Street altercation leads to pepper spray attack

An argument late Thursday evening at the intersection of Thurston Avenue and Franklin Street led to the pepper spray attack, and later on, the arrest of a 30-year-old male.

Olympia Police Department (OPD) officers arrived on the scene as Olympia Fire Department was treating a man who was a victim of a pepper spray attack.

“He (victim) was only able to open his eyes for a second or two before having to close them due to the pain. When his eyes were open, I observed they were extremely watery and bloodshot,” the responding officer stated in the police report.

The victim’s wife reported that her husband had been involved in a heated verbal exchange with another man, later identified as Erick Flores, over the noise at such a late hour.

The confrontation escalated when the suspect allegedly sprayed the victim with a pink can of pepper spray.

The suspect then fled the scene and threatened the victim that he would return.

The responding officers, familiar with the suspect from an earlier encounter, shared an image from his body-worn camera, which the victim confirmed was his assailant.

Following the attack, authorities located the suspect at the artesian well on 4th Avenue E.

“I responded to the Well and observed Flores who appeared to be under the influence of narcotics as his behavior was extremely erratic,” the responding officer stated. “Flores stated he had been pepper sprayed but I did not observe the odor of pepper spray on him, and his eyes did not appear to be irritated by any substances.”

 The suspect was arrested without incident and a bottle of pink pepper spray was found in his possession during a body search and booked at Thurston County Jail for second-degree assault.