A Chehalis man remained in custody Monday in lieu of $100,000 in bail after being accused of choking and hitting his girlfriend during an argument the night before.
Johnny R. Cyr, 40, learned the bail amount during a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court. He’s charged with one count of second-degree assault, domestic violence.
The Class B felony is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $20,000 in fines.
Judge Joely Yeager set the bail and granted Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Meyer’s request for a domestic violence no-contact order on behalf of the victim.
Defense attorney Rachael Tiller said Cyr had no assault or domestic violence history on his record. She noted that Cyr had family members present in the courtroom.
Tiller said Cyr had indicated two possible places he could reside away from the alleged victim.
Yeager said the allegations posed a risk of lethality and risk to community safety. She expressed concern that Cyr might try to interfere with the administration of justice.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Chehalis police responded to the reported assault at about 1:05 a.m. July 20 and spoke with the victim, who said Cyr had “choked her and hit her.”
The woman alleged that Cry had “grabbed her” in the throat area while she was making a pot of macaroni and cheese, before pushing her into a wall, the force of which caused a wall-mounted rack to fall and hit the back of her head, according to the affidavit.
The woman reportedly said she’d “fought back” by clawing at and pushing Cyr. She said the two had been arguing all day.
Speaking to police, Cyr said the two had been arguing “all morning.”
“He said he asked her not to cook things in the house while he was working,” the affidavit said.
According to the affidavit, Cyr admitted to grabbing the woman, but said he’d done so to “prevent her from being physical with him.” He accused her of pushing him.
When asked about the wall-mounted rack, Cyr allegedly said it “had been like that for a while,” according to the affidavit. He showed police what he said were claw marks on his neck.
According to the affidavit, the woman reported that Cyr had assaulted her three times since July 4. In one instance, she went into the bedroom and locked the door.
“She said that Cyr began to beat on the door and ended up damaging it in two places,” the affidavit said.
Police noted the damage to the door.
Cyr was booked into the Lewis County Jail at about 1:55 a.m. Monday. He is scheduled for an arraignment on July 23.
