Suspended sentence for man who assaulted deputy at Great Wolf Lodge

A 35-year-old Centralia man will serve a 364-day suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to assaulting a Thurston County Sheriff’s deputy in the Great Wolf Lodge parking lot.

Isidro Garcia-Cisneros pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault — a gross misdemeanor — Tuesday afternoon in Thurston County Superior Court. He had initially been charged with third-degree assault following his arrest Dec. 25, 2014.

With the suspended sentence, Garcia-Cisneros won’t serve the 364 days of jail time unless he fails to meet the conditions of his probation, explained Judge Gary Tabor. During his one year of probation, Garcia-Cisneros will be expected to undergo an anger management assessment, complete any recommended treatment, and not commit any crimes.

During his court hearing, Garcia-Cisneros explained to the judge that he assaulted the deputy in an attempt to prevent his already injured friend from sustaining further injury. He said he misjudged the situation and made a mistake.

According to the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office, the deputy involved asked that the charges against Garcia-Cisneros be reduced to fourth-degree assault.

“It does appear to the court that this is an appropriate way to solve this matter,” Tabor said.

Court documents give the following account of the events leading to Garcia-Cisneros’s arrest:

The deputy responded to a medical call in the parking lot at about 10:51 p.m. and learned that a man had been pushed to the ground during a domestic dispute. The man and his girlfriend had been arguing, but the argument stopped after the man hit his head.

The argument started again with the deputy present. The deputy saw the man raise his hand to hit his girlfriend, and attempted to arrest the man.

As the deputy began to handcuff the man, Garcia-Cisneros stepped forward and lifted the deputy in a bear hug. Garcia-Cisneros spun the deputy in a full circle.

When the deputy asked why he had intervened, Garcia-Cisneros said he was “doing his job,” according to court documents. He explained that he was in the Army and it was his duty to protect people.

Neither Garcia-Cisneros nor the other man would provide his name and information to the deputy, but it was later obtained by assisting deputies and Chehalis Tribal Police.

This story was originally published August 5, 2015 at 7:30 AM with the headline "Suspended sentence for man who assaulted deputy at Great Wolf Lodge."