Four days after Kelly David Hribar was charged for the Aug. 16 murder of a 40-year-old Pe Ell man, a woman was arrested for allegedly clearing evidence out of Hribar’s vehicle before troopers with the Washington State Patrol searched it.
Hribar, 46, of Pe Ell, is accused of shooting the victim, 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.
Hribar allegedly drove his vehicle, a white and blue GMC pickup truck, to a driveway near Kowalsky’s residence and waited to confront Kowalsky.
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.
Hribar allegedly fled the scene in the GMC pickup truck and drove it to his residential trailer in the 940 block of Muller Road in Pe Ell.
One of his friends, identified as Stacy Marrie Page, 40, of Pe Ell, was reportedly at the trailer when Hribar arrived.
Page is accused of complying with Hribar’s request “to clean out the GMC pickup used during the commission of the crime,” according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday, Aug. 22. Page allegedly “removed items of evidentiary value from the GMC and disposed of them” before officers served a search warrant on the vehicle. Page also allegedly removed the vehicle’s license plates “and hid them under some branches on the property,” according to court documents.
Hribar was arrested at an undisclosed property the morning of Aug. 17 after he drove the pickup there the night of Aug. 16, according to court documents. A search of that property yielded Hribar’s pickup truck, 12-gauge slug rounds “similar to that found on-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 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.
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. Bail is set at $2 million and arraignment is scheduled for 8:40 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 24.
Page was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at approximately 11:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21, according to jail records.
She was charged Tuesday, Aug. 22 with one count of first-degree rendering criminal assistance, which is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Bail was set at $10,000 and arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 24.
