A suspect who was injured in a May 7 shootout at a home in Centralia has been booked into the Lewis County Jail and is being held on $5 million bail, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
Tyson Ball, 35, of Onalaska, was transported from Harborview Medical Center, where he was being treated for injuries sustained in the shootout, to the Lewis County Jail on Thursday, May 8.
He was charged Friday, May 9, in Lewis County Superior Court with one count each of first-degree burglary and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, and three counts of first-degree assault.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting complaint at a residence in the 3300 block of Harrison Avenue in Centralia at approximately 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
Ball, the suspected aggressor, was struck by a bullet.
“When law enforcement arrived, they learned a known 35-year-old male suspect entered the residence uninvited,” the sheriff’s office stated in a news release. “During the dispute which followed, both the suspect and one of the residents shot at each other, and the suspect was struck by a bullet.”
Witnesses indicated that Ball entered the residence at about 2 a.m. on May 7 and asked for one of the residence’s three occupants, who “supposedly had some of Ball’s belongings,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office stated in charging documents filed on Friday.
Ball allegedly got into an argument with an occupant at the residence before he allegedly “pulled out a firearm and shot towards (two occupants), causing them to hide in an adjacent hallway.”
The third occupant of the residence, who is identified in court documents as the homeowner, reportedly obtained a firearm from his gun safe while the other two home occupants were hiding. He reportedly shot at Ball and missed him, prompting Ball to run from the residence.
The homeowner then reportedly shot at Ball again through the kitchen window.
“Based on blood outside the residence, it was believed this shot struck Ball,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office stated in charging documents.
When questioned, the homeowner confirmed he had a concealed pistol license and said “he feared for his safety, so he fired at Ball,” according to court documents.
He reportedly said he shot at Ball again after he left because “it appeared he had stopped and was going to fire again through the window,” according to court documents.
Ball reportedly “ran through the gate and out of sight” after the homeowner shot at him through the window.
Ball was “conscious and alert” after being shot, according to the sheriff's office.
An acquaintance drove him to Providence Centralia Hospital and he was later airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reportedly located the vehicle that transported Ball to Providence Centralia Hospital and questioned the owner, who reportedly said Ball had asked him for a ride to a Harrison Avenue address prior to the shooting.
The vehicle owner reported that “Ball exited the van and was out of sight for about 20 minutes, while he waited in the van with other people.”
The vehicle owner said he and the other occupants of the vehicle then “heard gunshots and later saw Ball running back to the vehicle.”
Ball reportedly asked for a ride to the hospital when he got back into the car, according to court documents.
The vehicle owner reportedly told deputies he was unaware that Ball had a firearm when he asked to be taken to the Harrison Avenue residence.
According to court documents, Ball’s criminal history from the last 11 years includes felony convictions for escape from community custody, residential burglary, third-degree rape, unlawful imprisonment, second-degree burglary and second-degree assault, domestic violence.
He has reportedly had 23 warrants issued for his arrest throughout his lifetime and was on probation at the time of his arrest on Thursday.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, May 15.
