Man accused of brutally beating woman in downtown Spokane now suspected of potentially deadly assault on fellow Eastern State patient

An Eastern State Hospital patient who was admitted for allegedly brutally beating a woman last year in downtown Spokane is accused of assaulting a patient March 17, leaving the victim with life-threatening injuries.

Martay L. Ellis, 24, was booked into the Spokane County Jail for first-degree assault. He remains in jail with a $750,000 bond as of Wednesday night.

Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded around 9:30 a.m. to the reported assault between Ellis and another patient at the Medical Lake hospital, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

The two patients got into some type of an argument that quickly escalated, deputies said. Hospital staff separated them, detained the suspect and provided medical aid to the victim. The victim was taken to the hospital, where he was in critical condition Wednesday, the release said.

Ellis was accused of leaving another person in critical condition in September, when he allegedly kicked and stomped on her head in the area of West Second Avenue and South Jefferson Street. The victim, Tiffany Turner, was then taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries before being released.

Video footage of that incident allegedly revealed Ellis forcefully kicking and stomping on Turner’s head, despite her lying motionless on the ground, according to a Spokane Police Department news release at the time.

A police detective wrote in court documents that Turner never made any aggressive movement toward Ellis, and there was no apparent reason for the attack.

Ellis was also booked into the Spokane County Jail for first-degree assault for the incident.

A judge dismissed the felony charge against Ellis, deeming him incompetent because of a “mental disease or defect,” according to court documents filed Feb. 15. Ellis was committed to the state hospital for a civil commitment evaluation.

Police said in September that Ellis is a five-time convicted felon with prior convictions that include felony assault and robbery.

Ellis made his first court appearance Friday for the March 17 incident and is scheduled for an arraignment March 29.