“An Oak Harbor man who beat a woman’s head into the pavement escaped life imprisonment by agreeing to a plea bargain that comes with a 10-year sentence.Quincy Stewart took an Alford’s plea for third-degree assault and unlawful imprisonment charges in Island County Superior Court. In taking the plea, he doesn’t admit the charges but agrees that he would be found guilty in a trial. As part of the plea agreement, Stewart agreed to a exceptional sentence of 10 years in prison. Even with time off for good behavior, he will be imprisoned for at least eight and a half years.Stewart was originally charged with second-degree assault, which is considered a serious felony. Stewart would have received a life sentence if convicted of the charge since he’s already been convicted of two other serious felonies. Under the state’s persistent offender law, anyone convicted of a third serious felony gets an automatic life sentence.Stewart’s criminal history includes two robbery convictions in King County and felony escape in Thurston County.In the Island County case, Oak Harbor Police Officer Patrick Horn wrote that he responded to a report of an assault at a NE Seventh Avenue apartment complex May 1 at around 11 p.m.Horn saw Stewart standing over the victim, a 38-year-old Olympia woman, who crouched into a fetal position in the parking lot. The woman was bleeding from her mouth, and had lumps all over her face and head. She tried to walk, but collapsed and slipped in and out of consciousness. Her entire body was twitching and jerking and her eyes were unresponsive.Witnesses said Stewart was on top of the woman, pounding her head into the pavement. One witness saw him punch her in the face several times and another saw him dragging her on the ground.The woman was transported to Whidbey General Hospital and then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center is Seattle because of the seriousness of her head injuries. She was treated and later released.In an interview at the Oak Harbor jail, Stewart said he was angry with the woman because she threatened to tell his girlfriend about her, Horn wrote.Stewart was wanted on several warrants out of Olympia, including a domestic violence case with the same victim. Stewart recently moved to Oak Harbor from the Olympia area and the victim lives in Olympia. “