Bat-wielding assault suspect found and arrested
Published 1:30 am Monday, April 22, 2019
PORT ORCHARD — Thanks to the assistance of Port Orchard Police Department patrol officers and information from an observant resident, a man wanted on suspicion of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon was apprehended Sunday in South Kitsap.
Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Michael James Cook, 26, at 12:20 p.m. after he was found asleep in the bed of a pickup truck parked at the south end of Arnold Avenue in South Kitsap. Cook had been the subject of a 29-hour manhunt by the sheriff’s office after he allegedly assaulted an adult male with an aluminum baseball bat in the early morning hours of Saturday.
The assault reportedly occurred in a treehouse on Higgins Road Southeast near Southeast Maple Street in South Kitsap. The victim sustained critical life-threatening injuries, deputies reported, and was transported to a regional trauma center.
Cook was booked into Kitsap County Jail on first-degree assault with a deadly weapon. Bail was set at $250,000. He also was booked on an unrelated warrant for second-degree burglary, with bail set at $150,000.
Law enforcement officials are continuing their investigation of the alleged incident. Witnesses to the assault are requested to contact Sheriff’s Office Detective Krista Kleinfelder at 360-337-7117 and reference case report K19-003954.
