Ephrata man sentenced for assault in Soap Lake

SOAP LAKE — An Ephrata man was sentenced for assaulting a man in Soap Lake in January and leaving the man with brain swelling and a broken bone under one of his eyes.

Raymond Hyce, 50, of Ephrata pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to fourth-degree assault. Hyce received a 364-day jail sentence, with 276 days suspended for two years.

The sentence stems from a January incident in Soap Lake when police received a report of an assault in the area of First Avenue Northeast and Fern Street North. The victim in the assault was found wandering on Fern Street and was bloody and had a swollen left eye. He was transported to Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata for treatment and was diagnosed with a broken orbital bone under his left eye and brain swelling, according to documents.

The victim told police he was sleeping in his RV on Fern Street when Hyce came in and started to assault him. The victim says Hyce told him the RV didn’t belong to him and he was punched and head-butted several times.

As some point during the assault Hyce grabbed a knife and told the victim “I will stab you.” The two men left the RV and Hyce continued assaulting the victim by punching and head-butting the man. The victim was able to positively identify Hyce from a photo lineup and claimed he was the man who assaulted him. Soap Lake police attempted to locate Hyce at a residence on Third Avenue Northeast, but he was not at the location.

Police then went to the location of the assault and found a knife, which the victim later said was the one Hyce threatened him with, on the ground near the victim’s RV.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.