A Saturday night out at a downtown Kennewick bar ended with one man in jail, another in the hospital with part of his ear bitten off and seven people cited for disorderly conduct.
The fight started around 1:30 a.m. Sunday outside the Sports Page Bar and Grill.
What exactly led to the brawl is not known. The Herald talked to four of the seven people cited for disorderly conduct, including 21-year-old Logan Jacob Booth, who had part of his ear bitten off in the melee.
People in both groups said the other group started the fight and they or a friend had been jumped. Some also questioned why they were cited for disorderly conduct when they claimed they weren't fighting but instead had just been trying to help stop it.
Kennewick police Sgt. Ken Lattin said the people involved were uncooperative with officers at the scene, which he attributed to alcohol being involved.
"They cited the people appropriately," Lattin said. "We want to send the message that fighting in the Parkade around our bars is not appropriate. ... If you chose to stick around and get in a fight and not cooperate with police, you're going to get cited for disorderly conduct."
The following people were cited for disorderly conduct: Booth, of Kennewick; Colby Cook, 21, of Kennewick; Kyle Keller, 21, of Kennewick; Tonya Pelayo, 23, of Kennewick; Nicholas Jamison, 27, of Pasco; Marcos Alexander Manueles, 27, of Connell; and Antonio Mercado Jr., 33, of Kennewick.
Erik Pelayo-Vera, 23, of Kennewick, was arrested after allegedly biting off about a quarter of Booth's ear.
He appeared Monday before Benton County District Court Judge Dan Kathren, who found cause to hold Pelayo-Vera without bail on investigation of second-degree assault.
According to court documents, Booth and witnesses at the scene identified Pelayo-Vera as the assailant.
Pelayo-Vera's wife, Tonya Pelayo, told the Herald that her husband "did not throw a punch at anybody" and has no history of violence. She said there was so much going on but all her husband was trying to do was pull people off.
Booth said he didn't know the people involved, but Pelayo-Vera had approached him earlier in the night when he was outside talking to a girl. He didn't think there was any issue, but when he and Cook walked outside, he said Cook got hit by something. Booth said Pelayo-Vera then hit him, knocked him down and started biting his ear. He said his ear was ripped from the earlobe up to the cartilage.
Sunnyside police still looking for man accused of attacking ex-girlfriend
Sunnyside police still are searching for a 29-year-old man accused of attacking his ex-girlfriend with a knife.
Manuel Angel Torres is wanted for attempted murder, police said.
Torres and the victim, a 25-year-old Yakima woman, have a 2-year-old child together, said Charlotte Hinderlider, Sunnyside police spokeswoman.
There has been a history of escalating domestic violence by Torres against the victim, she said.
The victim was assaulted with a knife in the 1000 block of Tacoma Avenue in Sunnyside just after 6 p.m. Sunday and managed to drive herself to the hospital.
As of Monday, she was listed in stable condition, Hinderlider said.
Torres is 5-foot-8, 136 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about Torres' whereabouts can call Sunnyside police at 509-836-6200.
