The two men arrested upon suspicion of shooting at each other in a Centralia residential area Tuesday have been formally charged in Lewis County Superior Court.
Phillip D. Forbes, 44, of Centralia, is charged with single counts of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and drive-by shooting.
Forbes faces up to life in prison for the assault charge.
Jonathan T. Maae, 29, of Tumwater, is charged with single counts of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He, too, faces up to life in prison for the assault charge.
Forbes and Maae made preliminary appearances in Lewis County Superior Court on Wednesday.
Judge Joely Yeager ordered a no-bail hold for Forbes, who had stood up and left the room during the hearing. Forbes was appearing via video from the Lewis County Jail.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello noted earlier that Forbes had significant criminal history — including convictions for violent offenses — and had spent years in prison for vehicular homicide.
According to court documents, Forbes has convictions for second-degree assault, possession of a stolen vehicle, second-degree robbery, eluding, residential burglary and theft, among other offenses.
Yeager set Maae’s bail at $500,000, in agreement with the state’s request.
Masiello noted Maae’s history consisted mainly of theft-related offenses and acknowledged the assault charge against Maae was based — at least in part — on allegations by Forbes.
Defense attorney Rachael Tiller said Maae was quite frustrated with the situation and highlighted his lack of violent offenses. She added that, upon her review, the probable cause affidavit indicated “over and over” that Forbes had been the aggressor.
According to court documents, Maae has convictions for theft of a motor vehicle, second-degree burglary, residential burglary and identity theft. He also has 10 prior warrants and had an active Department of Corrections warrant at the time of his arrest.
On Wednesday, the Centralia Police Department issued its daily press release, which included a brief overview of the investigation.
According to the release, officers responded to an alley in the 900 block of South Pearl Street at about 6:56 p.m. March 10 after receiving reports of two subjects shooting pistols at each other.
The probable cause affidavit filed by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office adds further context to the police’s investigation.
According to the affidavit, a witness played security footage to officers, which had captured audio of someone saying, "Where the f— is my shit?" followed by the sound of two gunshots.
“The same male voice is then heard yelling, ‘I'll kill you.’ After that is said, a third gunshot is heard,” the affidavit states.
In its press release, the department described finding blood at the scene that led to a nearby house. According to the affidavit, a drop was found on the doorknob of a house on Summa Street.
The witness told officers he had “heard a noise in the backyard” and went to see what it was. He said he saw a man — later identified as Forbes — pull up in a black-and-white car and yell at another man — later identified as Maae.
“The reporting party observed Forbes walking up to Maae and was screaming at him and being aggressive," the affidavit states. “Forbes was observed firing two rounds at Maae. After Forbes shot at Maae, Maae was observed shooting one round at Forbes.”
Forbes then drove from the alley as Maae went inside the residence, according to the witness.
The witness said Forbes later returned “and got into a fist fight with Maae.”
“After the fight, a Ford truck left the alley and the black-and-white car left following the truck,” the affidavit states.
The press release previously noted that officers found a firearm after obtaining a search warrant for the house where a suspect had gone. The affidavit confirms the suspect was Maae.
According to the affidavit, officers eventually located Maae in a residence on Locust Street and were told he was “last seen in the garage at the rear of the property.”
“Commands to exit the garage were given with no response,” the affidavit states. “A 40 mm OC round was fired into a van that was inside the garage, believing that Maae was inside the van.”
OC — that is, oleoresin capsicum, also known as pepper spray — is used as a less-lethal way to incapacitate or subdue a subject.
Officers reportedly found Maae running along a path next to the garage with an AR-15 rifle.
According to the affidavit, he refused to comply with orders to put his hands up, which led officers to attempt to deploy a taser.
Those efforts were reportedly unsuccessful.
Maae was ultimately arrested with the assistance of other officers and transported to Providence Centralia Hospital to treat a gunshot wound to his arm.
According to the affidavit, Maae told a detective that he “had been in an argument with Forbes about being with Forbes's girlfriend,” according to the affidavit.
“Maae said during a struggle with Forbes, a firearm fell from Forbes and when Maae went to pick up the firearm it accidentally discharged, causing the observed injury to his arm,” the affidavit states.
He then allegedly said that a different group arrived after Forbes had left and tried to rob him, “during which (time) he was shot in the same wound that he had when he accidentally discharged the firearm from Forbes,” according to the affidavit.
Officers located Forbes thanks to a witness tip reporting a suspicious vehicle. He was arrested at his residence, according to the police department’s press release.
Speaking to the detective, Forbes allegedly accused Maae of stealing a box truck from him, and indicated he had security footage to prove it.
“Forbes said when he showed up at Maae's residence, Maae ran outside, which surprised him. Forbes said Maae then struck him on the side of the head,” the affidavit states.
The detective reportedly noted scratches on the side of Forbes’ face.
According to the affidavit, Forbes described returning to his car and hearing “a single gunshot” but did not see who fired the gun. He allegedly denied shooting a gun.
“When also confronted with 9 mm ammunition being in one of his vehicles, Forbes stated he did not know why there would be any there,” the affidavit states.
Forbes was scheduled to appear for an arraignment on March 12.
Maae’s arraignment was continued to March 19, according to court records.
