Four Green Hill School inmates are being charged as adults in Lewis County Superior Court for allegedly attacking two other inmates and a staff member at the facility this summer.
Four of the co-defendants — identified as Samuel K. Conley, 18; Jose Beltran Rodriguez, 18; Mikah Davin Johnson, 18; and Anthony Ismael Sanchez, 18 — had preliminary hearings on felony prison riot and custodial assault charges scheduled in Lewis County Superior Court on Wednesday.
They each face one count of participating in a prison riot, which is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Conley faces an additional charge, one count of custodial assault, which is a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Two additional inmates who were reportedly involved in the altercation have been identified but had not been charged in Lewis County Superior Court as of Wednesday afternoon.
The inmates are accused of attacking two inmates who were being escorted by a staff member at Green Hill in Chehalis on either June 14 or Aug. 2, according to court documents.
The date of the incident was not listed consistently in the documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court, with the date listed as Aug. 2 in charging documents and June 14 in the affidavits of probable cause.
The Chronicle was unable to confirm the correct date on Wednesday.
Conely allegedly “grabbed (a) staff member’s fingers in an attempt to escape” after the staff member “grabbed (Conley) … in an attempt to prevent him from getting to (the two other inmates)” and “drug the staff member along the ground, injuring the staff member,” according to court documents. The other co-defendants allegedly attacked the two inmates.
More staff responded and ultimately detained the group.
“After the fight was broken up, a shank was located on the ground,” according to court documents.
Charges against Conley, Beltran-Rodriguez and Johnson were filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Aug. 23. Sanchez was charged Sept. 5.
Bail for Conley and Rodriguez was set at $10,000 each on Wednesday and arraignment hearings are scheduled for Oct. 5.
Johnson and Sanchez were not at the Green Hill facility on Wednesday, with Johnson having been released and Sanchez currently residing at a group home, according to Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher. Their preliminary hearings will be rescheduled.
The case marks the third separate Green Hill prison riot that has been charged in Lewis County Superior Court this year.
A separate group of four inmates allegedly beat up another inmate at the facility while medications were being dispensed on April 26, and another group of four inmates allegedly beat up another inmate in a gang-related attack inside the facility on May 12.
None of the cases have involved the same inmates.
The previous two incidents have been tied to gang activity within the facility, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
