KITSAP, Wash. — Julianna Hills and her friends decided to head out to the Port of Manchester on May 4 to celebrate a birthday. Hills says things were going well at first, but then a man in a white robe approached them.
“He starts yelling about how he’s gonna jump in, and we egg him on, and he goes I’ll only jump in if you go with us, and we go, ok no,” Hills recalled. “So we start walking back and he starts yelling at us, then his wife starts yelling at us, and we’re like, ok, this is weird.”
Hills said when the group got to her vehicle, the man followed them, yelling that he had a gun. But things took an even more dangerous turn once Hills and her friends got back into the vehicle.
“He throws my car door open and looks me dead in the eye and says, ‘Now you can’t run,’ reaches into his pocket and unloads this big bottle of bear mace into my eyes and everyone else in the car,” Hills said.
Hills said she and her friend, Vince Nabors, still carry scars from that night and other grim reminders of this random act of violence.
“I’m going to get the seats re-done with my insurance, at least, but I’m going throw this [shirt] away,” Hills said. “I really don’t wanna look at it and be like, ‘Yeah, I got maced,' ya know?”
Kitsap County deputies posted a video of the incident on social media, releasing images of the suspect’s identifying tattoos.
After a tip from a resident, deputies were able to make an arrest on Tuesday.
“He’s going to face at least three counts of second-degree assault,” said Kevin McCarty of the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.
Callie Travis said it was terrifying to get the call that something had happened to the group and something no parent should live through.
But she also said she was disappointed with how the group was treated during the night of the incident.
“At one point, one of the officers was laughing, and kind of made a joke about Vince playing up to the females present,” Travis said.
Travis said she hopes in the future, law enforcement officers make sure victims of these crimes are properly cared for.
“They need to treat the community with more respect, and that’s what I think Vince could’ve used that night.”
The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office said if someone has a complaint about how they’re treated by deputies, they’re encouraged to reach out to the Sheriff’s Office and let them know. Meanwhile, the Sheriff’s office wanted to thank the public for giving them tips to help make this arrest.