Two accused in baseball bat beating remain jailed

PETER JENSEN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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Two men remain in jail and two others have been released from the hospital after a fight involving a baseball bat last month.

Virgil Van Duisen, 42, of Bellingham and Jeffrey Chapman, 19, of Blaine were each charged with two counts of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon. They pleaded not guilty in Whatcom County Superior Court Nov. 7.

Their trial is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2009. Both remain in Whatcom County Jail - Chapman in lieu of $150,000 bail and Van Duisen in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Jason Sams, 23, of Bellingham was transported to St. Joseph Hospital with a fractured skull and a severe concussion after the Oct. 25 fight. His friend, Canaan Upton, 24, of Bellingham was treated at the hospital for facial fractures and cuts.

According to charging documents filed in Superior Court:

Before the assault, Upton, Sams and another friend, Jackson Frazier, had been drinking at the Village Inn Pub Oct. 25.

They left the bar at 2:15 a.m. and decided to moon two people inside Access Comics. They shattered the front window as they pressed their buttocks to it.

Chapman and Van Duisen were inside the business and chased after them as the owner called 911. As they left, Chapman grabbed a bat from the trunk of his car.

Chapman and Van Duisen caught up with the three men on a trail that parallels Cedarwood Avenue.

The two groups of men gave police conflicting accounts of what happened next.

Frazier told police that Van Duisen ambushed them and started beating Sams in the face with the bat, which broke.

Police found Chapman, carrying the broken bat, and Van Duisen, with blood on his face and clothing, on Northwest Avenue minutes after the attack. Van Duisen was not cut.

Chapman said he and Van Duisen confronted the three men on the trail. The other men immediately attacked Van Duisen.

He told police he hit Upton in the face because Upton had his hands in his pockets and might be concealing a weapon.

He told police he saw Sams on top of Van Duisen. He admitted to hitting Sams twice - once in the side of the face and once in the head, which broke the bat, according to the documents.