The suspect arrested following a fatal shooting in the Pe Ell area on Wednesday has been charged with first-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
“We have a confessed killer who took a life within Lewis County,” Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said of the suspect, Kelly David Hribar, 46, of Pe Ell, during a preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday.
Hribar is accused of shooting the victim, identified as 40-year-old Leonard W. Kowalsky, from the shoulder of state Route 6 while Kowalsky was driving his 1994 Chevrolet Blazer westbound near milepost 30 at 7:24 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 16.
In an interview with law enforcement conducted Thursday, Aug. 17, Hribar allegedly admitted to firing three rounds from his shotgun at Kowalsky “in self defense” following a confrontation near milepost 30 of state Route 6.
Hribar reportedly told law enforcement he and Kowalksy “had a volatile relationship,” saying he believed Kowalsky burned down his trailer several months ago and believed Kowalsky had tampered with the radiator on his vehicle, according to court documents.
The two reportedly ran into each other twice on Aug. 16. The first time, “they both exchanged dirty looks and later (Hribar) experienced issues with his vehicle’s radiator,” according to court documents.
Hribar advised he saw Kowalsky a second time at a gas station in Pe Ell and “his intent was to confront him,” but Kowalsky reportedly left the gas station before he had the chance. A gas station employee reportedly confirmed this encounter to law enforcement.
Hribar allegedly told law enforcement “he drove past Kowalsky’s residence and then stopped in the driveway just to the east of Kowalsky’s house to confront him.”
When Kowalsky drove by and saw Hribar waiting, Kowalsky reportedly “made a U-turn and then came back by him … yelling in an agitated manner at him,” which Hribar said prompted him to exit his vehicle with his shotgun.
Kowalsky then began to “speed away,” according to Hribar, who advised law enforcement “he believed Kowalsky was returning to his residence to grab a gun.” Hribar then allegedly said he shot at Kowalsky, “striking him at least once.”
Kowalsky’s vehicle ultimately came to a stop against the right side guard rail of state Route 6, according to court documents.
Law enforcement later reported “blood and biological matter were spattered throughout the interior of Kowalsky’s vehicle, and there appeared to be bullet defects visible to the interior of his vehicle’s passenger side A-pillar and front windshield near the same A-pillar.”
Hribar reportedly “explained he observed Kowalksy exit his vehicle and fall to the ground” and said “he heard Kowalsky cry out he had been shot and yelling for help,” according to court documents.
Hribar allegedly said “he drove off, steering his vehicle to avoid running over Kowalsky and continued home, where he was contacted by law enforcement the next day.”
The gas station employee who reportedly saw Hribar looking for Kowalsky prior to the shooting told law enforcement she saw “Hribar drive his truck westbound through town at a high rate of speed while he was trying to shut his driver door, but branches were stuck between the door and the B-pillar,” according to court documents.
Back at the scene of the shooting, neighbors who lived nearby reported hearing multiple gunshots around that time, exiting their homes to see what was going on and calling 911 to report the shooting, according to documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday afternoon.
One neighbor reported seeing a man firing a shotgun toward the Blazer and another neighbor reported seeing the man place a shotgun into his vehicle, a pickup truck, and flee the scene.
Kowalsky reportedly told a responding Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputy “‘Kelly’ shot him,” according to court documents.
Kowalsky was airlifted to a hospital for treatment but later died from gunshot wounds. Law enforcement stated a bullet fragment was located in Kowalsky’s body.
A search of the scene yielded two fired 12-gauge shotgun shells, one of which was a slug, in a driveway on the south side of state Route 6 near acceleration marks that led from the driveway toward the Blazer. On the opposite shoulder of state Route 6, across from the driveway, law enforcement found three fired 9 mm shell casings and one unfired 9 mm round, according to court documents.
Troopers with the Washington State Patrol, which led the investigation, reportedly located Hribar after a property owner called at 6:30 a.m. on Aug. 17 to report “Hribar was in a trailer on his property and told him that people were saying he shot Kowalsky.”
The location of the property has not been released.
Hribar was taken into custody “without incident” and troopers executed a search warrant on the property, which yielded 12-gauge slug rounds “similar to that found on-scene,” a pickup truck matching witness descriptions of the vehicle that was at the scene, and a long gun-carrying bag with the name “Hribar” on the front. The bag was reportedly found “near the bottom of a large ravine at the back of the property” and contained two boxes of 12-gauge ammunition, including slugs of fired and unfired rounds, according to court documents. The driver’s door of the pickup truck “was not latched as it appeared vegetation was stuck in the latch,” a detective noted.
The trailer’s two occupants told law enforcement Hribar left a voicemail at 8:34 p.m. on Aug. 16 “advising his truck would be parked behind the trailer but he would move it in the morning, and they were going to hear some rumors about him that weren’t true,” according to court documents. The two occupants reportedly fell asleep and later awoke to the pickup “speeding down the road to behind the trailer.” They said they saw someone with a flashlight leave, and said the pickup was moved to a different spot on the property in the morning.
Hribar was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 6:40 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 17, according to jail records. He was charged Friday, Aug. 18 with one count each of first-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
In his report, a state patrol detective noted he “believed the evidence showed Hribar laid in wait for Kowalsky and ambushed him upon driving by Hribar’s location,” adding, “Hribar’s actions displayed extreme indifference to human life, resulting in Kowalsky’s death.”
While Meyer asked Judge James Lawler to hold Hribar without bail and defense attorney Rachael Tiller asked Lawler to set bail no higher than $500,000, Lawler opted to set bail at $2 million.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 24.
Kowalsky’s name was last published in The Chronicle following a Nov. 18, 2009 incident,where Kowalsky, at the age of 26, survived an ambush attack that left him with a crossbow bolt wound to the neck and several stab wounds to the abdomen, face, hands and chest.
The attacker in that case was convicted of first-degree assault and sentenced to 13 years in prison, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
At the time, Kowalsky told The Chronicle, “I would have rather gone fisticuffs than the way it happened … I was lucky it didn’t kill me.”
