By Emily Fitzgerald / emily@chronline.com
A Centralia man has been charged with first-degree assault for allegedly pointing a flare at a building manager on Monday.
The defendant, Andrew Garcia, 36, is accused of threatening the victim outside his home on Monday night.
Garcia allegedly pulled up in front of the victim, stopped his vehicle, then “indicated he was looking for him,” according to court documents.
Garcia then allegedly “pulled out what looked like a .22 caliber pistol and pointed it at his chest.”
The victim reportedly shouted to his wife, who was inside their residence, that there was a gun, then ran.
The victim’s wife reported that she locked the door after hearing her husband scream, at which point Garcia allegedly ‘came up to her porch and started banging on her door yelling at her to get out’, according to court documents .
Centralia Police Department officers received a call about the incident just after 6:50 p.m. on February 21 and located Garcia in the 1400 block of Johnson Road.
Responding officers “noted the smell of intoxicants coming from Garcia when he was stopped in his vehicle” and observed Garcia “swaying and stumbling,” according to court documents.
A preliminary breath test taken at the scene indicated that Garcia’s blood alcohol level (BAC) was 0.156. Garcia allegedly refused a further BAC process at the police station, according to court documents.
Officers also reported that Garcia “had a flare gun in his vehicle that had been partially colored black.” According to court documents, the flare gun “had live ammunition and was cocked when located.”
According to officers, “a flare gun like this would be capable of inflicting grievous bodily harm or even death.”
Garcia allegedly “made comments about blowing someone’s head off and blasting someone in the face with the flare gun,” according to court documents.
He was taken to the Lewis County Jail at 8:20 p.m. on February 21 and has since been charged with first-degree assault and driving under the influence.
His bond has been set at $50,000 and his next court appearance is an arraignment hearing scheduled for February 24.
