SPOKANE, Wash. — The man accused of assaulting a woman on the Centennial Trail in Spokane appeared in court Monday afternoon.
25-year-old Michael Trout was arrested and charged with second-degree assault for allegedly tackling and strangling a woman on the Centennial Trail on the morning of Aug. 24.
According to court documents, the victim went for a morning walk on the trail at approximately 6 a.m. on Aug. 24. While she was walking, she saw a man, believed to be Trout, wearing a red sweatshirt riding a bike towards her. She described the man as late 20s, six feet tall and skinny with medium long, light brown hair, a beard and several missing teeth.
As the victim continued walking, she told police Trout ran up behind her and wrapped his arms around hers. The two fell to the ground, at which point Trout allegedly got on top of her and covered her mouth with his hand to prevent her from yelling for help. He then got both hands around her neck and started strangling her, according to documents.
While strangling the victim, Trout allegedly put his right forearm across her left cheek and put his full weight down on her neck.
The victim ultimately pulled Trout's hair back and grabbed his lower jaw to push him away. She was then able to twist around, get on top of him and push away from him, according to documents.
The victim told police that her airway was restricted and she had difficulty breathing, describing the pressure as a 10 on a scale of one to 10. She told police she was afraid she was going to die as she struggled to get any oxygen during the strangulation. After the attack, she recalled being out of breath and nauseous. She also said she had a raspy voice and difficulty swallowing without feeling any pain.
According to the victim, she recognized Trout as someone she sees at her workplace. She told police she never had any interactions with Trout except for brief customer-employee interactions.
"He always seemed off a little bit," Christina Vara, one of the victim's co-workers, said. "He seemed harmless. He didn't seem violent. We were never scared of him, maybe uncomfortable. We were shocked, but we just wanted him to be found and off the streets so he couldn't do it to anybody else."
Two witnesses spoke with police about the assault. One witness recognized Trout and told police that he occasionally shows up at the witness's home to ask for food and other items. On the morning of the attack, the witness said he spoke with Trout. During the conversation, Trout reportedly told the witness that he was "involved in an assault" that morning.
Trout was arrested on Aug. 25 and booked into the Spokane County Jail for second-degree assault. His bond is set at $5,000 and his arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 7.
The victim of the attack shared the following statement on social media:
I want to just say a mass thank you for all the love and support I've gotten these last few days. I'm overwhelmed with how nice and encouraging everyone has been. Even with people not reaching out directly but through my friends and family, just thank you. I'm okay and now just getting back to some normalcy.
On another note, you literally have no idea what people are capable of. Even with people that you see often or just in passing. Please be aware of your surroundings, I was and still ended up in a situation.
This is not intended to share how "f***** up" the world is, it actually shows how many great people are still out there.
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