An 81-year-old Oakville man made an initial appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Wednesday, March 18, after being arrested on a warrant for allegedly threatening a Lewis County Clerk’s Office employee in 2024.
Clarence Leroy Hankins was unable to hear the audio feed during an attempted video appearance from the Lewis County Jail, so he was brought to the courtroom by corrections staff.
Appearing before Judge Paul Strophy, Hankins indicated he understood the charges, which include one count each of intimidating a public servant, which is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and harassment, a gross misdemeanor.
Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Scott Jackson requested bail be set at $10,000 unsecured, while defense attorney Rachael Tiller asked that he be released on his own recognizance, citing his lack of a criminal history.
Strophy ultimately chose to release Hankins on his own recognizance, reminding him he is not allowed to leave the state without notifying the court and that he must appear for all future court dates.
Hankins was subsequently released from jail shortly after the hearing on Wednesday.
Hankins is accused of threatening a county employee with a hammer during a two-minute interaction at the clerk’s office in Chehalis on Sept. 4, 2024.
Hankins was reportedly attempting to file some documents, but was informed by an employee that “the documents were not in proper court format, as required by the court rules, so she could not accept them,” according to charging documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Oct. 11, 2024.
In response, Hankins allegedly “became very upset and accused (the employee) of making her own rules,” then allegedly “stated he would take a hammer to (her) head,” according to charging documents.
Hankins reportedly left the building after the employee told him he had just made a threat
The employee immediately reported the incident to her supervisor while another employee followed Hankins outside and took a photo of his vehicle’s license plate.
An officer with the Chehalis Police Department was dispatched.
Investigators reviewed video surveillance footage from the incident “and even though it does not contain audio, it does confirm Mr. Hankins was at the clerk’s office and had contact with (the employee) on Sept. 4, 2024, for approximately two minutes,” the Lewis County Prosecutor's Office states in the affidavit of probable cause.
Hankins was charged Oct. 11, 2024, and a $10,000 arrest warrant was issued after he failed to respond to a summons for a hearing on Oct. 22, 2024.
Lewis County Jail records show he was arrested on Wednesday morning.
