Editor’s note: Due to the number of incidents reported at Green Hill School in Chehalis, The Chronicle in most cases now publishes a monthly roundup of criminal cases rather than individual news articles.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against three Green Hill School inmates in July and August for alleged offenses at the Chehalis juvenile detention facility.
Emiliano Charre-Nunez, 21, was sentenced Sept. 9 to 364 days in prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a controlled substance while in a state correctional facility.
Charre-Nunez was charged on July 2 after Green Hill School staff found an iPhone and a charger in his cell, according to court documents. He initially entered not guilty pleas on Aug. 22, but changed his plea on Sept. 9.
Joseph Allen Odden, 20, was charged Aug. 8 with one count of possession of a controlled substance while in a state correctional facility for allegedly having marijuana in his room on March 25, according to court documents. He pleaded not guilty on Aug. 29. Trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 18.
Adrian Antonio Mendoza, 22, was charged Aug. 8 with one count of possession of a controlled substance while in a state correctional facility for allegedly taking contraband from a corrections employee on June 15.
The employee, identified as Eddie Antonio Zavala, 37, of Winlock, was charged Aug. 1 with one count each of possession of a controlled substance in a state or county correctional facility by a non-prisoner and second-degree introducing contraband. He has since also been charged with one count of possession of meth. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 21.
Mendoza was also charged Sept. 17 with another count of possession of a controlled substance while in a state correctional facility for allegedly having a lighter, vape pen and a jar containing a wax that tested positive for THC hidden in a laundry basket in his cell on April 24.
Arraignment hearings for both cases were scheduled for Sept. 26.
Green Hill School began reporting all seized contraband and all assaults involving three or more inmates to the Chehalis Police Department in October 2023, according to Green Hill School interim Superintendent Jason Aldana.
Aldana said he met with Kaut and Chehalis Deputy Chief Matt McKnight in early September to go over a pilot system for reporting assaults and seized contraband to the Chehalis Police Department.
Kaut confirmed in April that the Chehalis Police Department does regularly recover contraband that has been seized by Green Hill staff. The department also regularly receives reports of incidents within the facility, including found contraband and prison riots, which are defined as a physical altercation involving three or more inmates.
