Police could hear the man’s screams from well outside the Monroe home.
“Help me, help me,” he called around 4 a.m. Thursday.
“He sounded as though he was in severe pain” and also was helpless, one Monroe police office
r wrote in a report.
Inside the home on the 100 block of N. Kelsey Street, police found a man bleeding from his knees, legs and face.
He told officers the intruder beat him with his fists and assaulted him with the ice ax he initially had used to defend himself.
Police arrested a 25-year-old Monroe man. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of first-degree burglary.
A judge set bail at $150,000 Friday.
The suspect has mental health issues, according to court papers.
The victim’s wife, a cousin of the suspect, also was hurt.
The couple reported that they were awakened by the sound of someone kicking in their front door.
That’s when the husband grabbed an ice ax and hid behind his locked bedroom door with his wife.
He told police the suspect then kicked through that door. At that point, the man said he held up the ice ax and told the intruder, “You don’t want to do this, you need to leave.”
The intruder began to wrestle him for control of the ice ax and the woman tried to call 911 from the bed.
The suspect allegedly jumped on top of her and began punching her in the face.
The husband said he then began swinging the ice ax at the suspect to protect his wife, who was able to escape to a bathroom and call police.
The victim estimated he was punched in the face and head about a dozen times, according to a police affidavit filed with the court.
All three were taken to Valley General Hospital in Monroe for treatment.
The suspect was later booked into jail.
Police said the suspect mumbled inaudible statements. He later told an officer he did not know why police were there and did not know what was going on.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
