LONGVIEW — The Vancouver man facing murder charges in the death of a Portland man whose body was found on a remote logging road in Ariel may have been attempting to silence him, according to police records. Joseph Klimas III, 45, is being held on suspicion of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. A bail hearing for was set for Monday afternoon in the shooting death of Cesar Reyes, 46, whose body was discovered Nov. 11 in Ariel. Police believe he was shot in Woodland. According to a police report, an inmate in the Cowlitz County Jail tipped authorities to Reyes’ alleged killer and a recorded phone call at the jail alludes to the crime.

Weeks after Reyes’ body was found, the Vancouver Police Department contacted the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office about a recorded phone call by Klimas to an inmate facing a murder charge at the Clark County Jail. A police report states Klimas said during the call that he had “done something similar” to what the inmate was charged with, adding that the person involved was “on vacation.” Klimas then began talking about a person named Pelon, a nickname used by Reyes. In January, a Cowlitz County Jail inmate — arrested in December on assault and drug charges — told authorities Pelon was shot and killed near a slough in the 1100 block of Whalen Road by someone driving a white SUV, the report states. Text messages between the inmate and Klimas the day before Reyes was discovered reportedly indicate Klimas offered to buy a gun and full clip of ammunition from the inmate, with plans to meet in the same Woodland location the inmate said the murder took place.

About 1:21 a.m. Nov. 11, the day the body was found, Klimas told the inmate he was about 10 minutes out, according to police records. The inmate said Klimas told him he shot Reyes because Reyes was telling people information he didn’t want shared. The police report does not elaborate. On Nov. 11, deputies found Reyes’ body on a logging road near Lewis River Road Milepost 42 in Ariel, about 40 minutes from the reported site of the shooting in Woodland. Reyes had suffered a gunshot wound to the face. Two witnesses also reported seeing a white SUV in the area earlier that morning. Authorities obtained security camera footage from a nearby business, the report states, showing a white Ford Explorer heading east on Lewis River Road about 6 a.m. and then heading west at 6:30 a.m. An autopsy report shows Reyes died as a result of a gunshot wound to his head and neck from a large caliber bullet that was recovered from his left shoulder.