A man is facing three felony assault charges for allegedly spitting on police officers who were arresting him for trespassing at an appliance store in Chehalis on Tuesday.
Officers with the Chehalis Police Department were dispatched to the store in 1800 block of Northeast Kresky Avenue just before 2:35 p.m. on April 23 for a report that a male subject was “coming in and out of the building (and) ‘talking weird,’” according to Chehalis Police Department call logs.
The man, identified as Tyrsson Lee Turnage, 19, of Silver Creek, had previously been trespassed from the store.
He allegedly “took candy off the counter” when he entered the store on April 23, according to court documents.
When questioned by Chehalis officers outside the store, Turnage allegedly “said he hadn’t been in the store, but then admitted he was and stated that he lied,” according to court documents. He allegedly “ran from the officers, resulting in a foot chase” when they began to arrest him for trespassing.
The officers did catch Turnage and place him into custody. During the arrest, Turnage allegedly spit at two of the three officers, with the spit hitting both, and attempted to bite a third officer.
“All three officers were in uniform and clearly identifiable as police officers,” according to court documents.
Court documents did not indicate whether or not the officers were injured in the encounter.
Turnage was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 3:20 p.m. on April 23 and was charged April 24 with one count of first-degree criminal trespass, which is a gross misdemeanor, and three counts of third-degree assault, which is a class C felony.
His bail was set at $20,000 on Wednesday, April 24, after Turnage “did not want to come up to the jail” for his preliminary hearing and was “being combative” due to possible mental health issues, according to court documents.
The preliminary hearing was rescheduled to May 2.
