The sentencing for the owner of a well-known Napavine restaurant, following his guilty plea to child molestation, is scheduled for this afternoon in Chehalis.
Robert Reeves, proprietor of the Rib Eye Restaurants along Interstate 5 in Napavine and in Olympia, was taken into the Lewis County Jail at the end of January.
An Edmonds resident, Peter Beck, formerly involved in the Red Robin restaurant chain, is reportedly negotiating to buy the Rib Eye Restaurants.
Since Reeves' arrest, a judgment for $64,000 in unpaid taxes was filed against the Rib Eye, and the Washington State Gambling Commission revoked the restaurant's gambling license that allowed it to sell pull tabs.
The business employs about 100 people.
Reeves, 64, faces a sentence that could be as long as about 10 years, or he could get a suspended sentence, with long-term intensive treatment, and up to six months in jail. A Lewis County Superior Court judge will decide the sentence at 2 p.m.
In a plea agreement to spare the victim from having to endure a trial, Lewis County Prosecutor Jeremy Randolph agreed not to oppose the treatment alternative if the state Department of Corrections deems Reeves eligible.
When he pleaded guilty, Reeves' attorney told the court he was already involved in treatment.
His sentencing was initially scheduled for earlier in the week, but was postponed because his Olympia-area attorney, James Dixon, had court proceedings with another client.
The felony charges against Reeves stem from incidents occurring about five years ago in his home, involving a 13-year-old girl. Reeves was a close friend of her family.
Sharyn L. Decker covers law enforcement, area fire departments and the courts for The Chronicle. She may be reached by e-mail at sdecker@chronline.com, or by telephoning 807-8235.
