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A man accused of locking his girlfriend in the bathroom with him and attacking her with a knife at a Chehalis residence on Wednesday is now facing domestic violence charges.
Emilio Perez, 27, of Lacey, was charged Thursday, April 24, in Lewis County Superior Court with one count each of second-degree assault, fourth-degree assault and unlawful imprisonment. Each charge carries a domestic violence enhancement.
Perez was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at approximately 9:38 a.m. on April 23 after the victim reported the assault, which had taken place at about 5 a.m. that morning, according to court documents and jail records.
Perez is accused of waking the victim up and telling her to “go into the bathroom so they could talk because the kids were sleeping,” according to court documents.
Once both parties were in the bathroom, Perez allegedly “began yelling at her and accusing her of cheating on him.”
During the argument, Perez allegedly slapped the victim across the face twice and threatened her with a serrated kitchen knife he had brought into the bathroom with him.
At one point, Perez allegedly “swung the knife at her and slightly cut her arm,” according to court documents.
When asked why she had not called the police immediately, the victim reported that Perez had “taken her phone and tossed it in the sink during the argument.” She added that “she was afraid to call right away because he said he was going to beat her until she was unrecognizable if he was going to jail,” according to court documents.
Perez allegedly blocked the victim in the bathroom and threatened to prevent her from leaving the apartment to go to work.
He allegedly “finally let her leave the bathroom” to feed her baby when the baby started crying, according to court documents.
The victim reportedly waited until Perez left the residence to call the police.
Centralia officers were able to locate and contact Perez as he was returning to the residence.
When questioned, Perez allegedly said “he had an argument with his girlfriend in the morning” and said he “lost his cool” and “just wanted her to be honest with him because he had been going through her phone,” according to court documents.
When asked if the argument was physical, Perez allegedly admitted that he had “grabbed her arm a few times and thrown her phone” but denied allegations that he slapped her or presented a knife.
Perez’s criminal history includes a prior conviction for fourth-degree assault, domestic violence, as well as a pending fourth-degree assault case.
Judge Joely Yeager granted the prosecution’s request Thursday to set Perez’s bail at $25,000 due to community safety concerns.
A hearing to review attorneys status is scheduled for Thursday, May 1.
