A 55-year-old Centralia man convicted in January for grabbing his brother by the throat during an argument about wearing a face mask is back in custody at the Lewis County Jail after he allegedly violated a court-issued no-contact order and assaulted his brother earlier this month.
Brandon A. Chafee was arrested in the 1300 block of North Pearl Street at approximately 8:30 a.m. on May 24 after his brother’s doctor reported the assault to police, according to charging documents and Centralia Police Department call logs.
When interviewed by an officer, the victim reportedly said, “Brandon has anger issues and takes his anger out on him by strangling him.” He added “Brandon hurts him often and he is afraid for his life when Brandon is around,” according to court documents.
Chafee was reportedly at the victim’s residence, in violation of a court order, when an officer arrived to speak with the victim. Chafee was arrested shortly after the interview.
At the time of his arrest, Chafee allegedly “became angry and tried to pull away when handcuffed and “said this was all ‘bullsh-t’ and that he and his brother had been getting along,” according to court documents.
He was charged Tuesday with one count each of assault in violation of a court order and violation of a court order, domestic violence.
Chafee is accused of violating a no-contact order that Lewis County Superior Court issued on Jan. 24, 2024, prohibiting Chafee from having any contact with his brother or from going within 1,000 feet of his brother’s residence for the next two years.
The no-contact order was part of the sentence Chafee received when he was convicted on one count of fourth-degree assault, domestic violence, stemming from the Jan. 6 assault.
In that case, Chafee was walking around the home he shared with his brother and their 79-year-old mother without a face mask while he was sick with COVID-19. The brothers began to argue over Chafee not wearing a face mask, according to court documents. During the argument, Chafee grabbed his brother by the throat and shoved him into a wall.
Chafee entered a guilty plea on Jan. 24 and was sentenced that same day to 364 days in jail, with credit for two days served and the remaining 362 days suspended.
The suspended sentence meant that Chafee did not have to serve additional jail time as long as he completed a 90-day anger management course and committed no additional crimes.
Bail is set at $10,000 in the new case.
Arraignment was scheduled for Thursday, May 30, at which time a Lewis County Superior Court judge was expected to make a ruling on the suspended sentence in the January case.
