Two Arrested In Attack That Left Spokane Man In Coma Last Fall Springdale Men Accused In Assault At North Side Parking Lot Assault

Authorities have arrested two men they think took part in an attack last fall that left a Spokane man in a coma.

Eric Joseph Hood, 22, and John L. Swiger, 23, are in the Spokane County Jail charged with second-degree assault.

Spokane police believe the Springdale residents and another man attacked Jeff Feagan and his younger brother in a north Spokane parking lot last October.

Feagan, 35, sustained a severe head injury when he was hit behind the right ear with a piece of wood.

His brother, who has not been named, was knocked down but not seriously hurt.

Doctors and police initially thought Feagan, a former Coast Guard member, would die. His coma began to lighten in December when he opened his eyes and moved his head.

Attempts to reach Feagan’s family were unsuccessful Thursday, and information on his condition was not available.

After five months with no leads, the case broke open for Spokane detectives recently when they received a tip that Hood and Swiger were involved in the beating, Lt. Jerry Oien said Thursday.

The Springdale town marshal arrested Swiger last week, and Hood turned himself in to Spokane officers.

Until then, police were “kind of stonewalled,” Oien said.

“We didn’t have an awful lot to go on, just a description of the truck and the guys,” he said. “The fact that they lived in Springdale made it even more difficult.”

The attack occurred after Feagan and his brother, who were driving home after seeing a blues band, nearly collided with a Toyota pickup truck filled with four men.

The men followed Feagan and his brother to the Tidyman’s parking lot on North Cedar, and three of them attacked the brothers when they got out of their car.

The four men then sped off.

Spokane police are searching for the third attacker, Oien said. Detectives determined that the fourth person was not involved in the assault.

Feagan’s family and friends helped break the case.

They distributed fliers seeking information on the attack in northern Spokane County and parts of Stevens County, and posted a $2,500 reward for information.

“They were tenacious,” Oien said.

Stevens County Prosecutor Jerry Wetle said he delayed filing charges while waiting for medical reports that might have justified a more serious charge against the 17-year-old.

Hildebrandt is accused of using his head to knock out Spokane referee Bob West after West penalized the Colville team because Hildebrandt shoved another wrestler. Hildebrandt shoved West Valley junior Josh Kelp after Kelp pinned him in a 190-pound Frontier League match at Colville on Jan. 18. Hildebrandt had already been penalized for intentionally butting Kelp.

This is the second time Hildebrandt has faced assault charges in Stevens County Juvenile Court. He was convicted last year of fourthdegree assault in a July 14 attack on Colville resident Doug Harder.

A judge sentenced Hildebrandt to six months of probation, community service and counseling. He was ordered to pay Harder $187 as restitution.

Indians, Chiefs radio changes The Spokane Indians baseball club announced the addition of radio broadcasts in north Idaho and a switch on the dial in Spokane.

Radio station KVNI-AM 1080 in Coeur d’Alene will broadcast all Indians games when the Northwest League season begins in mid-June.

In Spokane, the Indians will switch from KGA-AM 1510 to KJRB-AM 790. Both stations are owned by Citadel Broadcasting.

In a related announcement, KVNI will broadcast more than 40 Spokane Chiefs hockey games next season.

The Chiefs also signed a two-year agreement to keep KGA as their flagship station.

Huge soccer tournament What is billed as the third-largest youth soccer tournament in the nation begins at Spokane Falls Community College on Saturday.

The two-weekend tournament has grown from 36 teams in 1985 to 315 this year, according to Community Colleges of Spokane soccer coach Cor van der Meer. Teams come from throughout the northwest.

This weekend’s tourney is for select boys and girls teams from U-12 to U-19. Next week’s games will match adult and youth recreation teams.

Matches will start every half hour, and only five players will be on the field at one time for each team in the fast-paced tournament. During the four days, teams will play more than 700 matches on 12 fields. Competition runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 8-4:30 the other days.

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