Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies assemble outside a home across from Chehalis Middle School’s football field to make an arrest. / Courtesy photo by Janis Koplin
Updated
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The 36-year-old man Chehalis police have been trying to catch for a week was booked into the Lewis County Jail this afternoon for first-degree assault.
Andrew C. Skyberg is the suspect in an early morning incident in which shots were fired outside and into the front porch railing of a house on the 600 block of Southwest William Avenue.
Andrew C. Skyberg
Authorities have said the events of Oct. 7 followed a days-long dispute between Skyberg and residents there.
Today at about 12:45 p.m., police got a tip Skyberg was at a home on the 800 block of Southwest 20th Street, and his presence there was confirmed, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
He was taken into custody with assistance from the Lewis County Regional SWAT Team, the Centralia Police Department and the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, according to department spokesperson Linda Bailey.
Bailey indicated in a news release that “gas” was deployed into the residence.
Nearby Chehalis Middle School and Olympic Elementary School were placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure, according to Bailey.
Two other occupants of the house exited at the request of police, and one of them was booked for a warrant on an unrelated matter, Bailey stated.
On Monday morning, three Chehalis schools were placed on lockdown for a period of time when police acted on a report Skyberg was spotted in the area of the 100 block of Southwest Sixth Street.
Two people were arrested last Friday, one for for allegedly helping hide Skyberg’s handgun and the other for allegedly giving him a ride out of the area.
Charging documents in their cases include information about the approximately 3 a.m. shooting incident.
Police were told by witnesses Skyberg was on the sidewalk outside the house when he pointed his handgun in the air and fired off two to three shots then shot twice toward Jerry Peterson, who was standing on the front porch, according to court documents.
Nobody was injured.
Neither police nor prosecutors have offered any insight as to the nature of the dispute.
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For background, read “Details emerge about Southwest William Avenue shooting incident” from Tuesday October 11, 2016, here