Bail set at $25,000 for suspect in downtown Olympia stabbing

A Thurston County judge set bail at $25,000 for a 54-year-old man suspected of stabbing another man in downtown Olympia on Sunday night.

Richard M. Rivera appeared before Judge James Dixon on Wednesday in Thurston County Superior Court. Dixon found probable cause for one felony charge: first-degree assault while armed with a deadly weapon.

Around 10 p.m. Sunday, police and paramedics responded to reports of a man with a stab wound who had collapsed in the parking lot outside King Solomon’s Reef at Fourth Avenue and Franklin Street.

The victim, a 30-year-old transient man, had been stabbed by a blade about 5 inches long. The knife had gone through the victim’s arm and punctured his lung, according to court documents.

Olympia police Lt. Paul Lower said the man is expected to survive the wounds.

The victim told police the stabbing occurred in an alley that runs behind the Urban Onion. Rivera allegedly confronted the man and stabbed him in the side, then fled the scene, Lower said.

Rivera was arrested by Olympia Police on Tuesday morning after an officer located him near the Olympia Transit Center, Lower said. He matched the description given by the victim, who said he had seen the suspect downtown before.

The victim later identified Rivera in a photo lineup.

When police served a search warrant at Rivera’s apartment, officers found clothing that matched the description given by the victim. A trench coat and a pair of shoes had what appeared to be blood on them, according to court documents.

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Bail set at $25,000 for suspect in downtown Olympia stabbing."