A 19-year-old Rochester man is facing felony charges for allegedly firing multiple gunshots into a vehicle while driving in Centralia on Sunday.
Bail is set at $500,000.
The suspect, identified as Angel Gabriel Flores, is accused of pulling up next to another vehicle in the 900 block of Harrison Avenue at about 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, brandishing a firearm and firing multiple shots into the other vehicle, according to court documents.
“The victim was not hit, but his vehicle was struck by multiple bullets fired by the suspect,” the Centralia Police Department stated Monday afternoon in a news release.
The victim reportedly “lost the suspect somewhere on Lincoln Creek Road,” according to the Centralia Police Department.
The victim reported the incident to the Centralia Police Department, which searched the city’s Flock Safety camera system to find a truck registered to Flores “captured in the same shot as the victim’s car” at the time of the shooting, according to court documents.
The truck was reportedly associated with a Rochester address, and deputies with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office assisted Centralia police in locating the truck in the Rochester area. After deputies confirmed the truck and the suspect were at the registered address, deputies and Centralia detectives arrested Flores without incident, according to the Centralia Police Department.
Flores was booked into the Lewis County Jail just before 3:55 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 23, according to jail records.
On Monday afternoon, the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office charged Flores with one count each of drive-by shooting, first-degree assault and second-degree malicious mischief in Lewis County Superior Court. The most severe charge, first-degree assault, carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 26.
“The investigation is still underway and the motive for the shooting is still unknown,” the Centralia Police Department said in a news release on Monday.
Centralia police encourage anyone with information on the suspect or the incident to contact the Centralia Police Department at 360-330-7680 or Lewis County Communications at 360-740-1105.
