Centralia man accused of using sledgehammer to violently assault, rob woman

Mar. 4—A Centralia man is facing first-degree assault, robbery and burglary charges after he and an unidentified second suspect allegedly attacked a woman with a sledgehammer and stole $60 to $70 on Friday.

"Detectives are still investigating this incident and a second suspect is being sought," the Centralia Police Department stated in a news release on Saturday.

The incident reportedly occurred at a residence in the 1400 block of Windsor Avenue between 5 and 6 a.m. on Friday, March 1, according to court documents.

The woman reportedly heard a knock on her bedroom door and "heard a male voice talking to her roommate," identified as Brian Yost, 45, of Centralia. Yost was reportedly "discussing with the other male that (the woman) was in her room alone.

She soon heard knocking again, she reported. "She asked who it was, and the male said 'Matt.' She responded by asking 'Matt who?'" according to court documents.

Yost and "Matt," both wearing masks to cover the lower parts of their faces, then allegedly kicked open the door to the woman's bedroom, charged in and pushed the woman backwards onto her bed. They were saying "Give me the money, give me the money," according to court documents.

Yost then allegedly began hitting her legs with a sledgehammer "as she tried to kick and twist away." Meanwhile, "Matt" allegedly "went through her pockets checking for money" and "reached up her shirt and checked her bra area for money."

The woman reported, "Yost was looking her in the eyes, but looked away as he started to hit her in the head with the hammer," according to court documents.

She "eventually" told the men she had $60 to $70 in her bra.

"They took the money, but Yost continued to hit her with the hammer until they ran out of the room," charging documents allege.

The woman then got up and "noticed that blood was funneling out of her head," according to court documents. She later told investigators that she ran out of her bedroom and asked Yost to call 911 or her mother, but Yost allegedly went outside and left in a red truck.

The woman was able to call friends to help her, according to court documents. She was ultimately transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, which is where the incident was reported to the Centralia Police Department just after 7:25 a.m., according to police call logs.

Centralia officers responded to the hospital while the woman was undergoing treatment. The responding officers "observed obvious injuries to her head" as well as "dried blood on her face and in her hair."

Hospital staff later confirmed that the woman sustained "several lacerations to the top of her head," including one that was 2 to 3 inches long and one that was 1-2 inches long.

"The injuries appeared to be nearly deep enough to expose skull bone," according to court documents.

Other injuries included lacerations on her right foot and outer left shin, scratches on her chest and neck, and bruising to her right shoulder.

Officers obtained a search warrant for the Windsor Avenue address and searched the property on Friday. During the search, officers located several areas of suspected blood on the bedding in the woman's bedroom, damage to the latch area on the bedroom door and suspected blood in other areas of the house.

Security footage from a neighbor's camera "appeared to capture Yost's red truck leaving the area of the residence shortly after the alleged assault," according to court documents.

Yost was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at approximately 9:35 a.m. on March 1, according to jail records.

Bail was set at $250,000 over the weekend but was reduced to $100,000 after Yost had his preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday, March 4.

Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, March 7.

"The detectives are actively investigating to try to identify the second male involved," the Lewis County Prosecutor's Office stated in charging documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday.

Anyone with information relevant to the investigation is encouraged to call the Centralia Police Department's non-emergency line at 360-330-7680.