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A local man was charged in Lewis County Superior Court on Thursday, July 31, with crimes connected to an alleged sexual assault.
David Edward Merrill, 22, was arrested earlier this week after reportedly attempting to force a woman to perform oral sex.
He was charged with two crimes during his Thursday preliminary hearing: one count of second-degree rape forcible compulsion, a class A felony, and one count of second-degree assault strangulation, a class B felony.
During the proceedings, defense attorney Rachael Tiller asked that the court set bail at no more than $25,000, citing Merrill’s strong ties to the area and the fact that he lives locally with family. She said that while Merrill has faced some misdemeanors, he has no felony history. The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, represented by Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer, requested bail be set at $250,000, citing safety concerns.
Lewis County Superior Court Judge Paul Strophy set bail at $100,000 and also enacted a pre-trial protection order intended to prevent the defendant from contacting the victim. While recognizing Merrill's limited criminal history and local ties, Strophy also said he recognized community safety concerns.
“He’s starting to show an evolving repetitive conduct that's concerning to the court,” Strophy said. “For that reason, I do believe that some bail is appropriate in conjunction with the sexual assault protection order.”
The alleged assault was first reported by the victim on Wednesday, July 30, and occurred on Sunday, July 27, according to the victim.
The victim reported that she met Merrill when he began talking to her and a friend while they were at the Hub Bar on Tower Avenue in downtown Centralia. The group stayed at the bar until it closed, after which the victim offered to give Merrill a ride home and let him drive her car to his residence in the Logan District.
According to the report, as the victim was looking through her belongings, Merrill grabbed her and attempted to force her to perform oral sex. The victim claims that when she resisted, Merrill grabbed her by the neck and squeezed until she could no longer breathe, causing her voice to go raspy.
After the altercation, the victim stated her phone rang and, when she answered it and told her friends to come get her, that Merrill began kicking her car. After Merrill left the car, the victim got into the driver's seat and drove away. The responding officer noted that evidence from local cameras shows the cars mentioned to be involved and confirms the timing of the crime.
Court documents state that the victim's friends reported the same sequence of events up to the point of seeing Merrill in the driver seat of the victim's car.
Merrill also agreed with the sequence of events reported by the victim and her friends, but denied any allegations of using force and claims any sexual interactions that occurred were consensual.
During interviews with the victim, she reported that the delay in her reporting the crime happened out of her embarrassment, but that she went through with the report after other women in the community had informed her of similar incidents involving Merrill in the past.
While Merrill has no felony history, he has previously faced charges for driving under the influence, domestic violence, malicious mischief and fourth-degree assault. He has had six warrants issued for his arrest in the past.
Merrill's next court appearance for arraignment and trial setting is scheduled for the afternoon of Aug. 7.
Merrill was still in the Lewis County Jail as of Friday afternoon.
