A man accused of breaking into a Chehalis apartment building and swinging a crowbar at a resident on Thursday is facing felony charges in Lewis County Superior Court. 

Donald Leeroy Thayer, 57, of Chehalis, was charged Friday, Jan. 10, in Lewis County Superior Court with one count each of residential burglary, second-degree assault and possession of a controlled substance. 

Bail is set at $50,000. 

Thayer was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at 11:50 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9, after the Chehalis Police Department responded to an apartment building in the 1500 block of North National Avenue for a report that “a homeless man with a crowbar had been in the building,” according to court documents and jail records. 

Thayer is accused of entering the building without permission while wielding a crowbar. 

A man reportedly encountered Thayer in the stairwell after two female residents notified him of the “unwanted male in the building.” 

When contacted by the man, Thayer allegedly “raised the crowbar at (the man) in a threatening manner,” according to court documents. The man reported he “thought he was going to be hit with it.” 

The man reported that “he was able to take the crowbar from the suspect, at which point the suspect left the building.”
When contacted by officers a short distance away from the apartment building, Thayer allegedly “admitted to walking through the building” and allegedly admitted to having a crowbar, saying he “picked it up outside,” according to court documents. 

“I know that he absolutely disagrees with what is being alleged here,” defense attorney Rachael Tiller said of Thayer during his preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday. 

Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 16.