Olympia man to serve 9 months for beating his stepfather

A 36-year-old Olympia man pleaded guilty Wednesday to assaulting his stepfather in a Burger King parking lot on Martin Way.

Mark K. Overbey pleaded guilty Aug. 12 in Thurston County Superior Court to one count of second-degree assault, a domestic violence charge. He was sentenced by Judge Anne Hirsch to nine months in custody.

Hirsch acknowledged Overbey’s history of substance abuse, but she said drug use is no excuse.

Deputy Prosecutor Cailen Cecil Wevodau said Overbey’s stepfather suffered significant injuries, and was unhappy that the standard range of sentencing for this type of crime is not longer.

Phillip Griffith of the Office of Assigned Counsel said Overbey is clearly taking responsibility for his actions, since he pleaded guilty to a ‘strike’ offense. This is Overbey’s first strike offense. Three such offenses result in life imprisonment.

“I know he’s not proud of what he did,” Griffith said. Griffith also pointed out that Overbey has had no felony convictions since the mid-1990s.

Overbey has been in custody since his arrest June 26, after injuring his stepfather in a fight over a pickup truck.

According to court documents, the truck is registered in the stepfather’s name, but he let Overbey use it. The stepfather told police that Overbey is a heroin user who was living out of the truck.

The stepfather had dropped the truck off at Burger King. Overbey thought the stepfather had broken the truck, started punching him in the face and eventually knocked him unconscious with a kick to the face, according to court documents.

The stepfather said he awoke to see Overbey driving around the parking lot in his box truck and thought Overbey was going to run him over. Overbey then got out of the truck and started punching the stepfather again.

The stepfather got into the box truck and drove away, and Overbey began chasing him onto Interstate 5 in the pickup, according to court documents.

The stepfather was treated by the Lacey Fire Department for injuries to his face and head, according to court documents.

This story was originally published August 12, 2015 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Olympia man to serve 9 months for beating his stepfather."