An Olympia man was booked on two felonies after allegedly hitting two other males with a metal pipe because he was upset over his missing bag.
Travis W. Benson, 40, was arrested last Thursday, May 26 after a reported assault near the Harbor House public meeting room at Percival Landing on the downtown waterfront.
An officer located Benson walking eastbound on Olympia Avenue, yelling while holding a metal pipe over his shoulders. He was detained without incident on Washington Street.
The two men who were allegedly assaulted by Benson positively identified him as the suspect.
Police said both men were “visibly shaken and appeared shocked, and requested to be taken away [from] the area where Travis was detained so that they could no longer see him.”
Alleged victims recall incident
The first alleged victim, a transient, told police that he was asleep inside his tent when he got hit in the head by an object and heard someone screaming outside. The man said he exited his tent and saw Benson and the other alleged victim arguing.
The man said Benson threatened to hit him with a pipe, prompting him to run away behind the Harbor House. He added that the suspect then turned to chase down the other man, at which point the first alleged victim called 911.
The hit to the man’s head caused a “throbbing and dull” pain, he said. Police noted that he had a visible mark on the right side of his forehead. He denied medical assistance.
The man also said Benson damaged his bike and his tent. He expressed fear that the suspect could have inflicted further damage on him if he had not run away.
The second man who was allegedly assaulted by Benson said the suspect began acting aggressively after learning that his bag went missing. The man said he saw Benson hit the other individual on the head, damaging his bike and tent in the process.
The man said Benson hit him twice using the pipe and began chasing him down the street after the other person exited his tent and ran away.
Benson told the man to “give me my stuff, I’m going to kill you,” according to the police report. The man said the suspect could have done something worse to him if they had been closer.
Suspect’s account
The suspect told police that he was asleep on a bench near Harbor House and woke up to find that his gray bag was missing.
Benson said he first confronted a different individual about his things, then moved toward the two alleged victims, who had a tent set up near the area where he was sleeping.
The suspect said one of the two men denied stealing anything. Benson said he then picked up a pipe, asked the man about his things again, then smashed a bike tire after the man denied taking his things for the second time.
The bike tire was located underneath the tent, the police report stated. Benson said he was not aware that there was a person inside the tent. When the man inside the tent informed Benson that he was in there, the suspect walked away.
Police said the suspect admitted to hitting the bicycle and the tent but denied attempting to hit the man occupying it. Benson said he then chased down the other man, whom he described as a “piece of sh*t.”
The metal pipe Benson used was about six feet long and had been bent in the middle, an officer noted.
“Based on the size of the pipe, and the manner in which Travis used and swung the pipe, it was evident that it could be used as a deadly weapon, and would have caused serious or great bodily injury, if [the man inside the tent] had been directly struck in the head,” police said.
Benson was booked into the Thurston County Jail for second-degree assault, harassment – threats to kill and third-degree malicious mischief.
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