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An Onalaska man convicted last month for assaulting two people while “blackout drunk” in March was arrested again on Wednesday for allegedly fighting with one of the people he previously assaulted, in violation of a court order, and assaulting someone else who tried to intervene.
Ryan Lewis Croker, 21, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26, and was charged Thursday in Lewis County Superior Court with one count of second-degree assault, one count of fourth-degree assault and two counts of violation of a protection order, domestic violence.
Bail in the current case is set at $20,000. Arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday, July 3.
Croker is accused of going to a residence in the 3200 block of Laurel Lane in Centralia and getting into a physical dispute with the woman he assaulted in March, according to testimony the woman’s roommate gave to deputies with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
The roommate said he knew about the court order prohibiting Croker from contacting the woman and, after he “heard a physical altercation” between Croker and the woman, he intervened and told Croker to leave.
Croker then allegedly threw the roommate to the ground, punched him in the face and “began to strangle him to the point he could not breathe and was gasping for air,” according to court documents. The roommate reported “he had to bite Croker to get him to let go.”
The roommate’s wife then reportedly intervened, prompting Croker to leave with the woman in a gray Mitsubishi Galant.
The incident was then reported to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, according to court documents.
The roommate’s wife reportedly “related that Croker had been drinking,” according to court documents.
Deputies later located Croker and the woman in the Mitsubishi in the 900 block of U.S. Highway 12, conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and placed Croker under arrest.
When questioned, Croker allegedly said he did not know the woman’s roommate and did not know there was a protection order prohibiting him from contacting her, according to court documents.
The protection order stems from a March 27 incident where Croker allegedly assaulted the woman at an address in the 100 block of Maple Ridge in Onalaska and then assaulted his brother when he tried to intervene, according to court documents. He also allegedly threatened to kill the woman multiple times during the assault and illegally had a rifle in the trunk of his car.
Croker entered Alford pleas, allowing him to take advantage of a plea deal without admitting guilt, to all charges on May 6, according to court documents.
He was sentenced to 364 days in jail, with credit for 41 days already served and the remaining 323 days suspended, meaning he doesn’t have to serve that remaining jail time if he follows the conditions of his probation.
As part of the sentence, a Lewis County Superior Court judge issued protection orders in favor of the woman and Croker’s brother, prohibiting Croker from having any contact with them and from going within 1,000 feet of their homes, schools or workplaces for the next five years.
