Trial date pushed back in alleged car-ramming assault case

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A potential plea deal with prosecutors did not come to fruition Friday in Jefferson County Superior Court for a  Bremerton man charged with second-degree domestic violence assault after he allegedly crashed into his ex’s vehicle and tried to run her off the road near Bridgehaven.

Yordi Giovanni Silva Lomeli, 22, was charged with second-degree assault and four other felonies and gross misdemeanor charges in late August and entered a pleading of not guilty during his arraignment in September.

Silva Lomeli, who remains in custody on $100,000 bail, made an appearance in superior court Friday via a video from Jefferson County Jail in Port Hadlock.

“We had set this for a possible change of plea but we’re not quite ready to do that today,” attorney Samuel Feinson told the court.

“We’re still working on a resolution,” Feinson said, but added an issue had arisen about the whereabouts of a material witness in the case.

Feinson asked for a three-week delay, and the trial date for  Silva Lomeli was reset for Feb. 14. Two weeks were set for the trial, based on the need for an interpreter.

Silva Lomeli was arrested just after 1:30 a.m. Aug. 25 after his ex-girlfriend told police he rammed the back of her car and then drove past her, then angled his vehicle in front of her’s and forced her car to a halt. He then allegedly began pounding on one of the windows to the vehicle.

Fearing for her safety, she called her father and Silva Lomeli drove away.

The woman’s father later found him in Kitsap County and a fight ensued.

After an interview with Bremerton police, Silva Lomeli was taken into custody and turned over to Jefferson County at the Hood Canal Bridge.

At the time of his arrest, Silva Lomeli had been under investigation for an alleged attempt to kidnap his ex from the east Bremerton area and take her against her will to Mexico with their two young children, according to court documents.

The alleged kidnapping attempt was Aug. 18. The woman had been on her way to meet a co-worker in Bremerton when Silva Lomeli showed up and began arguing with her.

When she tried to drive away, she said Silva Lomeli began following her, “trying to intersect her and cause an accident,” a Port Townsend police officer wrote in a report on the incident.

She said she drove to a Safeway in Bremerton where her friend would usually pick her up, but Silva Lomeli followed her to the grocery store. He then allegedly hit her and forced her into his car.

The woman was able to escape after telling him she had a court date in Port Townsend. When the pair entered the Jefferson County Courthouse, she went into the Juvenile Services Office on the third floor and found someone who spoke Spanish. Silva Lomeli then ran down the stairs and out of the building.