A 44-year-old Umatilla man was arrested by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office after he was accused of striking a male victim in the head with a baseball bat during an argument over a woman.
On Monday, an MCSO deputy responded to a residence on SE 155th Street in Umatilla in reference to an assault. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with a male witness who stated that Bryan Neil Sowers had hit the victim’s head with a baseball bat.
According to the witness, Sowers and the victim were both in the living room when they got into a verbal argument over a woman. The witness advised that Sowers stood up and allegedly struck the victim in the head with the bat.
A second witness gave a similar statement to the deputy.
The deputy located the victim inside the bathroom. The MCSO report stated that the victim was sitting on the toilet with his head “laying on his knee,” and blood was coming out of his left ear. Blood drops were also visible on the ground inside the living room.
The deputy noted in the report that the victim was unable to make any statements regarding the incident. Marion County Fire Rescue arrived on scene and transported the victim to a local hospital due to head trauma.
Inside the residence, the deputy located Sowers, and he claimed that he only punched the victim in the face. Sowers further claimed that the victim had “charged at him with a knife” during the incident.
The deputy read Sowers his Miranda rights, and Sowers did not understand it. After his Miranda rights were repeated three times by the deputy, Sowers again stated that he “did not understand,” according to the MCSO report.
Sowers was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where he is currently being held on $15,000 bond. He is facing a felony charge for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
A court date has been scheduled on Tuesday, November 1 at 9 a.m., according to jail records.