Background: A person winds up to strike Jeanette Marken in the face with a wooden board along Third Avenue outside the King County Courthouse in Seattle, Washington (KOMO/YouTube). Inset: Fale Pea (KOMO/YouTube).
In Seattle, Washington, a shocking incident unfolded when a man wielded a large board embedded with a screw, striking a 75-year-old woman in the eye on a busy downtown street corner. This violent act resulted in her partial blindness, as reported by authorities.
Court documents indicate that Fale Pea, 42, is facing charges of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon causing serious injury. Pea has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.
The unsettling event took place late morning on December 5, outside the King County Courthouse along Third Avenue. Surveillance footage from local ABC affiliate KOMO captured Jeanette Marken as she waited at the corner, presumably to cross the street for a food pickup.
Unexpectedly, an individual, allegedly Pea, approached with a long wooden board in hand, then swung it forcefully.
Marken suffered a severe injury, losing her right eye, as per local media reports. Onlookers managed to photograph the suspect before rushing to her aid. She was subsequently taken to a hospital, where medical professionals informed her that her vision in the right eye would not be restored and additional surgeries might be necessary.
Authorities apprehended Pea in the vicinity, with body camera footage revealing that officers were familiar with the suspect from prior incidents.
“Who is this guy?” a paramedic asked the officer who was wearing the body camera.
“He’s a regular,” he responds. “He usually punches. I guess today he decided to escalate things way worse than his usual.”
The officer added that Pea frequents Third Avenue, with another cop saying, “He’s notorious for random assaults on Third,” per the video obtained by KOMO. The suspect has reportedly been convicted multiple times in the past for assault, including stabbing someone eight times at a party.
Court records show a competency hearing was initiated for Pea on Dec. 11. On Monday, a judge declared that he has been deemed fit to stand trial.
For Marken’s family, the violence on the street and the question of whether the attack could have been avoided loom large.
“To take a wood club with nails and just, no, I’m going to hit her with all the force on her face is like — that’s not someone you can recover or help,” Andrius Vyrikis, her son, told the local TV station. “I want someone to at least say to my mom, ‘hey, we’re working on this. We’re trying to fix this.’”
“What the h— is wrong with your system?” he asked.
Pea is jailed under a $1 million bond. His trial is expected to begin sometime early next year.
