Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The 61-year-old Mossyrock man arrested for first-degree assault for allegedly breaking through the back door of his house wielding an ax and a screwdriver last week has been charged with second-degree assault and other offenses.

James C. Long had been released from jail a few hours earlier and a court order prohibited him from having contact with his girlfriend at the Naylor Road home. She had friends staying overnight because she feared his return, according to authorities.

Charging papers allege Long assaulted Gerald Core who said he was able to fight Long back out of the house, as Long tried to hit him and stab him with the implements. Core also told a deputy that when Long hopped in a brown pickup to leave, he backed up so fast Core had to jump out the way to avoid being struck.

The truck had been loaded up with household furniture earlier in the day, some of which spilled out onto the road.

When deputies caught up with Long on U.S. Highway 12, early last Friday morning, he told a different version of events.

His arraignment is scheduled for tomorrow in Lewis County Superior Court.

Long was involved in an incident earlier this month, in which he was arrested after an hours-long standoff during which he  allegedly fired multiple rounds out of his house, on Naylor Road, including after deputies arrived. He was charged in Lewis County District Court with fourth-degree assault, reckless endangerment and third-degree malicious mischief, all misdemeanors.

Bail for that case was set at $10,000 and he was ordered to have no contact with his girlfriend.

He was charged on Monday in Lewis County Superior Court with two counts of second-degree assault, first-degree burglary and violation of a court order.

His temporary defense attorney told the judge on Monday afternoon he had no felony convictions in his background when bail was addressed. Judge Richard Brosey set his bail at $50,000.

Attorney Joely O’Rourke also said Long had lived in Lewis County for seven years and was currently unemployed.

Charging documents in his new case indicate Long denies assaulting anyone and denied being at the house, but told a deputy he had permission to go to the property to retrieve his belongings.

The documents offer the following information:

Long appeared intoxicated when law enforcement caught up with him about 2:30 a.m. on Friday on U.S. Highway 12 near then Silver Creek Grange.

He told deputies that earlier he had arrived to the bottom of the hill and yelled out to the Naylor Road residents he was there and they were loading up the truck with his property. He contended Core got into the truck, drove it down to him at the bottom of the hill and that Core jumped out and began to attack him with two axes.

Long exhibited “obvious signs” of intoxication.

When the sheriff’s deputy spoke with Core, he noticed fresh marks on his arms that were bleeding and several marks in his sternum and chest area.

The same deputy interviewed Core and his wife Candy Core, who had been staying the night. They said they had been sitting in the living room when they heard what they thought was the brown pickup truck being started up.

They said they looked out the window, saw Long walk by toward the door and Gerald Core went to the back door to intercept him. That’s when Long allegedly broke in, with the three-foot long ax and the screwdriver.

The 53-year-old girlfriend was sleeping during the incident.

Long’s arraignment is set for 8:40 a.m. tomorrow.
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For background, read “Sheriff’s Office: Mossyrock man returns home from jail, with ax” from Friday April 22, 2016, here

Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 27th, 2016 at 3:31 pm and is filed under Top story of the day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.