SEATTLE — This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
A man arrested in connection with an attack on a 75-year-old woman last week in downtown Seattle is now charged with assault in the first degree.
Prosecutors allege Fale Vaigalepa Pea, 42, assaulted the woman near 3rd Avenue and James Street last Friday.
Pea has a previous conviction for assault in the second degree from 2012.
He is due in court for arraignment on December 11.
On December 5, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) received several reports of a man swinging a wooden stick with metal screws in it, SPD announced.
“He swung the stick like a baseball bat, intentionally striking her in the face, causing serious facial injuries,” Seattle Police Detective Eric Muñoz told KIRO Newsradio.
“She’s surviving, but what police said is that she might lose sight in one of her eyes,” Casey McNerthney, a spokesperson with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, said. “That’s just awful.”
Elderly woman attacked with a homemade weapon in downtown Seattle
The victim then fell backwards onto the ground with “a laceration that was bleeding heavily,” according to the police report.
“This was a violent attack against an elderly woman who had no opportunity to protect herself. She had no opportunity to defend herself,” Muñoz said.
Several bystanders rushed to help the woman and called 911 as the suspect walked away from the scene. During this time, an analyst in the SPD Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) located the suspect and informed SPD officers of his location.
Five minutes after the assault, King County Sheriff’s Office deputies found the suspect and detained him without incident.
Deputies transferred the suspect to SPD custody, and after a review of the footage of the attack from the RTCC, the suspect was arrested.
The Seattle Fire Department treated the victim for serious facial injuries, and paramedics transported her to Harborview Medical Center for emergency surgery.
SPD noted the suspect is a previously convicted felon with a “violent person” caution.
“This person is previously known to law enforcement as a violent person, and he’s also a convicted felon for assault, so he was booked into the King County Jail for assault first degree,” Muñoz explained.
The suspect was booked into the King County Jail for assault in the first degree, and his weapon was seized as evidence.
Contributing: James Lynch and Tom Brock, KIRO Newsradio
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