistreatment of a child charges were also referred to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.

Dispute

• A man “dressed in camo and an Army hemet” allegedly pointed an Airsoft pistol at another man during a dispute at the intersection of Centralia College Boulevard and South Ash Street just after 10:20 p.m. on May 9.

CHEHALIS POLICE DEPARTMENT

Child abuse

• A possible incident of child abuse that occurred in the 1600  block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue on May 4 was reported at 8:25 a.m. on May 8.

Criminal trespass

• A criminal trespass reported in the 1200 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue just after 11:45 a.m. on May 8 is under investigation.

• A subject who was reportedly sleeping behind dumpsters in the 10 block of Northeast Median Street just after 2:35 p.m. on May 8 was moved along.

• A man who was reportedly yelling and climbing on top of his truck in the 1200 block of South Market Boulevard just before 8:25 a.m. on May 9 was moved along.

• Subjects who were selling fruit at the intersection of Northwest Louisiana Avenue and Northwest Arkansas Way just after 12:25 p.m. on May 9 were moved along.

Dispute

• A verbal dispute over “refills not being free” was reported in the 100 block of Southwest Interstate Avenue just after 2:45 p.m. on May 8.

Disorderly conduct

• A man was reportedly yelling, screaming and talking to himself in the 2500 block of North National Avenue just after 4:35 p.m. on May 8.

• A juvenile was reportedly acting disorderly and screaming at staff in the 100 block of Northeast Hampe Way just before 2:25 p.m. on May 9.

• A man was reportedly screaming and banging his head against a building in the 600 block of West Main Street at 7:10 p.m. on May 9.

Suspicious circumstances

• At 6:10 p.m. on May 8, a citizen in the 400 block of Northeast Alaskan Way reported he thinks his mom is “pushing him” to fight her boyfriend.

• Three kids under the age of 3 were reportedly left unattended in a running vehicle in the 1100 block of South Market Boulevard just before 3:04 p.m. on May 9.

• “Suspicious circumstances” reported in the 2100 block of North National Avenue just before 3 a.m. on May 10 are under investigation.

Black bear sightings

• At 10:10 p.m. on May 8, a citizen reported hearing someone possibly trying to open the front door of her residence in the 300 block of Southeast Summit Road. She later reported there was “a huge black bear” on her porch.

• A black bear was reported in a yard in the 300 block of Southeast Crestview Drive just after 8:50 p.m. on May 9.

• A citizen reported hearing “what sounded like a large object grabbing her swinging gate” in the 1700 block of Southwest Grandview Avenue just after 10:25 p.m. on May 9. She was advised there was a bear in the area.

Malicious mischief

• A man was cited for third-degree malicious mischief, domestic violence in the 10 block of Southwest Scott Place just before 7:20 p.m. on May 8.

Hit-and-run

• A semi reportedly struck a railroad crossing arm at the intersection of West Main Street and Northwest Chehalis Avenue at approximately 8:45 a.m. on May 9 and fled the scene.

Harassment

• Just before 2:10 p.m. on May 9, a woman reported several people were harassing her in the 10 block of Southwest Chehalis Avenue.

Theft

• A third-degree theft reported in the 1600 block of Northwest Louisiana Avenue just after 5:45 p.m. on May 9 is under investigation.

Assault

• A subject was arrested for fourth-degree assault, domestic violence in the 1200 block of Bishop Road just after 6:30 p.m. on May 9.

FIRE AND EMS CALLS

• Between Wednesday morning and Friday morning, Lewis County 911 Communications logged approximately 50 illness-related calls, 25 injury-related calls, six fire-related calls, four non-emergency service calls, six vehicle accidents, one Lifeline medical alert, two overdoses, one ambulance request and five other calls.

JAIL STATISTICS

• As of Friday morning, the Lewis County Jail had a total system population of 121 inmates, including 108 in the general population and 13 in the Work Ethic and Restitution Center (WERC). Of general population inmates, 90 were reported male and 18 were reported female. Of the WERC inmates, 11 were reported male and two were reported female.

• As of Friday morning, the Chehalis Tribal Jail had a total system population of 15 inmates, including nine booked by the Centralia Police Department, five booked by the state Department of Corrections and one booked by the Lummi Nation.

•••

Sirens are compiled by assistant editor Emily Fitzgerald, who can be reached at emily@chronline.com.