A 31-year-old Vancouver man pleaded guilty to second-degree assault Friday in Clark County Superior Court for stabbing his friend in the chest in September.
Christopher Ollar was not sentenced during the hearing. Deputy Prosecutor Kristine Foerster said her office was unable to contact the victim’s family and asked the court to hold off on handing down Ollar’s punishment.
The facts of the case remain the same despite an amended charge. Ollar was originally charged with first-degree assault. The Sept. 3 stabbing happened at Ollar’s residence in Vancouver’s Ogden neighborhood.
At about 11:20 p.m., on a Sunday, Vancouver police responded to 8620 N.E. 29th Way for a reported stabbing. Arriving officers found the victim, Nicholas Bennett, unconscious, lying in the driveway and suffering from a stab wound to his chest, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Bennett was taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, where he remained in critical condition two days after the stabbing. Court records showed the knife punctured his heart. His status was unclear as of the Friday hearing, though comments made to the judge suggest he is alive.
Ollar told detectives that he invited Bennett over. Bennett was intoxicated, he said, and became belligerent. Ollar asked Bennett to leave but Bennett refused, according to the affidavit.
Their argument continued until both men were outside the home, along with Ollar’s girlfriend, the affidavit says.
Bennett hit both in the face, Ollar said. He said that prompted him to retrieve a knife from inside. Ollar said he was holding the knife at chest level and that Bennett ran into it. The couple then went inside and called 911, the affidavit says.
Ollar opted for a plea deal rather than risk being found guilty of the more serious charge at trial, said defense attorney Jason Bailes.
The attorney had argued at the onset of the case that the actions of his client “scream self-defense.”
“The risk of a much higher sentence was significant,” Bailes said outside the courtroom Friday. He said Ollar would have faced more than a dozen years in prison had he been convicted at trial.
By pleading to the lesser assault charge, Ollar faces a standard sentence range of six to 12 months, and a maximum penalty of 1½ years as an enhancement for using a deadly weapon.
Clark County Superior Court Judge Bernard Veljacic scheduled sentencing in the case for Jan. 19.
