A registered sex offender was arrested Monday afternoon for allegedly exposing himself to a woman at an arcade in Centralia after threatening to shoot teenagers at a nearby ice cream shop a couple days prior.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office charged the suspect, identified as James Henry Christy, 64, of Shelton, with one count each of felony indecent exposure, felony harassment, and second-degree criminal trespass on Tuesday. Bail is set at $100,000.
Christy is registered as a level 3 sex offender out of Mason County with convictions for indecent exposure, indecent liberties, second-degree assault, failure to register and harassment on his record, according to court records. As of Tuesday, he had a pending fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation case.
Christy allegedly “threatened to take out a gun and shoot” two employees, ages 16 and 18, of an ice cream shop in the 100 block of South Tower Avenue at around 5 p.m. on Oct. 7, according to court documents. The employees reported Christy “had purchased ice cream without any issues, but after the purchase he appeared angry and told the teenagers he was going to shoot them,” according to court documents. When questioned by law enforcement, Christy allegedly “admitted to threatening the employees because they threatened him first,” according to court documents.
About 20 minutes earlier, Centralia officers responded to George Washington Park for a report Christy was “yelling at persons and telling him he was ready to ‘snap,’” according to court documents.
Responding officers with the Centralia Police Department cited Christy for felony harassment, threat to kill on Sunday, but noted that “due to booking restrictions, Christy was refused for booking at the jail.” Christy was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital for a mental health evaluation as an attempt by officers to have him involuntarily committed “due to his danger to others,” according to court documents.
Officers reportedly noted “Christy had a danger flag attached to information with a highly violent history.”
Christy was not involuntarily committed on Oct. 7, and was trespassed from a shelter in Centralia at 10:35 a.m. on Oct. 9 for disorderly behavior, according to the Centralia Police Department.
A few hours later, at 1:20 p.m., officers responded to a report Christy had allegedly “exposed himself to a customer” at an arcade in the 300 block of North Tower Avenue “and made a statement regarding whether she was ‘hungry for this,’” according to court documents and Centralia call logs. Christy was also accused of “masturbating and watching both adults and children in the business.”
Officers located Christy in the parking lot of the shelter he was trespassed from that morning.
When questioned, Christy allegedly “admitted to showing his penis to a female in the business, but indicated that he said, ‘I was hungry for sex’ and ‘Maybe she did want to see it,’” according to court documents.
Christy was booked into the Lewis County Jail just after 5:45 p.m. on Oct. 9, according to jail records.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 12.
