Jonathan R. Woodruff, the 32-year-old Lewis County man accused of shooting at police officers after pointing his firearm at BNSF Railway employees in Chehalis last month, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
His court-appointed attorney, Donald Blair, entered the written plea dated Sept. 15 on Woodruff’s behalf.
Woodruff faces three counts of first-degree attempted aggravated murder and three counts of first-degree assault. A $3 million arrest warrant bail was set Aug. 16 and upheld at a preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court Aug. 18.
Woodruff, who has no prior felony history in Lewis County, appeared in court Aug. 21 for an arraignment and attorney review, during which Judge J. Andrew Toynbee ordered a competency evaluation from the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).
On Sept. 4, based on that evaluation, the court determined that Woodruff was competent to stand trial, stating in a written order that “there has not been a showing by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant lacks the capacity to understand the nature of the proceedings against them or to assist in their own defense as a result of a mental disease or defect.”
Blair subsequently motioned for an order authorizing a separate mental health examination at the public’s expense. The motion was dated Sept. 15 and filed by the clerk’s office Sept. 17.
“The services requested are for an evaluation to determine the defendant's ability to comprehend the events surrounding the crime charged, sanity at the time of the offenses, and the proceedings pending against him and of his capacity at the time of the alleged events," the motion stated.
Woodruff was determined to be indigent and thus unable to afford such expert services. The cost of the examination is not to exceed $7,200, and will be paid by the DSHS, as stated in a written order signed and dated Sept. 17.
A review hearing is scheduled for March 19, 2026.
The case
The incident began at approximately 9:40 a.m. Aug. 13 when local law enforcement officers were dispatched to the Mill Pond area in Chehalis. A male suspect was said to be pointing a firearm at BNSF Railway employees while they were operating a train.
“When officers from the Chehalis and Centralia Police Departments arrived in the area, they observed a male matching the description provided by the BNSF employees,” the Mason County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) stated in a news release. “Upon attempting contact with the male, the officers reported they were being fired upon and that the male was running through a nearby field.”
A section of Interstate 5 was shut down as a precaution during the incident.
“The subject was subsequently encountered by additional responding officers on nearby train tracks, where a standoff ensued,” the MCSO stated.
Woodruff was ultimately shot by a Centralia police detective. He received medical treatment for the non-life-threatening injury and was taken into custody. No officers were injured during the incident, according to the MCSO.
While reporting on the matter, The Chronicle learned that Woodruff had been cited just over an hour before the incident first began on Aug. 13 when he was arrested and released for two counts of possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle. An activity log from the Centralia Police Department noted that the initial encounter took place about 8:13 a.m. that day.
According to court documents submitted by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, Centralia police officers discovered a motorcycle with two unattended rifles in the parking lot of the Dollar General located 405 E. Summa St. in Centralia. Upon entering the store, one of the officers noticed Woodruff inside carrying two pistols.
At the time, Woodruff was cooperative, and “explained that he had a friend that lived nearby who could assist him with storing and securing the firearms,” according to court documents. Woodruff was cited for the unattended firearms. The officers left the area.
About an hour later, a BNSF Railway employee made an emergency call about a shirtless man who was pointing a firearm at railcars as they passed through the Mill Pond area.
The probable cause statement submitted by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office was drafted from information gathered by a Mason County detective who helped lead the Region 3 Critical Incident Investigative Team (CIIT) that took over the investigation after Woodruff was shot.
In his statement, the detective reported that several shell casings were discovered in the area where BNSF employees saw the suspect threatening trains as they passed by.
“I was also informed that two rifles and a pistol were recovered near this location to include Jonathan's Triumph motorcycle, which is the same motorcycle that he was contacted earlier in the day by Centralia Police Department officers at the Dollar General,” the detective wrote.
A later search uncovered an “expended 9mm casing” near where the Centralia sergeant reported being fired at. A 9mm semiautomatic pistol was located in the area where Woodruff was apprehended.
According to court documents, Woodruff grew up primarily in the Pe Ell area, but has lived in other locations in Lewis County.
