August trial set for Port Angeles man accused of assault with sledgehammer

Edward Paul Horner is being held in Clallam jail

PORT ANGELES — An August trial has been set for a Port Angeles man accused of assaulting two men with a sledgehammer.

Edward Paul Horner, 61, pleaded not guilty Friday to two counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon after the June 17 incident at his Maloney Heights apartment building.

A two-day trial is scheduled for Aug. 12.

Port Angeles police said Horner used a sledgehammer with a medium-length handle to threaten one neighbor’s caretaker and another man who would not let Horner use his phone because it was out of battery power.

Horner allegedly raised the sledgehammer toward one of the victims and threatened to break his skull, Officer Erik Walker wrote in the affidavit for probable cause.

Video clips provided by Serenity House of Clallam County showed Horner using the sledgehammer to cause damage to the permanent supportive housing building, police said.

Horner has past convictions for third-degree assault, two counts of fourth-degree assault, harassment and several counts of malicious mischief, Clallam County prosecutors said.

According to Superior Court records, Horner has been convicted with threatening neighbors with a putty knife and a frying pan.

Horner is being held in the Clallam County jail on $25,000 bail.

A status hearing is scheduled for July 12.

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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.