Kevin Bradford, top left, makes his preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday.
A Puyallup man accused of beating and choking a man after believing the victim had stolen a “bag of methamphetamine” from him made his preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday.
Kevin E. Bradford, 55, was charged with second-degree assault and escape from community custody.
However, Bradford denied any involvement in the matter.
“According to the (affidavit of) probable cause, upon review, I don’t see a link to Mr. Bradford other than one individual pointing a finger at him,” his defense attorney for the day, Rachael Tiller, said at his hearing.
The affidavit of probable cause gives the following account of the assault:
On Oct. 17, a Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched to Morton General Hospital to meet with a victim who had reportedly suffered a collapsed lung and rib fractures from an assault. According to the officer, he was not able to learn much at first contact with the officer because he was still “out of it,” but noted that the man muttered the name “Kevin.”
Police learned from the victim’s girlfriend that earlier, the two had picked up a mutual friend to give him a ride to a friend’s house on Belcher road in Glenoma.
When they arrived at the residence, she told police, her boyfriend and their mutual friend went inside the house, and when he came out, her boyfriend had injuries.
She also told police that initially, her boyfriend did not want her to take him to get medical treatment, saying that it would only make things worse. But eventually, the alleged victim began having trouble breathing and checked himself into Morton General Hospital.
Several days after the assault, the deputy was able to meet up with the alleged victim who was able to be interviewed.
The man reported that a friend had asked for a ride to Bradford’s house, and he agreed to give him the ride.
However, when he entered the home, it appeared to be a setup, the man told police.
The friend who he had given a ride blocked the door, according to the victim, while Bradford started beating, kicking and choking him until he felt like he couldn’t breathe.
The victim said that Bradford kept referencing a stolen bag of methamphetamine as he was assaulting him. The victim told police he suspected his friend lied to Bradford and framed him as the culprit.
At this time law enforcement also learned that Bradford had an outstanding warrant for escaping community custody.
Nearly a month later, on Nov. 12, Bradford was arrested on his Department of Corrections warrant and the deputy met with him at the Lewis County Jail to question him about the alleged assault.
Bradford denied any knowledge of the case, but did pose “hypothetical questions” to the deputy, saying that if someone was caught stealing from another person and got roughed up, then it should be justice served.
At Bradford’s preliminary appearance on Friday, Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher requested bail to be set at $75,000, noting that Bradford has been convicted of second-degree assault once before and he was evading community custody corrections officers at the time of the alleged offense.
Tiller, on behalf of Bradford, requested that he be released on his own personal recognizance.
Superior Court Judge Andrew Toynbee agreed with Meagher’s request and set bail at $75,000.
Branford is scheduled to be arraigned on Nov. 25.
