PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man has been charged with swinging a machete inside a Port Angeles gas station.
Tyhler T. Camby, 18, was charged Tuesday with single counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and possession of methamphetamine in connection with the Sunday-night incident at the ARCO ampm at Eighth and Lincoln streets.
City police alleged that Camby entered the store at about 11:28 p.m. and swung a machete at a man and two employees, according to the affidavit for probable cause.
No one was injured in the alleged assault.
Camby is being held in the Clallam County jail on $50,000 bail.
Camby told police that he had swung a machete at a male who later retrieved a pistol from his vehicle and pointed it at him.
Witnesses said the male had struck Camby in the face before Camby drew the machete and began to swing it inside the store, according to police.
“Tyhler stated that he was acting in the capacity of law enforcement and that he was stopping robberies and rapists tonight,” Officer Jared Tait wrote in the affidavit.
“Tyhler stated that he had stopped his friend from getting robbed and then refused to answer further questions.”
A store employee told police that he heard a disturbance in the parking area and observed Camby follow a male into the store and begin to yell at the man.
The employee and another store clerk stood between Camby and the alleged victim in the back of the store.
“[The employee] stated that Tyhler then swung the machete toward them,” Tait wrote in the affidavit.
While being transported to the Clallam County jail, Camby allegedly unfastened his seat belt and flicked a small plastic bag while arching his back in his seat, according to Tait’s account.
Tait said he recovered a small plastic bag containing traces of suspected methamphetamine.
“Tyhler stated that the methamphetamine was not his,” Tait wrote.
“No one else had been in the back of my patrol vehicle.”
Camby, who appeared in court Tuesday on a video monitor, was removed from the jail’s video conference room after a series of outbursts directed at Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols.
Superior Court Judge Brent Basden granted Nichols’ request for a $50,000 bail for Camby based on community safety concerns.
Camby will be arraigned Sept. 13 in Clallam County Superior Court.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at [email protected].
