Inset: Joe Johnson in court. Background: The homeless camp in Washington state where Joe Johnson allegedly attacked a woman with a propane tank (KOMO).
A Washington state man put a hole in a woman's forehead with a "full-size" propane tank, leaving her disfigured with a brain bleed following a vicious attack at a homeless camp known as "the Jungle," prosecutors and police say.
Joe Vaughn Johnson, 38, is facing a charge of assault in connection with the July 10 attack in Olympia and attempts to arrest him, according to court records.
A probable cause statement obtained by The Olympian newspaper says Johnson repeatedly tried to enter a housing structure at the "Jungle" encampment where the victim lived, and she attempted to remove him. Johnson allegedly picked up a propane tank and swung it at the woman multiple times, striking her in the head as she tried to fend him off with pepper spray.
The attack left the woman with a "severe laceration" that local ABC affiliate KOMO describes as a hole in her forehead, which reportedly left her disfigured. Witnesses saw the assault unfold and told police that Johnson "took off running" afterward, The Olympian reports.
The victim was taken to a local hospital and treated for a brain bleed, hematoma and laceration. Police tracked Johnson down and found him at a local public housing facility. He allegedly barricaded himself inside and refused to come out, with the Thurston County SWAT team responding to the scene.
Prosecutors say Johnson set fires inside the building before authorities sent in a police dog and officers to restrain him after they "pepper-balled" the apartment Johnson was in. He appeared in court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing, during which prosecutors said Johnson was a danger to the community.
"This is an individual that violently attacked a person in one of our houseless camps, striking her with a full-size propane tank, causing injuries to the individual that the officer was amazed this person was even walking around," Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Wayne Graham told the court.
Johnson, who was on parole for a prior stabbing incident, was ordered held on a $1 million bond. He is charged with arson, obstruction and resisting arrest in addition to assault.