Olympia bar fight suspect’s bail set at $7,000

A 54-year-old man was arrested Saturday (Nov. 21) for allegedly hitting another man with a pint glass and lacerating his temporal artery at an Olympia bar.

Robert W. Kendall of Olympia appeared in Thurston County Superior Court on Monday, and Judge Christine Pomeroy found probably cause for one count of first-degree assault. She set bail at $7,000 and ordered Kendall not to visit any bars.

Court documents give the following account of the events leading to Kendall’s arrest:

An Olympia police officer was dispatched to Fatso’s Bar and Grill on Martin Way on Friday evening after receiving reports of an altercation. The suspect, later identified as Kendall, had fled the scene.

When the officer arrived at the scene, she saw that the victim was covered in blood and he was being treated by Olympia fire personnel. He was transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital, where doctors reported that his temporal artery had been cut. The victim underwent surgery.

The officer learned that the suspect, Kendall, was a regular at the bar. Witnesses said Kendall and the victim had a argument, and Kendall hit the other man with a pint glass hard enough to shatter the glass.

The following day, officers contacted Kendall by phone, and he admitted to having been involved in an altercation. He said the victim had pushed him so hard that he had almost fallen off of the bar stool. Kendall said he instinctively hit the victim, but didn’t realize he had been holding the pint glass.

Kendall said he didn’t intend to hurt the victim so badly, and had meant to punch him with his fist.

Kendall turned himself in.

This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 4:06 PM with the headline "Olympia bar fight suspect’s bail set at $7,000."