Homeless home invaders attack Tri-Cities man with sword and bat
Two men are in jail accused of attacking a man with a sword and baseball bat during a home invasion.
They’re being held in the Benton County jail on suspicion of first-degree robbery. They were due to appear in court Monday afternoon.
Kennewick police officers responded to a call about a domestic disturbance at a home on the 1700 block of W. 17th Ave. around 8:45 a.m. on Saturday. The caller told dispatchers that a man was being chased by a woman with a baseball bat.
The victim flagged officers down as they arrived. He told officers that he had been arguing with his sometimes girlfriend the night before, and she left, but forgot her phone.
The next morning a roommate, who was asleep on the couch in the living room, woke up with the woman and two men standing over him yelling.
They went into the victim’s bedroom and cornered him. Bret M. Byron, 63, was armed with a baseball bat and Travis W. Carmen, 34, had a sword in its sheath, said court documents. Both men are believed to be homeless.
The victim was able to stand up, but was afraid to run because they were armed.
The man’s girlfriend began trashing his room looking for the phone. When she wasn’t able to find it, she began taking the victim’s belongings, according to court documents.
He tried to grab his wallet back as she was taking money out of it, but Carmen and Byron allegedly began attacking with the bat and sword. The men were “whipping” him, but not hitting very hard, according to the victim. He ended up with a minor cut on his hand from blocking his face with his arms.
While being attacked the man was pushed onto his bed and grabbed his phone to call 911, but the girlfriend took it from him and left with the attackers.
The victim followed them outside as they got into Byron’s white cargo van to leave. He knew Byron through his girlfriend.
He yelled at them to return his phone, but Carmen got out and chased him with the sheathed sword.
The victim ran into the garage and locked it. Carmen was kicking in the door when the girlfriend entered the home through the front door and continued chasing him, said the documents.
They stopped chasing the victim and fled once they realized police were on the way. Carmen allegedly stole a bag of golf clubs worth $1,000 on his way out of the garage.
Officers were able to track the van to another home on East 2nd Avenue where body camera footage from previous incidents showed Byron with the van at the property.
Later that day officers saw the van back at the East 2nd Avenue home and took Byron into custody. He claimed he only had a stick and never went into the victim’s home, then changed his story and said he walked out “once stuff was getting out of hand.”
Because it was a windowless panel van, officers opened the sliding door to ensure no one was hiding inside. A bat fell to the ground and officers saw the stolen golf clubs inside.
Carmen eventually came out of the home and was taken into custody as well. He claimed that the only people who got physical were the victim and his girlfriend.
The victim’s on-and-off girlfriend has not yet been charged with any crimes.
