A Centralia man was charged with five felonies and a gross misdemeanor on Thursday, July 31, including burglary in the first degree and violating a protection order.
Matthew Poston, 38, was arrested after being reported to local law enforcement for violating a protection order resulting from a previous conviction and the trial conditions of an ongoing domestic violence case in Chehalis Municipal Court. At the time he was arrested, he had an active warrant from November 2024 connected to the municipal case.
Poston is now charged in Lewis County Superior Court with burglary in the first degree, a class A felony, protection order violation assault and two counts of protection order violations linked to a previous conviction, all class C felonies, as well as assault in the fourth degree, a gross misdemeanor, and unlawful residential burglary, a class B felony.
During Poston’s preliminary hearing, Judge Paul Strophy set bail at $250,000 despite the request by the attorney for the defense Rachael Tiller for bail of no more than $25,000. In Tiller’s request, she made clear that Poston did not have the money to post bail and informed the court that Poston resides locally with family and is able to appear in court voluntarily. Poston also claims that the no-contact order he is alleged to have violated has already been lifted.
Strophy, however, selected the quarter-of-a-million-dollar bail amount based on the request from the state, represented by Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer.
In setting the bail amount, Strophy cited concerns over community safety and the safety of the victim. He added that Poston residing locally with family will not help his case in this matter as court documents suggest family members have in the past acted as accomplices in the violation of the protection order.
“I’m significantly concerned that his parents appear to act as accomplices to this crime,” Strophy said. “So the people whom he would be relying on to make sure he shows up to court according to the report were aware of the order and so aided him in violating it. So I have no confidence that his community support will encourage law abiding behavior and certainly his warrant history is decently concerning.”
In addition to a pending assault in the fourth-degree domestic violence charge in Chehalis Municipal Court, Poston has multiple prior convictions including criminal mischief, two counts of domestic violence and malicious mischief in the third degree, which is also associated with domestic violence.
While court documents do not make clear when Poston was last arrested, the affidavit of probable cause details two occasions where Poston violated a protection order intended to protect his former romantic partner. In both cases, Poston was at the residence of the victim and protected party claiming to collect his belongings. In both cases, the victim called the police after the interaction escalated.
During the first call, the responding officer reported arriving after Poston had left and being unable to locate him after the fact. According to court documents, the victim alleged that Poston had entered her home to retrieve his belongings before becoming agitated and shoving her into a door, knocking her to the ground.
During the call, the responding officer noted that the victim had a mark on her hand that she claimed was a result of the altercation.
A week and a half later, officers responded again to the same residence and arrived to find Poston and his parents in separate cars at the residence. When Poston and his family members were asked why they were there and informed about his protection orders, they said they were aware of the order and had come to collect Poston's belongings.
When officers asked Poston if he had broken into the home, he said he had entered but not broken in as he still had a key to the residence.
During the same call, officers contacted the victim inside the residence who said Poston entered the residence briefly without her permission before she yelled at him to leave. She added that after he exited the residence she heard what sounded like Poston throwing and breaking things.
Poston’s next court appearance for arraignment and trial setting is scheduled for the morning of Thursday, Aug. 7.
