PORT TOWNSEND — A Tacoma woman has been charged with the kidnapping and assault of her former girlfriend.
During her preliminary appearance in the Jefferson County Superior Court on Wednesday morning, Laura Ashley Silva, 31, was charged with first-degree kidnapping armed with a firearm-domestic violence and second-degree assault armed with a firearm-domestic violence, according to court documents.
First-degree kidnapping is a Class A felony, punishable by up to life in prison and/or a $50,000 fine, while second-degree assault is a Class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine.
Silva’s bail was set at $50,000. She remained Wednesday in the Jefferson County Jail, where she had been held without bail since her arrest late Thursday night.
A five-year domestic violence no-contact order also was put in place, barring her from interacting with her alleged victim and requiring Silva to turn over all firearms she owns to authorities, according to court documents.
Silva’s next court appearance is set for 8:30 a.m. July 16.
Silva was arrested after a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy and detective answered a call from a woman regarding an altercation with her on-and-off girlfriend at the Hoh Oxbow campground in Forks, according to a probable cause report by Detective Joe Pursely.
While en route to the campground, they received a report of a vehicle crash and that the driver had assaulted a passenger, the report said.
Once Pursely and Deputy Gene Hoagland arrived at the scene of the crash and the nearby campground, they found a woman who was shaking and upset, with her shirt ripped and clothes dirty and torn, the report said.
She told investigators that Silva had held her against her will, hit her multiple times, chased her with a hammer and threatened her with a gun during a trip across the state, the report said.
At the campground, Silva allegedly tried to force the woman into her car, eventually grabbing the woman’s dog and speeding off, She crashed into a 10-foot-deep ravine nearby, the report said.
The woman ran to the car, grabbed her dog and returned to the campground, where two witnesses who had seen the argument and the car crash found her. She allegedly said, “Please don’t let her find me or she’ll kill me,” the report said.
In a later interview, the woman told Pursely that the pair was traveling from Michigan to Washington. When they crossed the Idaho border, they stopped at a gas station where Silva reportedly took the woman’s phone, ID, credit cards and money from her, the report said.
In the next two weeks leading up to Thursday’s arrest, Silva allegedly assaulted the woman several times and threatened to kill her, the report said.
The woman tried to escape from Silva numerous times, but was unsuccessful until Thursday, the report said.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
