A 46-year-old South Whidbey man with a history of violence is facing his “third strike” and is wanted on a rare no-bail warrant after assaulting an elderly man who was recuperating from surgery, according to court documents.

On Oct. 1, Island County Superior Court Judge Christon Skinner signed the warrant of arrest for Kevin F. Brown that orders him to be held in custody without bail.

In requesting the arrest warrant, the prosecutor pointed out that Brown is charged with a third “most serious offense” under the Persistent Offender Accountability Act. A conviction would result in a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Prosecutors charged Brown in Island County Superior Court Oct. 1 with assault in the second degree and assault in the fourth degree. They are both considered domestic-violence charges.

According to a report by a deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office, Brown attacked a man in a kitchen over a minor mushroom-related disagreement on July 8. Several people were living at the Clinton property in a trailer and outbuildings, but they all had access to a house for cooking and cleaning.

The elderly man tried to intervene when Brown assaulted a man in the kitchen. Instead, Brown punched the older man, the report states. The elderly victim was recuperating from surgery for an aortic aneurysm; his son had died and he was visiting Whidbey to take care of his affairs, the report states.

Later, Brown again attacked the elderly man as he was moving belongings to a truck. Brown punched him repeatedly, kneeled on his chest and choked him, the report states. The man suffered significant injuries to his face and petechial hemorrhaging.

The Island County Sheriff’s Office made efforts to arrest Brown but were unable to locate him until Sept. 20. Brown fled from an officer and evaded arrest despite being tased, court documents state.

The motion for the warrant describes Brown’s history of violent crime. In 2015, Brown robbed a man in his home and stabbed him with a knife. In 2020, he broke into a man’s home, attacked him with a sword and told his mother to say goodbye to her son.

“Kevin Brown is not entitled to bail under any law,” the motion states. “The witnesses in this prosecution are entitled to the protection that a no-bail hold can provide them.”