PORT ANGELES — A Marysville man who allegedly punched a sheriff’s deputy Oct. 4 has been charged with attacking a Clallam County jail officer on Sunday.
Connor B. McGibney, 25, was unprovoked when he slammed Corrections Deputy Charles Sanders’ head against a cement wall and punched him “at least four times” with a plastic utensil clenched in his fist, court papers said.
He was charged Monday with one count of custodial assault.
“It’s alleged that he attacked and repeatedly struck corrections officer Sanders while being escorted by four deputies to the shower,” Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Snipe said Monday.
Superior Court Judge Brent Basden granted Snipe’s request to raise McGibney’s bail from $50,000 to $60,000.
“My client doesn’t have $50,000 to post on the other case,” Defense Attorney Harry Gasnick said. “He doesn’t have $2 to post on this case.”
McGibney is a Western State Hospital patient whose civil commitment was not renewed because officials at the psychiatric center “forgot to file the paperwork,” Gasnick said.
“It’s a very unfortunate set of circumstances,” Gasnick added.
McGibney was being escorted from his jail cell to a shower room at about 5:45 p.m. Sunday when he suddenly lunged at Sanders and slammed his head into a cement wall, Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Morris said in the affidavit for probable cause.
McGibney positioned the tail end of a plastic spork so it was poking out of his right fist during an assault that was captured on video surveillance, Morris said.
“McGibney begins by initially ‘hammer fisting’ Deputy Sanders in the face using the spork utensil and continues the attack on Deputy Sanders by delivering several ‘haymaker’ type punches directed towards Deputy Sanders’ face,” Morris wrote in the affidavit.
The 6-foot-5, 180-pound McGibney knocked Sanders to the ground and continued punching him with closed fists until other corrections deputies were able to detain him, Morris said.
Sanders sustained cuts and abrasions to his lip and jaw, according to Morris’s report.
“It happened so fast I couldn’t tell really what happened,” Sanders said.
McGibney was previously charged in Superior Court with attacking Morris along Sequim-Dungeness Way on the evening of Oct. 4.
Morris and Sgt. Amy Bundy were investigating reports of a suspicious male looking into back yards when they spotted McGibney walking northbound near Medsker Road.
McGibney, who was armed with a folding knife, ignored the officers’ commands to stop and struck Morris in the face with “haymaker” punches, court papers said.
Morris said he wrapped his arms around McGibney’s torso and body slammed him. McGibney took hold of the lawman’s holstered handgun during a struggle on the ground.
McGibney let go of the weapon after Bundy’s shocked him several times with a stun gun, according to the affidavit for probable cause.
McGibney continued to resist arrest until Sequim Police Officer Randy Kellas arrived to help the county officers place him into handcuffs.
Morris was diagnosed with a minor concussion after the Oct. 4 attack, Chief Criminal Deputy Brian King has said. He did not miss any work.
McGibney was charged Oct. 5 with single counts of third-degree assault of a law enforcement officer, attempting to disarm an officer and possession of methamphetamine. He has not yet been arraigned.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
