Beating Suspect, Police Tangle

A 33-year-old Spokane man accused of hitting his girlfriend with a hammer and knife handle Monday night attacked the police officers investigating the case, authorities said.

Police went to a house in the 1000 block of South Florida about 11:30 p.m. after someone called to report a man beating a woman.

Witnesses said Mark Allen Person kicked the 37-year-old victim in the head, then smacked her with a hammer and a knife handle.

She was taken to the hospital with cuts on her mouth and nose and bruises on her head, ears, neck, back and chest. She was treated and released, police said.

Officers said they found Person, who apparently is trained in the martial arts, hiding under a deck in back of the house.

They handcuffed him, but he kicked officers trying to subdue him and then shattered a patrol car window with his foot, authorities said.

Person, who has more than a dozen convictions for burglary and assault, was booked into jail on assault and malicious mischief charges, police said. , DataTimes