Jury convicts Olympia man in burglary, assault case
A jury has found a 39-year-old Olympia man guilty of assault and burglary charges, stemming from an Aug. 29, 2014, incident in which he attacked another man with a power drill.
Kevin G. Norton stood trial before Thurston County Superior Court Judge Carol Murphy beginning Nov. 9. On Wednesday, the jury found him guilty of one count of second-degree assault, and two counts of first-degree burglary.
Norton is scheduled to be sentenced by Murphy on Dec. 2.
According to court documents, Norton had no known criminal history prior to his conviction. The standard sentencing range for the burglary convictions is 15 to 20 months in prison, and the standard range for the assault conviction is three to nine months in custody.
Norton was arrested Aug. 29, 2015, after a man called 911 and reported that Norton had broken into his shop. When Thurston County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene, the male victim was sitting on top of Norton, preventing him from leaving, according to court documents.
A woman at the scene told the deputy that she and Norton had gotten into a fight, and the male victim picked her up and drove her to the shop. By the time they arrived, she had received about 70 text messages from Norton.
Norton came to the shop a short time later and began banging on the door. The male victim opened the door and Norton rushed in, but the man eventually got Norton to go back outside, according to court documents.
Norton then began hitting the building with a jack, causing damage to the door. He entered the shop again, grabbed a drill and started toward the male victim. The man was able to wrestle the drill out of Norton’s hand, according to court documents.
Norton was arrested, and later released on $2,500 bail. He was taken into custody following his conviction and will be held in the Thurston County Jail while he awaits sentencing.
Amelia Dickson: 360-754-5445, @Amelia_Oly
This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Jury convicts Olympia man in burglary, assault case."