Washington man charged in hammer attack over parking space

MEDFORD, Ore. — A Washington man is in the Jackson County Jail following an alleged attack over parking at a Central Point travel center that sent a victim to the emergency room.

Yong Woon Shin, 40, of Lakewood, faces a Measure 11 assault charge accusing him of attacking a man with a hammer and injuring the victim’s hand at the Pilot Travel Center during a dispute about where the victim parked a pickup truck, according to documents filed by Central Point police in Jackson County Circuit Court.

At about 3 p.m. Tuesday, police say, Shin pulled out a hammer and allegedly smashed the windshield of the victim’s Dodge pickup truck — causing an estimated $300 in damage to the vehicle — and struck the victim’s hand in an attack that was reportedly witnessed by the victim’s mother and captured on the business’ surveillance video.

Police say the surveillance footage shows Shin getting angry at the man about where the truck was parked prior to the attack.

The victim told police he went to the emergency room at Providence Medford Medical Center following the attack, but court documents do not say the extent of the victim’s injuries.

Shin made his initial court appearance Wednesday on a felony charge of second-degree assault and misdemeanor charges of fourth-degree assault, second-degree criminal mischief and menacing.

Under Oregon’s Measure 11 law, the crime of assault in the second degree carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 5 years, 10 months if convicted.

During the hearing, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge David Orr set Shin’s bail at $100,000 and appointed a public defender for Shin. On Thursday afternoon, Shin was still lodged in the Jackson County Jail, records showed.