A man accused of threatening to kill a grocery store employee in Centralia on Jan. 2 has been arrested for felony harassment.
Jacob Robert Jespersen, 31, of Centralia, was arrested on Jan. 8 following an investigation by the Centralia Police Department, according to a news release.
The incident itself reportedly occurred at the Centralia Safeway in the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue at 11:50 p.m. on Jan. 2, according to court documents. The victim, who is an employee at the store, reported the assault on Jan. 3.
According to the victim, a male subject allegedly “started yelling that he was going to kill him” while the male was entering the store and the victim was walking down a hallway located at the front of the store.
Surveillance video footage from the store shows the suspect, who has since allegedly been identified as Jespersen, entering the store with a woman at approximately 11:42 p.m.
“Initially, (the victim) just thought it was a crazy person,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office states in charging documents.
Jespersen reportedly continued into the store and did not further engage the employee until the employee reencountered him in the self-checkout area.
The victim reportedly responded to a self-checkout register assistance light going off and “observed the same male subject,” according to court documents.
“The male walked straight up to him and became aggressive,” the victim recalled, reporting that Jespersen said the victim “had embarrassed him in front of his son, and he shouldn’t accuse people of stealing” before allegedly “threatening to kill him again.”
Jespersen allegedly made a hand motion “acting like he was going to hit him,” at which point the victim reportedly told Jespersen to leave.
Jespersen allegedly told the victim “he needed to apologize or he was going to kill him,” according to court documents.
Jespersen then allegedly “walked out the door and said he would remember (the victim’s) face and he was going to come back and kill him.”
The victim told responding Centralia Police Department officers that “he had never interacted with the male before and based on his behavior, he believed the male was a real threat to his life,” according to court documents.
The woman who was seen with the male suspect in surveillance footage reportedly returned to the Safeway on Jan. 4 and was questioned by officers, though she gave a name that officers were unable to verify was hers and refused to provide any information about the suspect or the incident, according to court documents.
She reportedly left the store in a silver BMW SUV.
Officers ultimately identified Jespersen as the male suspect by comparing “recent photos of Jespersen and his associated tattoos” with the surveillance footage and by presenting a photo montage to the victim.
An officer reportedly stopped a silver BMW SUV for a registration violation on Jan. 8 and, after learning Jespersen was the driver, questioned him about the incident at the Safeway.
Jespersen allegedly “acknowledged the incident and said he had confronted the store manager because the store manager had previously accused him of stealing,” according to court documents.
Jespersen reportedly said “he had approached the manager in a respectful way, but the manager acted like he did not care and this upset him.” He reportedly denied the allegations that he had threatened to kill the employee.
During the arrest, the arresting officer reported that Jespersen “became upset” and called the officer “a piece of sh-t,” according to court documents.
Jespersen repeated his denial of the allegations, against the advice of the judge and his defense attorney, during his preliminary hearing for one count of felony harassment in Lewis County Superior Court on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
“I didn’t mean to threaten that guy at all,” Jespersen said Wednesday, later adding, “I don’t even know if I threatened him, I’m just saying it.”
He added that he has a young, sick child at home who he needs to go home to.
“I’m just trying to go home,” Jespersen said.
Judge Joely Yeager granted Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead’s request for $25,000 bail on Wednesday, citing concerns for community safety.
“I’m not necessarily concerned about his history … but my concern, as Mr. Halstead pointed out, is the threat to community safety, just threatening to kill somebody that you don’t even know, that you just walked up to,” Lewis County Superior Court Judge Joely Yeager said, referring to the allegations.
After hearing the bail ruling, Jesperson said, “My son is so sick, like, I didn’t even threaten that dude, man.”
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 16
