Bail has been set at $1 million for the Centralia man accused of firing several shots during a dispute near the Russell Road Apartments on Friday.
One of the bullets struck a vehicle and one struck a cellphone in a man’s pocket, causing minor injuries.
No other injuries were reported.
Officers with the Centralia Police Department were dispatched to the scene in the 2800 block of Russell Road just before 5:55 p.m. on Friday, April 7, but all parties had left the scene by the time officers arrived, according to the Centralia Police Department.
Witnesses reported seeing a vehicle pull up outside the apartment complex, then seeing a man step out, pull a gun out of his waistband and start shooting toward a group of people standing outside the apartment complex.
The suspect then allegedly got back into his vehicle and sped off.
Officers who searched the scene located four 9 mm fired casings in the roadway and one unspent round, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in Lewis County Superior Court.
A couple witnesses identified the suspected shooter as Curtis C. St. Germain, 23, of Centralia, saying a man inside an apartment with the witnesses had called St. Germain to “come pick him up” because someone outside was “trying to call (the man) out to fight,” according to court documents.
Officers eventually located the victim, who said he and two others had gotten a ride to the apartments to fight someone there, but after they arrived, a man drove up, got out of his car and started shooting at them.
One of the people who arrived with the victim told officers he was in the passenger seat of a vehicle when the shooting occurred. That witness also identified the shooter as St. Germain, according to court documents.
The witness said he “stuck his head out of the car and yelled at St. Germain about bringing a gun,” at which point St. Germain allegedly “started shooting at them.”
The witness said he yelled at the driver of his vehicle to leave, and they sped out of the apartment complex “at a high rate of speed.” While they were leaving, they reportedly found the victim walking down the street and picked him up. Once they picked him up, the victim reportedly showed them “he had been shot in the leg and it had destroyed his phone,” according to court documents.
Detectives located St. Germain at a hotel in the 1000 block of Eckerson Road in Centralia. When taken to the Centralia Police Department for questioning, St. Germain initially said he acted in self defense and fired a gun into the ground, according to court documents.
By the end of the interview, however, St. Germain allegedly “admitted to (an officer) that he was aiming for the subjects to try and shoot them.”
St. Germain was booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree assault at 9:40 p.m. on Friday, according to jail records.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office charged him Monday with two counts of first-degree assault — one for allegedly shooting the man in the leg and one for allegedly shooting at the other man in the car.
Each charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
St. Germain was “incredibly frustrated when I reviewed the probable cause (affidavit) with him,” defense attorney Rachael Tiller said during St. Germain’s preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday.
According to Tiller, St. Germain “indicated someone pointed a gun at him” first, which was not reflected in court documents.
Tiller said St. Germain felt the affidavit was “one-sided.”
While Tiller asked Court Commissioner Paul Strophy to set St. Germain’s bail no higher than $250,000, saying “I think that in itself will allay any community safety concern,” Strophy opted to set bail at $1 million.
The high amount was requested by Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher, who said St. Germain posed a “severe risk to community safety” based on the allegations.
“These are very serious crimes, even though he has no (prior) convictions,” Stophy said Monday. Speaking directly to St. Germain, Stophy added, “I don’t believe $250,000 is enough to ensure you will not commit any future offenses given the information in front of me, so that is my ruling.”
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, April 13.
