A man is facing a felony charge for allegedly pointing a laser at a Washington State Patrol aircraft deployed in the Adna area Thursday night during a search for a burglary suspect.
The Washington State Patrol launched the aircraft, nicknamed “Smokey 4,” as part of a multi-department search for a suspect accused of breaking into a house in the 1900 block of Bunker Creek Road at about 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 6, and stealing a firearm and ammunition.
State patrol troopers, Centralia Police Department officers and Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputies all responded.
Police K9 teams were also deployed on the ground during the search.
While Smokey 4 was in the air, personnel in the aircraft reported that someone in the area of Hope Creek Road off of state Route 6 was shining a green laser at them, according to charging documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday.
A Washington State Patrol trooper responded to the area and, with help from the personnel in Smokey 4, determined that the laser was emitting from a vehicle parked roughly a mile away from Hope Creek Road.
A trooper contacted the occupant of the vehicle, who was identified as 45-year-old Kennith Parkison.
When asked if he had been shining a laser, Parkison allegedly said “yes,” according to court documents.
Parkison reportedly “said he thought the aircraft was some type of drone and didn’t think his laser was going to reach out that far,” according to court documents.
The trooper reportedly “told Parkison it was a Washington State Patrol airplane that he shined his light at, and that the occupants of the aircraft were able to locate him while he was doing it.”
Parkison was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at 10:15 p.m. on Thursday, March 7, and was charged Friday, March 8, in Lewis County Superior Court with one count of first-degree unlawful discharge of a laser.
The charge is a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
The charging language indicates that shining a laser at a law enforcement officer or pilot causes “an interruption or impairment of service rendered to the public by negatively impacting” the officer or pilot.
“I do believe it’s well-communicated in the PC (affidavit of probable cause) that Mr. Parkison meant no harm,” defense attorney Rachael Tiller said during Parkison’s preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday.
All parties agreed Friday to allow Parkison to be released on $10,000 unsecured bail for the duration of his case.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, March 13.
The burglary suspect that the occupants of Smokey 4 and other law enforcement personnel were searching for Thursday night was apprehended early Friday morning after residents in the 2000 block of Lincoln Creek Road found him in their hot tub, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
That suspect, identified as Zachary A. Merrin, 28, of Elma, was booked into the Lewis County Jail on first-degree burglary, criminal trespass, theft of a firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm charges at 5:45 a.m., according to jail records and the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
Charges had not been filed as of Friday afternoon.
