By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Sabino Gomez-Barriga is scheduled to make a guilty plea in the case in which he is accused of stabbing a co-worker in the throat at a Centralia wholesale meat business early last month.
[1]Sabino Gomez-Barriga
Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Shane O’Rourke confirmed a plea agreement has been tentatively reached but wouldn’t discuss the details until the deal is completed in front of a judge.
“We think we’ve resolved the case,” O’Rourke said today.
Gomez-Barriga, 35, was arrested on Nov. 7 after a fight at the Five Star Beef Company on Airport Road.
Prosecutors said 21-year-old Jorge Juarez punched Gomez-Barriga, who responded by jabbing Juarez with the blunt end of a meat hook and then sticking him in the neck with a boning knife.
Gomez-Barriga was charged with first-degree assault.
Juarez, a Centralia resident, was in grave condition initially, and underwent “pretty intense” surgery, but has improved immensely, according to O’Rourke.
“The latest update I have, he’s made a full recovery,” he said.
Gomez-Barriga, who lives in downtown Chehalis, remains held in the Lewis County Jail on $250,000 bail.
A court hearing is set for next Thursday afternoon, with time set aside for Gomez-Barriga to change his plea and be sentenced.
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For background, read “Centralia slaughterhouse fight involved meathook and boning knife” from Friday November 9, 2012, here [2]