A Lewis County Superior Court judge has issued a $250,000 warrant for the arrest of a man accused of grabbing a woman by her throat and throwing her against a wall, breaking her back, at a medical facility in Centralia last May.
The defendant, Joshua D. Rockwell, 37, of Edmonds, and the alleged victim were reportedly standing next to at the front counter of a mental health facility in the 3510 block of Steelhammer Drive at the time of the incident on May 7, 2022.
Rockwell allegedly began to yell at the victim before grabbing her by the throat and throwing her against the wall, according to court documents. She then fell to the floor “and began to yell in pain.”
She was taken to the hospital, where medical staff later learned she suffered a burst fracture in her back from the incident, according to court documents.
Meanwhile Rockwell was then “subdued by staff members and taken to his room.”
When questioned by law enforcement, Rockwell allegedly admitted to grabbing the victim by the throat and throwing her into the wall “because she wouldn’t stop talking,” according to court documents.
Video footage from the facility and witness testimony reportedly confirmed the sequence of events.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges of second-degree assault against Rockwell nearly eight months later, on Dec. 30, 2022.
Rockwell was issued a summons notice on Jan. 6 ahead of a Jan. 24 preliminary hearing, which he was not present for.
“I was a little surprised the case went by way of summons,” said Deputy Prosecutor Scott Jackson at the Jan. 24 hearing.
While Jackson requested a no-bail hold attached to the warrant for Rockwell’s arrest, Judge Joely Yeager set bail at $250,000 in the warrant.
