Bail is set at $100,000 for a Centralia man accused of punching, pushing and choking a 14-year-old relative, causing significant injuries, on April 11.
“This is one of the worst physical child abuse cases I have seen in a while, if ever,” Lewis County Superior Court Judge Joely Yeager said of the allegations against Jaime Garcilazo-Avila, 45, who was charged Thursday, April 24, in Lewis County Superior Court with one count of second-degree assault, domestic violence.
Centralia Middle School reported the incident to the Centralia Police Department on Wednesday, April 23, according to court documents.
When interviewed by an officer, the victim said he talked back to Garcilazo-Avila, which made him angry.
Garcilazo-Avila allegedly cornered the victim inside the residence, telling another person at the residence to stay outside, before pushing him onto the bed, pulling him by his legs until he fell to the ground and hit his head. Garcvilazo-Avila then allegedly “got on top of him and started punching and slapping the right side of his face,” according to court documents.
The victim reported that he was able to get to his feet, at which point Garcilazo-Avila allegedly pushed him into several pieces of furniture before putting him into a chokehold.
The victim told the interviewing officer “he could not really breathe when (Garcilazo-Avila) was holding him by the neck,” according to court documents.
Garcilazo-Avila then allegedly “let him go and provoked him by telling (the victim) to hit him,” which the victim did not do.
The victim reported that “no one else was in the house during the event, as (Garcilazo-Avila) made sure that everyone else waited outside the house,” according to court documents.
Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello said Thursday that, in his opinion, the allegations suggest that Garcilazo-Avila “premeditated” the assault.
“I agree with Mr. Masiello. The allegations seem to indicate that this was premeditated,” Yeager said Thursday.
The victim reportedly took photos of his injuries and sent them to his sister, who picked him up from Garcilazo-Avila’s Centralia residence and took him to stay with another relative.
Photos of the victim’s injuries that he took and sent to his sister the day of the assault show that the victim had “obvious injuries injuries to his right eye area,” likely including a broken blood vessel, as well as a “dark bruise around his head” and a “bruise on his right temple area,” according to court documents.
The victim’s sister told investigators that she received a call from Garcvilazo-Avila after she picked up the victim on April 11. During the call, Garcvilazo-Avila allegedly “told her that he was worried that (the victim) was going to call the cops, and said that he might have gone too far,” according to court documents.
When questioned by an officer, Garcilazo-Avila allegedly “said he may have had a chokehold on (the victim), but it was not intentional,” according to court documents.
Lewis County Jail records indicate he was arrested and booked into the jail at 12:08 p.m. on April 23.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, May 1.
A no-contact order protecting the victim is in place.
