Man Uses Baseball Bat To Collect $28 Debt

Thu., Jan. 9, 1997

From Staff And Wire Reports

A Spokane resident bent on collecting a $28 debt hit an acquaintance in the head with an aluminum baseball bat, sheriff’s deputies said.

Witnesses said the attack occurred Tuesday about 4:50 p.m. at Ziebart Auto Detailing, 100 S. McKinnon in the Spokane Valley.

Rick J. Brown, 34, walked into the store through an unlocked back door and confronted a 35-year-old man who works there, deputies said. Brown claimed the man owed him money.

Witnesses said Brown hit the man in the head with the bat, then threw the weapon at him. When the bat missed, Brown reportedly picked it up and hit the victim in the leg and then drove away in a black car. Deputies later arrested him near Trent and Park. He was booked into the county jail on a charge of second-degree assault.

Deputies recovered the bat, which is being held as evidence.

The victim, who wasn’t named, was treated at the store by paramedics but declined further medical treatment.

, DataTimes

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