Two people accused of separately trying to steal from a residence that belonged to a deceased property owner in Centralia earlier this week are now facing felony burglary charges in Lewis County Superior Court.
The property, 1114 Eckerson Road, is temporarily in the City of Centralia’s possession until a probate process for the property’s deceased owner is completed.
To discourage theft, the City of Centralia placed “no trespassing” signs and game cameras around the property that would alert officers with the Centralia Police Department if someone trespassed.
On Monday, March 13, there was a report that two men — one wearing an orange vest and one wearing a white hat — had taken items from the property and walked away.
An officer with the Centralia Police Department was dispatched to the property just before 4 p.m. on Monday and reportedly found a man wearing an orange vest walking away from the area, according to court documents.
When contacted by the officer, the man, who was later identified as Michael Everett Madrigal, 26, of Centralia, allegedly “said he did not break into the house but admitted he had gone inside to see if anyone was inside the house.” While he said he did not take anything from inside the house, he allegedly admitted to taking “some clothes and an air purifier that were not in the house.”
The officer reportedly located the air purifier, as well as an oil painting and a Bible, near the area where he located Madrigal. Noting that the items were dry even though it had been raining throughout the day, the officer stated “he believed that the items came from inside the house due to their condition,” per court documents.
Madrigal was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail on Monday.
He was charged Tuesday with one count each of second-degree burglary and third-degree theft.
Madrigal’s bail was set at $10,000, which he posted Tuesday evening.
At 6:25 a.m. on March 14, the game cameras alerted Centralia officers that someone was trespassing on the Eckerson Road property.
When an officer responded to the property, he reportedly “heard a noise near the back door” and, upon investigating, “found a male crouching down behind objects.”
The man, identified as Anthony Wallace Pyper, 59, of Centralia, reportedly told the officer “he was just looking around the property” but later allegedly admitted to climbing through a fence at the front of the property.
In a report cited by court documents, the officer noted the back door of the residence was still locked, but one of the wood panels was broken out near the door handle.
Pyper was ultimately arrested on an unrelated Department of Corrections warrant for allegedly failing to comply with community custody on a separate case.
Upon his arrest, officers reportedly located meth on Pyper’s person, as well as two vehicle registration documents belonging to the deceased property owner. When questioned about the documents, Pyper allegedly “admitted to taking the documents in an effort to … figure out who owned the property.”
However, according to court documents, Pyper allegedly “previously admitted he knew the owner of the property was deceased and had heard there was property ‘up for grabs.’”
Pyper was charged with one count each of second-degree burglary, failure to comply with community custody and violation of the uniform controlled substances act.
Pyper was in custody at the Lewis County Jail on $20,000 bail as of Wednesday afternoon.
Pyper and Madrigal both have arraignment hearings scheduled for Thursday, March 16.
