EPHRATA — A Moses Lake man was charged for allegedly hitting another man in the head with a rock during an incident outside of a Moses Lake bar.

Grant County prosecutors charged Victor Ramirez, 25, of Moses Lake, with third-degree assault.

About 1:15 a.m. on May 6 the Moses Lake Police Department received a report of a physical altercation outside of Neppel’s Dockside Pub in the 200 block of West Broadway Avenue. Police were told a physical altercation had occurred, but the fighting had stopped and the involved subjects were outside of the bar, according to police records.

About 100 people were outside of the bar when officers arrived at the scene, with several of the subjects reportedly yelling and screaming. One man told an officer he was hit in the head with a rock. A woman corroborated the man’s story, stating he was hit in the head with a rock and the suspect ran behind the bar.

Police were able to find the alleged suspect, Ramirez, who was pointed out by another witness at the scene. Ramirez allegedly started to walk away from an MLPD officer as the officer grabbed his right arm and told him to stop.

“The Hispanic male (Ramirez) turned at me and swatted my arm as to prevent me from holding onto him,” wrote the officer. “The male observed me as an officer and immediately took off running. I yelled at the male to stop and he was under arrest, but he continued to run toward Broadway (Avenue).”

After a short chase Ramirez was eventually contacted and taken into custody outside of Broadway Bar and Grill. The alleged victim told police he was in the bathroom inside of Neppel’s when he heard a man talking about his girlfriend and saying how he wanted to “hook up” with her. The victim allegedly confronted the unidentified man outside of the restroom, with a small fight ensuing between the two men, according to police records.

The victim said he was punched by the man who made the comments about his girlfriend and the man’s friend. He stated he went outside of the bar and was charged by at least 15 people, with Ramirez allegedly approaching him and hitting him in the head with a rock. Ramirez was reportedly “highly intoxicated” and said he ran because he didn’t want to go to jail. Two women and a man were able to back up the victim’s version of the incident.

“I was on scene for more than an hour, and at no time did anyone come up to me and give me any additional information, or information to contradict the statements from (the victim) and his friends,” wrote a officer. “No one else came and contacted me or any other officer to advise they were assaulted or injured.”

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.