ALBANY, Ore. — A Scio man was charged with two counts of second-degree assault for allegedly attacking a farm resident with a hatchet and splashing bleach on his face early Christmas morning.
Cyle Eastman Schrunk, 31, also was charged with menacing and strangulation during his brief videoconference hearing on Wednesday afternoon in Linn County Circuit Court.
“This crime is breathtaking in its violence,” prosecutor Keith Stein said. He asked for $200,000 bail in the case, noting that Schrunk has four previous convictions for fourth-degree assault.
Judge Daniel Murphy set Schrunk’s bail at $200,000.
Schrunk claimed his innocence from the Linn County Jail during Wednesday’s hearing.
“He didn’t even have to go to the hospital,” Schrunk protested. “I’m the one who got hit with the hatchet.”
Michael Lowry was appointed Schrunk’s defense attorney and the next hearing in the case was set for Jan. 2.
According to police logs, a Christmas party was being held in the 39000 block of Highway 226, and the incident was reported at about 1 a.m.
The accuser, an adult male, said that Schrunk showed up at the address and was acting abnormally, so the accuser asked Schrunk to leave, angering him, a probable cause affidavit in the case states.
The alleged victim left the main residence and was walking to his trailer when Schrunk approached him with a hatchet in his hand. He raised the hatchet and then punched the accuser in the face with the hatchet in his hand, according to the PC affidavit.
The accuser fell to the ground, got up and attempted to walk away, but Schrunk continued to follow him and picked up a bottle of bleach. “Cyle said, ‘I’m going to kill you,’ and splashed bleach in (the accuser’s face.’ A majority of the bleach got into (the accuser’s) left eye,” the PC affidavit states.
According to the PC affidavit, the two wrestled and fell to the ground. Schrunk then got behind the victim and choked him, causing the victim to be unable to breathe.
The accuser poked Schrunk in the eyes to get him to release the choke, got on top of him and punched him several times in the face, he told authorities. Schrunk then said he would quit fighting.
Schrunk told police that he had bleach and a hatchet with him because he had seen a wolf earlier in the day and was protecting farm animals. He added that the accuser attacked him for no reason, and that he was lucky to be alive, the PC affidavit states.
