Document text
Police hunt suspect in hatchet attacks WHITE CITY -- Police were still searching Wednesday for a man who allegedly attacked two people with a hatchet-type weapon. Jess "Butch" Martin, 51, is probably still in the area, said Jackson County sheriff's Lt. Dewey Patten. "We've talked with some of his friends," Patten said. "He talked with some people (Tuesday) on the phone, but nobody knows where he is right now." An arrest warrant has been issued charging Martin with assault for allegedly attacking David Bruce Lindgren, 41, and Nancy Carol Bennett, 45, early Tuesday at her home at 3110 Ave. A. Martin, who was dating Bennett and was living in her rented home, apparently became jealous when Lindgren, Bennett's estranged husband, showed up Monday afternoon. Martin was asked to leave the house, but came back several hours later with a hatchet-like weapon. He allegedly hacked and beat Lindgren while he was asleep in a chair. Martin is also accused of slashing Bennett in the face with the weapon when she tried to stop him. Bennett, a temporary laborer, was treated and released at Providence Medford Medical Center Tuesday with a cut from her lower lip to the bottom of her chin. Lindgren, who travels the West Coast as a carnival worker, suffered a broken jaw, fractured skull and cuts to the left side of his face. He remained in the hospital Wednesday and police plan to interview him today, Patten said. According to initial reports, the weapon used was a hatchet. However, Patten said Wednesday that it may have been a piece of pipe flattened and sharpened at one end. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA