Distraught over pet rat’s death, man attacks with baseball bat

A resident of a local shelter was charged with a felony after allegedly hitting another person with a baseball bat, claiming he was distraught over the death of his pet rat.

The suspect, 23, was charged with second-degree assault by the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney on Sept. 26.

On Sept. 22, Olympia police responded to a reported assault on the 2800 block of Pacific Avenue SE.

The responding officer saw the alleged victim lying in the front parking lot of Enterprise Rent-a-Car, holding his arm and yelling about being in lots of pain.

The alleged victim said he had been watching over the belongings of an individual, whose name he did not know, for two days. He described the individual, later identified as the suspect, as distraught because his pet rat had just died.

The suspect got upset and began threatening the man, according to the police report. The alleged victim told him to back away, but the suspect started hitting him in the left shoulder and the back of his head using a baseball bat.

The officer noted that the alleged victim had two large red welts on his left shoulder. He was given aid by the Olympia Fire Department.

Another officer located the suspect leaving a shelter on the 600 block of Devoe Street SE. The alleged victim positively identified the suspect as the individual who attacked him.

The suspect refused to provide a statement. Meanwhile, an employee of the shelter was unable to confirm whether the suspect had a bat, but noted that he told her he was having a bad morning because he had just lost his pet rat.

Another man staying in the shelter told police that he saw the suspect with an aluminum baseball bat that had some tape on it. He also said the suspect was “crying and fussing” but not speaking clearly.

Officers did not immediately locate a baseball bat among the suspect’s belongings, but found probable cause to arrest him based on the interview with the man who was hit and the two witnesses.

The suspect was booked into the Thurston County Jail for second-degree assault.