A Silver Creek man accused of pointing a gun at a woman in August and assaulting the same woman in December has pleaded not guilty to felony assault charges in Lewis County Superior Court.
The defendant, Ryan L. Pebbles, 36, was arrested at the Lewis County Law and Justice Center in Chehalis on Tuesday, Jan. 24, after he appeared before a judge to have his $100,000 arrest warrant quashed.
Pebbles is accused of pointing a .44 caliber firearm at the alleged victim on Aug. 7, 2022, and “saying he was going to shoot her,” according to court documents. Out of “fear he would shoot her,” the alleged victim said “she ran off and hid in some bushes” until Pebbles left.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office was unable to contact Pebbles at the time the incident was reported on Aug. 8, according to court documents. On Sept. 14, the victim reportedly contacted the sheriff’s office to say she no longer wanted to press charges. The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office declined to file charges against Pebbles at that time, “Because there were no other witnesses and the victim was not wanting the case prosecuted,” according to court documents.
But on Dec. 31, the victim reported Pebbles had assaulted her and locked her out of the Chehalis residence, while Pebbles remained inside with access to firearms. The responding deputy observed injuries on the victim consistent with her account of the assault. The victim reported she did not want to pursue charges “because she did not want Pebbles to be more upset with her for calling 911,” according to court documents.
Deputies attempted to contact Pebbles at the residence, but he didn’t respond.
“Additional efforts were not made to arrest Pebbles due to the reported firearms inside the residence and his history with those firearms,” according to court documents.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office filed second-degree assault, domestic violence charges against Pebbles on Jan. 5 and Lewis County Superior Court issued a $100,000 warrant for Pebbles’ arrest that same day.
Upon learning about the warrant, Pebbles and his defense attorney scheduled a hearing in Lewis County Superior Court to have the warrant quashed.
Due to “very big concerns about community safety,” Judge Joely Yeager denied Pebbles’ motion and ordered Pebbles be arrested on that warrant following that Jan. 24 hearing.
“I consider you a significant threat not only to community safety, but to the alleged victim in this matter,” Yeager told Pebbles on Jan. 24.
Yeager also issued a no-contact order protecting the alleged victim. The alleged victim filed a motion two days later asking the court to rescind that protection order, which will be heard before a judge on Feb. 9.
Trial is currently scheduled to begin March 13.
