A 49-year-old Centralia man is facing felony charges for allegedly slapping a 9-year-old boy in the face in February then breaking into the child’s mother’s residence in April.
The defendant is not being named by The Chronicle to protect the identities of the alleged victims.
The Washington state Department of Children and Families (DCF) took the 9-year-old into protective custody in late February following a report from the child’s mother. According to the mother, the defendant slapped the child in the face during an argument, causing significant bruising to the child’s face. A medical professional who examined the child after he was taken into DCF custody confirmed the bruising in the child’s face was “consistent with a repeated open-palmed slap from an adult,” according to court documents.
When contacted by police about the incident, the defendant allegedly admitted to slapping the 9-year-old and “he said he didn’t think he used too much force,” according to court documents.
Over a month later, on April 2, the child’s mother called the police to report she had driven past her apartment and observed the door was open and a vehicle associated with the defendant was parked outside. At the time of the incident, there was an active restraining order protecting the child’s mother from the defendant.
When officers with the Centralia Police Department knocked on the door to the apartment, an officer stationed on the backside of the apartment saw a man stick his head out the back window before exiting the apartment out the back and running, according to court documents.
An officer caught the defendant, who reportedly said “he knew he wasn’t supposed to be in (the woman)’s apartment,” according to court documents.
The defendant was not booked into the Lewis County Jail at the time of the incident “due to (the defendant)’s medical condition,” according to court documents. Officers instead referred the case to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s office for charging.
The defendant was charged April 27 with one count of third-degree assault, domestic violence, for the February incident and one count each of residential burglary and violation of a court order, both domestic violence charges, for the April incident. He was issued a summons notice for a May 17 preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court, which he was present for.
A Lewis County Superior Court judge allowed the defendant to remain out of custody on unsecured bail, which was set at $25,000 for each of his two cases.
