On the heels of serving a 15-month prison sentence for felony burglary, a San Juan Island man was ordered to pay $10,000 to a crime victims fund and serve out the remainder of a jail term on work crew after pleading no-contest to an unrelated crime, punching a man twice in the face.
On Oct. 24, Travis James Webster, 27, pleaded no-contest in San Juan County Superior Court to one count of third-degree assault, a gross misdemeanor. He was ordered to pay $800 in fines and fees, and $10,349 in restitution to the state crime victims fund, and was credited with having served part of a jail term, the rest of which he will be allowed to serve out on work crew.
Prosecutors charged Webster in early August with one count of second-degree assault, a Class B felony, for striking a man of similar age in the face at a late-night gathering at a Blair Avenue apartment in May 2013. A the time the charge was filed he was nearing the end of a 15-month prison sentence for felony burglary. He pleaded no-contest to the lesser offense as part of a plea deal, according to court documents.
By pleading no-contest, known as an Alford plea in Washington state, a defendant does not admit guilt to the crime of which he or she is charged, but acknowledges that if the case went to trial they would likely be convicted.
According to court documents, Webster struck the man in the face over a $50 drug debt and with such force that the repeated blows broke the man’s jaw. His injuries required multiple surgeries to mend. The victim reportedly delayed notifying authorities about the assault for seven months for fear of retaliation.
Webster, also known as Travis White, is one of two men convicted a year ago of breaking into the Friday Harbor apartment of an acquaintance in mid-July 2013. In pursuit of prescription drugs at the time, they both wore masks. They were identified by the couple whose apartment they broke into when an altercation involving all four broke out and the two would-be robbers were unmasked. The two then fled the scene.
A year ago in November, Webster was sentenced to 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to felony burglary. His accomplice, Taiya Autumn Speed was also sentenced to 15 months in prison.
