Colbert A. Salmeron waits to go before a judge in Chehalis this afternoon
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A handcuffed Colbert A. Salmeron, 24, was chained around his waist and ankles when he saw a judge in Lewis County Superior Court today.
Judge James Lawler set bail for the drive-by shooting suspect at $5 million.
Salmeron – a former resident of Centralia according to the Centralia Police Department – was free on $150,000 bail when he failed to show up for his trial in May 2007.
Authorities got him deported this past May and back to the U.S. after learning he was in El Salvador. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail last night.
Salmeron faces charges of first-degree assault and drive-by shooting for an incident at the 500 block of North Tower Avenue on August 26, 2006.
A group of four individuals were standing next to a pickup truck in a parking lot when someone – allegedly Salmeron – fired several shots shattering its window and striking a nearby car and another truck, according to charging documents.
The owner of the pickup told police he had a brief relationship with Salmeron’s ex-girlfriend, and he believed that is why they were targeted, according to charging documents.
Centralia police were told Salmeron lived in Texas and was visiting town for the month at that time, charging documents state.
When Centralia police got word in May that Salmeron was back in the U.S., they said shooting was believed to be gang-related and that Salmeron was associated with the Little Valley Lokotes.
Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Colin Hayes asked the judge this afternoon to hold Salmeron on $5 million bail.
Defense attorney Bob Schroeter asked for bail of $1 million.
Judge Lawler acknowledged it was an unusually high amount, but said $5 million, cash or bond, was appropriate given the flight risk and the charges.
None of four individuals in the courtroom, seemingly to observe Salmeron’s brief hearing, wanted to comment.
He will be represented by defense attorney Don Blair, the lawyers said today. He is set to return to court on August 18 to set a new date for a trial.
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Read background on the case, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter