Just after St. Patrick’s Day weekend on Monday, March 18, at approximately 1 a.m., an unidentified suspect broke into the South Tower Avenue Chevron in downtown Centralia and stole five packs of cigarettes and 32 disposable nicotine vapes, according to Chevron Manager Leah Rader.
“There have been people who have stolen other things inside while we’ve been open, but nobody’s broken in like this,” Rader said.
Rader has been working at this Chevron for seven years. The suspect threw a brick through the front door’s window, headed directly to where the cigarettes and vapes were, grabbed them and left.
In surveillance footage Rader posted to her Facebook page, the suspect appeared to be wearing dark pants, a black Neff brand hoodie, black and red gloves, white tennis shoes with dark laces and a blue bandana covering his face. The suspect appears to be caucasian with a slender build.
The Centralia Police Department is currently investigating the incident, and anyone with information on this break-in is asked to contact the Centralia Police Department at 360-330-7680 and ask for Officer Mitch King.
Whoever the suspect is, Rader believes it might be someone who has been in the store before.
“It was probably a regular. He knew right where to come,” Rader added.
Despite knowing where to go, Rader said there’s a possibility he wasn’t a regular as the suspect left the donation jar Rader uses to collect money for the holiday meal giveaways she has been doing since 2022. The jar sits on the cashier’s counter close to all the nicotine products.
“If it’s a regular though, they all know the donation jar is right on the counter, and that’s straight cash right there,” Rader said.
With the stolen vapes retailing for $27 each, Rader believes the suspect planned to sell them.
“He’ll probably trade those for drugs,” she added.
As the donation jar was left untouched, Rader is still planning on hosting her Easter Sunday meal giveaway at the end of the month, with to-go spaghetti meals being handed out to anyone who wants one beginning at 10 a.m. on Sunday, March 31, at the Chevron, located at 520 S. Tower Ave. in Centralia.
She is still accepting donations and is already planning another Fourth of July barbecue.
A mother of three, Rader first started serving up holiday meals to anyone who wanted one on Thanksgiving 2022, and since then has served up hundreds of meals each holiday on consecutive Thanksgivings, Christmases, Easter Sundays and Independence Days.
Rader began handing out holiday meals after she saw the similar efforts of the local Gather Church on Thanksgiving. In her own experience dealing with drug abuse and homelessness, she knew just how much having a warm meal on a holiday can mean.
She won’t be alone in handing out meals, as her family often joins to help along with her fellow Chevron employees and their families. Rader also hopes to inspire other businesses to help those in need during the holidays.
A Lewis County Drug Court graduate, Rader entered and completed the recovery program. Drug Court was created in 2004 and is a voluntary program for addicts charged with a felony.
The program targets high need and risk offenders with a poor prognosis for success on their own. It aids them with structure and support using a three-phase recovery program. Drug Court lasts a minimum of 16 months with most participants graduating after 19 to 22 months.
To graduate, a Drug Court participant must have a full-time job, stable housing, complete recommended treatment, be clean for at least six months and in the program for at least 16 months, have a sober mentor and pay any court-ordered fines and restitution stemming from their case. Once a person graduates, their charges are dismissed.
Rader graduated from Drug Court four years ago and has now been sober for six years.
