Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Bail was set at $50,000 for a 26-year-old man who allegedly broke in through the locked back door of a downtown Centralia tavern after closing, while the bartender was inside alone and cleaning up.

When police frisked the suspect, they located a 16-inch knife on him, according to court papers. The blade measured 10 inches long.

Jeremy L. Rumley Jr. was brought before a judge in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday afternoon, charged with two counts of first-degree burglary.

He was allegedly found inside the Hub Tavern shortly after 3:40 a.m. on Wednesday. Later that morning, the owner of the adjacent Tower Tavern reported he discovered someone had broken through his rear door and he was missing numerous bottles of alcohol and cigarettes, according to the documents.

Centralia police described Rumley as transient. Court documents list him as transient in Centralia. Temporary defense attorney Kevin Nelson told a judge yesterday afternoon Rumley resides in a Portland apartment with his wife.

Charging documents state officers were dispatched to the 100 block of South Tower Avenue; the bartender said someone had been banging on the door and then made entry.

When officers tried to push open the back door, someone inside kicked it shut. They surrounded the building and after a short period of time, a man opened the back door and officers detained him. That’s when they found the knife.

The bartender told police she had been cleaning the men’s restroom when she heard a loud bang and then a second bang. As she ran to hit the silent alarm, she heard a thud and hid and called 911, according to charging documents.

When she thought officers were on the scene, she headed to the front door, and saw two individuals crouched on the ground behind the bar, the documents relate. She exited and hid in some bushes.

Surveillance video shows two two people break through the rear door and crawl on the floor until they reach the bar, according to charging documents. The two appear to be spooked when the bartender walked out and one runs to the front of the bar and out of view.

“You can see officers contacting Rumley at the rear door after he opened it and was detained,” Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead wrote in the affidavit regarding probable cause.

Rumley’s co-defendant, John Doe, is charged with the same two offenses.

Surveillance video from the Tower Tavern shows two individuals pull up to the back of the bar, park and wait until the crowds dissipated, according to Halstead. It also shows them enter the building, remove items and then place them into the vehicle.

Rumley’s arraignment is scheduled for next Thursday.

Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter

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