Man arrested for assault after hitting friend with wine bottle

Olympia police arrested and charged a man with second-degree assault after allegedly striking his friend with a wine bottle during an altercation on the night of October 30.

The victim reported to authorities that he had been inside his garage with the suspect, identified as John Szolomayer.

While hanging out inside the victim's garage, where both individuals were drinking, the victim made a phone call to the suspect's mother, for reasons not disclosed to the authorities, and engaged in a conversation with her for approximately 30 minutes.

According to the victim's statement to law enforcement, Szolomayer became agitated during the phone call and expressed his displeasure with how the victim conversed with his mother.

At this point, the suspect abruptly stood up, grabbed a wine bottle, and struck the victim on the side of his head.

To defuse the situation, the victim asked the suspect to leave the premises.

However, Szolomayer refused to leave and allegedly proceeded to assault the victim by repeatedly punching him in the side of his head.

 “I told John to leave but said he wasn`t going to and punched me in the side of my head repeatedly,” the victim told authorities.

Fearing for his safety, the victim retaliated by striking the suspect in self-defense, with the suspect returning to his car and the victim dialed 911 for assistance.

When authorities arrived at the scene, they discovered a broken wine bottle on the garage floor and observed visible injuries on the victim.

 “The victim had blood on his left ear and the left side of his cheek was swollen,” deputies observed in his report.

Szolomayer was transported to TCSO Jail and booked for the charge of fourth-degree assault.

The victim shared later on that right after he was hit his ears were “ringing” and he was “seeing stars,” mentioning that things became a “blur.”

The severity of the victim's injuries, including a brain bleed and his jaw either dislocated or broken, was revealed after a medical examination, prompting the prosecutor's office to elevate the charges against the suspect from fourth-degree assault to second-degree assault.