PORT TOWNSEND — A man being sought for questioning as a person of interest in an assault said he was protecting his brother, who was being attacked “by some real nefarious characters.”
“I feel bad that the dude got hurt so bad,” said Kaleb Mayo of Port Orchard.
“But he shouldn’t have been kicking my little brother in the head.”
Port Townsend police officers want to talk to Kaleb Mayo, 27, about his role in the early Friday morning assault of Leonard Marion, 38, who was found hurt and on the ground in the 500 block of Harrison Street in Port Townsend at about 3:38 a.m. Friday.
Marion was first taken to Jefferson Healthcare with “serious but not life-threatening injuries,” said Detective Mike Evans.
He was then transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he was listed in serious condition Saturday.
Police said Monday that they don’t know where Marion is, and Harborview staff did not return a call requesting comment on his condition.
Isaac Mayo, 23, of Port Townsend turned himself in to police Friday evening and made his first court appearance Monday morning by video from the Jefferson County jail.
His bail was set for $5,000 and his arraignment was set for 8:30 a.m. Friday in Jefferson County Superior Court at the county courthouse at 1820 Jefferson St.
Police were seeking Kaleb Mayo as a “person of interest” over the weekend.
Detective Jason Greenspane said Monday that Kaleb Mayo has been in contact with the police department and has indicated that he wants to turn himself in.
“We have several versions of the story but don’t have all the facts yet,” Greenspane said.
Kaleb Mayo’s cell phone number was included in the Port Townsend Police Department’s statement of probable cause.
He answered the phone when a Peninsula Daily News reporter called on Monday afternoon.
He declined to provide his location, and would not say when he planned to turn himself in.
He said that he acted in defense of his brother and himself.
“I walked out of the house to see my little brother on the ground, in a fetal position, being kicked by three or four people,” Kaleb Mayo said.
“I went to help him,” he said.
“I pulled someone off him and threw them over my shoulder and then I saw it was a woman, so I left her alone.”
Three other people also were hurt but less seriously than Marion, Officer Luke Bogues said Saturday, with all having been treated and discharged that morning.
Those three told police they were assaulted by two men who fled the area before police arrived.
Marion’s eyes were swollen shut and he appeared to be bleeding, according to police.
Police attempted to contact the Mayo brothers after witnesses identified them.
Kaleb Mayo said that before the incident, he and his brother had met four people at a bar in Port Townsend.
They argued but resolved it and the two brothers accepted an invitation “to come over to the house and party,” but at the residence another argument broke out, Kaleb Mayo said.
Mayo said he did not recall the subject of the arguments.
Mayo said that both he and his brother were “hard working, law abiding citizens.”
“I have a 5-year-old son that I love to death and a lot of people are depending on my brother,” Mayo said.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.