Bail is set at $250,000 for the 60-year-old Centralia man accused of stabbing another man in George Washington Park on Saturday.
“This hearing is not a trial, it is a probable cause hearing and a bail hearing. And the allegations here are that he stabbed another person in front of the library in Centralia. This poses a significant threat to community safety, so high bail is warranted,” Judge Joely Yeager said during a preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday, July 8.
Eduardo Reynoso-Herrera was arrested for first-degree assault several hours after police responded to the park in the 100 block of South Silver Street just after 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 6, according to the Centralia Police Department.
Officers were called to a report of a male subject who had been stabbed in the chest.
The suspect, who was later identified as Reynoso-Herrera, had fled the scene.
The first-arriving officer on the scene made contact with the victim, who “was holding his stomach area.” He reportedly told the officer “he had been stabbed in the stomach by Eduardo,” according to court documents.
A witness at the scene also told the officer a man named Eduardo, who was later identified as Reynoso-Herrera, had stabbed the victim.
“An associate of the victim provided information leading to the identity of the suspect who was later taken into custody without incident,” Centralia police stated in a news release on Sunday. “The altercation was said to be an ongoing dispute between the victim and the suspect. The knife was recovered and the victim remains hospitalized pending surgery.”
When questioned by an officer at the hospital, the victim reportedly “stated he had had an altercation a few weeks prior with Eduardo at the library” and said that Reynoso-Herrera had returned to the library Saturday night. The victim said he “told him not to cause any problems,” then Reynoso-Hererra allegedly “approached him with a knife and stabbed him in the stomach,” according to court documents. In response, the victim said he “grabbed a bike chain and hit Eduardo and then grabbed a machete and hit Eduardo with it.”
Officers located Reynoso-Herrera “a short time later,” according to court documents. He reportedly “had blood on his clothing and on his arms and hands” and appeared to be intoxicated when officers contacted him.
He reportedly allowed officers to search his backpack, which reportedly had two knives inside, one of which had blood on the handle and the blade.
When questioned, Reynoso-Herrera allegedly “admitted to stabbing (the victim) and then hiding by a nearby bush when law enforcement arrived,” according to court documents.
He was transported to the hospital for treatment of his injuries and was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 2:30 a.m. on July 7, according to court documents and jail records.
He was charged Monday, July 8 with one count of first-degree assault, which is a Class A felony punishable by up to life in prison.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, July 11.
