A level three registered sex offender with a well-documented criminal history in Lewis County faces allegations he assaulted his partner, threw a metal ball through her car window and resisted arrest before he was ultimately tased and restrained in a WRAP system.
During the struggle, the suspect allegedly attempted to spit at a group of sheriff's deputies while trying to bite one and headbutt another.
Rupp W. Freece, 35, of Winlock, faces three counts of third-degree assault of a law enforcement officer and one count each of obstructing an officer, resisting arrest, second-degree malicious mischief (domestic violence) and fourth-degree assault (domestic violence).
He faces up to five years in prison for each of the third-degree assault charges and the malicious mischief charge.
Freece made a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday. Judge Paul Strophy set his bail at $100,000 cash or bond, along with standard release conditions to include no contact with the victims or any other witnesses.
Before the ruling, Chief Deputy Prosecutor William Halstead cited the “extremely violent” allegations and said Freece was a danger to himself and the community.
Defense attorney Rachael Tiller indicated the issue ultimately concerned medication.
Freece reportedly has pending charges in Thurston County including third-degree assault, attempting to elude, DUl and resisting arrest.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, Freece initially ignored the responding Lewis County sheriff’s deputy after a witness reported seeing a man “beating on a female” in a white sedan before “hitting the vehicle and throwing rocks” at it.
Recognizing the suspect as Freece, the deputy turned on his lights and siren.
Freece began to run, then threw a rock about the size of a baseball at the deputy’s vehicle, missing to the right of it, according to the affidavit.
The deputy exited his vehicle and chased the suspect on foot until the suspect entered a creek.
The deputy eventually deployed a taser and handcuffed Freece after he allegedly grabbed a rock from the creek.
Additional deputies arrived, but Freece reportedly continued to resist arrest, at one point striking a deputy in the cheek with his shoulder.
The deputies attempted to place Freece in a WRAP restraint system, during which point Freece allegedly tried to bite one deputy’s hand. He allegedly headbutted another in the thigh.
Back at the victim’s vehicle, a deputy “observed a hole in the back driver's side window and a dent in the same door,” according to the affidavit.
The victim reportedly told the deputy that Freece was “very angry as he was having trouble getting his social security money.”
“When she tried to leave, Mr. Freece kept yelling that he wanted to talk to her. Mr. Freece then tried to get into her vehicle by climbing through the driver's door window,” the affidavit states.
After she shut the window, Freece allegedly hit and punched her car, before breaking a window with a “metal ball,” according to the affidavit.
He then allegedly threw a gate against the car, denting the trunk and breaking a taillight.
During conversation, the deputy reportedly observed redness above the woman’s left eye.
According to court documents, Freece has felony convictions for third-degree assault in 2014, first-degree burglary in 2013, third-degree rape in 2013 and communication with a minor for immoral purposes in 2011.
According to previous Chronicle reporting, Freece was convicted of the burglary and rape charges in Lewis County Superior Court in January 2014. Freece had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman after she allowed him into her home to use the phone.
He was sentenced to 57 months in prison.
Following his release, Freece was charged with attempted residential burglary in February 2023 after being accused of turning the doorknob of a Mossyrock residence and trying to enter.
He ultimately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of harassment, a gross misdemeanor, and was sentenced to 27 days of electronic home monitoring, according to court documents.
In his filed guilty plea statement, Freece said he “had been talking with a person on a social media site” and “did not know the identity of the person and didn't know what they looked like.”
Freece said they had agreed to meet up at the Mossyrock residence.
“I went to the Mossyrock address to meet up with the person,” Freece stated, adding that he didn’t know the victim lived at that address.
“When (the victim) arrived I approached her thinking she was the person I was supposed to meet. I walked up and talked with her. She eventually went into her house after she said she didn't know me and I went back to my truck. I was confused about the situation so I, without lawful authority, went to the residence and knocked on the door,” Freece stated.
Freece was scheduled to appear for an arraignment on the new charges on March 5.
