Lewis County Superior Court Judge Andrew Toynbee on Tuesday set bail at $100,000 for a 16-year-old Centralia boy charged with robbery, kidnapping and other crimes after allegedly threatening two people with a knife in separate incidents Monday morning.
Isaiah J. Tavarez has been charged as an adult. Toynbee signed an order to have Tavarez moved from Lewis County Juvenile Detention Center to the Lewis County Jail.
“I’m very concerned about the facts of this case, notwithstanding his age,” Toynbee said of his bail decision on Tuesday.
The first incident occurred at approximately 9 a.m. on Monday in the 2400 block of Borst Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department. The suspect, identified as Isaiah J. Tavarez, reportedly approached a subject who was sitting on the ground at the bus stop, “made a few comments” to the subject, and then walked away. He then allegedly returned, “pulled out a knife and demanded the victim get up and go with him,” according to the Centralia Police Department.
“After being forced to walk half of a block with the suspect, the victim told him she needed to catch the bus she was waiting for. The suspect agreed to let her leave and go back to the bus stop. The suspect fled the area on foot,” the Centralia Police Department stated in a news release.
About one hour later, Tavarez allegedly approached another victim in the parking lot of a bank in the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue, “pulled a knife on the victim and demanded items of value,” Centralia police stated. The suspect allegedly fled the area on foot after the victim gave him his belongings. Shortly after the robbery, the victim’s personal information was used to start making online purchases, and personal contacts in the victim’s phone started to receive threatening email messages, according to the Centralia Police Department.
Tavarez allegedly threatened the contacts by saying he would have them killed if they did not provide the suspect with their credit and debit card information, according to the Centralia Police Department.
Charging documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court state that three emails were sent from the victim’s phone, one of which reportedly included a threat to kill the victim.
Officers from the Centralia Police Department reportedly identified Tavarez as the suspect via video surveillance footage from Centralia Middle School, which is located near where the Borst Avenue incident took place. According to court documents, officers soon confirmed Tavarez is a current Centralia High School student and were able to confirm his address through the school.
Detectives from the Centralia Police Department and the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team assisted officers in contacting Tavarez at his residence in the 2700 block of Mt. Vista Road, at which point Tavarez was arrested for second-degree kidnapping and first-degree robbery.
Tavarez was initially charged in Lewis County Juvenile Court on Tuesday, but the case was elevated to an adult felony matter later in the afternoon.
He currently faces one count each of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and felony harassment in Lewis County Superior Court.
Centralia police encourage anyone with information about the case to call the Centralia Police Department at 360-330-7680 or Lewis County Communications at 360-740-1105.
