Two Coupeville residents are facing felony assault charges for allegedly jumping a man outside of the Tyee hotel and restaurant and beating him badly enough to break bones in his face, court documents state.

Travis Hilkey, 25, and Shawn Salsman, 27, were both charged Oct. 7 in Island County District Court with second-degree assault, which was defined as “intentional assault / reckless infliction of bodily harm,” the charging documents state.

Deputy Brent Durley of the Coupeville Marshal’s Office wrote in his report on the assault that he responded to a 911 call at the Tyee on the night of Monday, Oct. 4.

The 56-year-old victim had been transported to Whidbey General Hospital by the time he got there, but he was able to investigate the blood-spattered scene.

According to Durley’s report, nobody in the bar had witnessed the assault, though a couple of women said “bad blood” between Hilkey and the victim went back a decade.

With two suspects and a victim, investigators were able to detail three somewhat different versions of what occurred.

The victim claimed that he was “jumped” by Hilkey and another man that he didn’t know, Durley wrote. He said he was walking to his car when Hilkey approached him. He said he tried to push him away, but Hilkey put him in a headlock and then the unknown person “blindsided him and punched him in the face.”

The man said he did not remember much after that, but he thought someone kicked him in the back when he was on the ground.

Hilkey claimed that he and Salsman were in the parking lot and the victim called to him. According to Durley’s report, Hilkey said the man and he started wrestling around and Salsman intervened, punching the man in the face.

Hilkey claimed that Salsman straddled the man after he fell to the ground and struck the man half a dozen times.

In Salsman’s version of events, Durley wrote, the victim attacked Hilkey and he punched the man to stop the fight.

Salsman said he punched the man again “to get his attention,” the report states, but did not straddle the man and continue to pummel him as Hilkey claimed.

Coupeville Deputy David Penrod described the victim’s injuries in his supplemental report. He wrote that the man’s left eye was swollen shut and badly bruised; he had a laceration over his left eye and the lid was slightly torn; and the left side of his face was covered with coagulated blood.

The emergency room doctor said that it looked, from the X-ray, like the bones around the victim’s eye were broken and small bone fragments were on the back side of his eye.

The doctor said he didn’t know if the man would have permanent eye damage.

Salsman pleaded not guilty Oct. 15 after getting out of jail on $10,000 bail.

Judge Vickie Churchill originally set Hilkey’s bail at $50,000 and reduced it to $30,000 Oct. 8. He posted bail Oct. 13.

You can reach Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or 675-6611.