PORT ANGELES — A Joyce man is facing his third “strike” under the three strikes sentencing law after he allegedly held a knife to a fishing boat owner’s groin, a Clallam County deputy prosecuting attorney said.
David P. Hoffman, 56, was arrested Wednesday for investigation of first-degree assault and first-degree vehicle prowl after he allegedly pulled a buck knife on the owner of the Sea Wolf fishing vessel while it was docked at The Landing mall.
Port Angeles police said Hoffman demanded money for a past fishing trip he worked and refused to leave, climbing down a ladder to the engine room.
“[The owner] was worried that Hoffman was going to cause damage to the engine so he went to tell him to leave and see what he was doing,” Officer Bruce Fernie wrote in the affidavit for probable cause.
“Hoffman came from underneath [the owner] as he was going down the ladder and placed a knife blade against his inner left thigh and said ‘I’m going to kill you.’
“Hoffman kept repeating ‘I’m going to kill you,’ ” Fernie said.
Clallam County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin requested a $50,000 bail for Hoffman at his initial court appearance Thursday.
Devlin said Hoffman is a “potential three-striker,” meaning he would be subject to a life sentence if convicted of first-degree assault under the “Three Strikes, You’re Out” law.
Hoffman has been convicted in multiple jurisdictions for a theft in 1984, bank robberies in 1986 and 2002, assault in 1993 and battery in 2009, Devlin said.
“Every time he gets out, there’s another offense that sends him back in,” Devlin said of Hoffman’s probation violations.
“And he is facing life in prison if he is a third-striker on this case.”
Defense attorney Harry Gasnick of Clallam Public Defender requested a $5,000 bail for his client.
“The gentleman denies having any history of failing to report to court,” Gasnick said.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brian Coughenour granted Devlin’s request for a $50,000 bail.
“That’s a pretty heavy list of previous charges that include thefts and violent conduct,” Coughenour said of Devlin’s summary.
“And the allegations in this matter are violent conduct over money.”
The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will consider filing a formal charge against Hoffman at his next court appearance at 1 p.m. Monday.
The boat captain told Port Angeles police that Hoffman and his wife were on board the vessel when he arrived at the dock at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
“Hoffman said he wanted to work,” Fernie said.
“[The alleged victim] told Hoffman that he didn’t have work for him today and to get off the fishing boat. Hoffman said that he would get off the boat if he was paid for a past fishing job he did.”
The boat owner said he would issue a check to Hoffman when his son arrived to calculate his payment.
The owner told police that he found boat horns in a bag that Hoffman’s wife was carrying. He then noticed Hoffman climbing down the ladder to the engine room, Fernie said in the probable cause statement.
“[Hoffman] is told to get off of this vessel,” Devlin said in court.
“He doesn’t. The owner starts to go down a ladder and he proceeds to hold a knife to his groin area where the femoral artery is.
“If he had actually used that knife, [the owner] would probably not be here with us today,” Devlin said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
