Centralia Police Chief Carl Nielsen speaks to members of the Centralia Downtown Association in April, 2019 about a recent spate of burglaries in the area.
Carisa Crocker felt violated, angry and a range of other negative emotions after hearing her business, Tower Trading Co. had been broken into, she said Wednesday.
The burglars took cash and checks, she said, adding that she felt relieved that the store’s merchandise was left unscathed.
Tower Trading was one of 21 businesses in Centralia to be burglarized over the past few weeks. Crocker, and other downtown business owners gathered at Rectangle Gallery & Creative Space Wednesday evening for a general meeting of the Centralia Downtown Association.
The evening’s presenter who held the floor the longest was Centralia Police Chief Carl Nielsen, who gave an overview of the rash of incidents and what business owners can do to discourage would-be intruders.
Police made five arrests directly connected to the burglaries as of Thursday. Two of the suspects were also charged in a homicide in Cowlitz County. Nielsen said he can’t say for sure whether there will be more arrests coming.
“I’m damn proud of our organization,” he said of Centralia police’s work of late.
Between a few prepared tips and by answering questions from the crowd, he gave some advice to business owners.
Good lighting can make a spot less attractive to burglars, he said. The burglaries were at night and shedding more light on an area may discourage it from being a target.
Functioning cameras and an alarm system are valuable tools, too, he said.
Nielsen encouraged not leaving cash in the business overnight. He suggested opening up the cash register, too, so burglars will see that it’s empty. That way, they may just leave without breaking open the register.
If business owners keep guns at work, take them home at night, he said. A firearm was stolen from Phantom Tattoo during a recent burglary. Police believe, according to court documents, the same gun was used in a botched robbery in Ryderwood that left 47-year-old Travis Seiber dead.
Anthony S. Depuisaye-Greene, 26, of Centralia and Elizabeth A. Rogan, 43, of Centralia were both charged with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery, and were booked in the Cowlitz County Jail. As of Wednesday, they had yet to be charged in the burglaries.
“I know this is a scary time for people, I’m here to make sure you guys are safe, but sometimes we just can’t be every place at once,” said Nielsen, who added that current staffing levels at the police department make responding to multiple incidents complicated and draining. But, he said, officers will get to the scene.
When addressing a rumor that some business owners suggested spending the night at their shops and acting as their own security, Nielsen strongly discouraged the notion. He said the risk of being hurt or killed over merchandise isn’t worth it.
For any business owners who live in their shop, or who plan to do some work at odd hours, Nielsen recommended contacting dispatch, so officers aren’t suspicious if they see movement inside a building after hours.
Downtown Association President Tory Graf said there was chatter on the group’s private Facebook group when the burglaries started cropping up.
“My perception of it, what I found, was that there was definitely concern for each other’s well-being and so forth. … People were upset because of the property damage, but they commented on how responsive the police department was. Everyone definitely just wanted to see it resolved as quickly as possible,” said Graf.
Police had been investigating the rash of burglaries since they started cropping up in mid-March. Eventually, the investigation led to a possible address where the suspects lived.
Monday, personnel with the Lewis County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team served a warrant in the 500 block of South Rock Street. There, they uncovered evidence of burglaries from Centralia, Chehalis and Thurston County.
They arrested Patrick M. Gish, 29, of Winlock, Galen R. Whitmire, 27, of Centralia, Depuisaye-Greene and Rogan on Monday. They arrested Adam I. McGowen, 27, of Centralia on Tuesday.
