Third suspect caught in Ephrata beating

EPHRATA - Ephrata police captured the third suspect believed to be involved in an orchestrated attack that injured an Ephrata man last month.

Jason McIlwain, 30, of White Swan, was arrested just before 7 p.m. Sunday at a home on the 1200 block of Cottage Street Southeast.

He joins Brittany L. Pruitt, 24, and her brother, Rusty J. Abrams, 30, both of Ephrata, in carrying out the attack that sent a 23-year-old man to the hospital.

McIlwain was picked up on warrants for first-degree and second-degree assault, and a state Department of Corrections warrant for arrest and detention.

A second female subject was in the residence with him, officials said. She denied McIlwain's presence at the location, but officers eventually found him.

The woman, whose name was not released, is expected to be cited with criminal assistance and making false statements to law enforcement, police said.

- Staff report