Deputies arrest man for assault

Sheriff's deputies took a Philomath man into custody in the early hours of Sunday, June 13, after he allegedly assaulted his wife at their campsite in Cold Springs Campground.

Deputies arrested Travis James Griffin, 30, on charges of felony second degree assault, assault in the fourth degree and interfering with a police officer.

According to Deschutes County Sheriff's Office reports, deputies responded to a report of a domestic dispute at about 2:50 a.m. Sunday morning. As they walked into the campsite, several witness allegedly pointed out Griffin as the perpetrator.

Deputies reported that Griffin appeared to be intoxicated and was "extremely agitated." A deputy requested that he put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed for safety.

Griffin allegedly refused until he saw two deputies take pepper spray canisters from their equipment belts.

A deputy took Griffin's wife aside and interviewed her. She allegedly told the deputy that her husband had entered their travel trailer at about 2:30 a.m., yelling obscenities and accusing her of having an affair with another at the campsite while he was gone.

The woman told police that Griffin pulled her out of bed by her hair and began choking her.

Griffin allegedly pushed the woman backward, bent over a sink. She reportedly grabbed a frying pan and hit Griffin with it.

While the deputy interviewed Griffin's wife, Griffin reportedly became increasingly agitated and refused to sit on the ground when ordered to do so by a deputy. Three deputies then took him to the ground and restrained him.

Continuing her account, the woman reported that the commotion awoke her eight-year-old daughter who began crying and screaming.

She said that Griffin briefly stopped choking her, then hit her in the face and head with a flashlight, allegedly saying, "I'm going to beat your head into the ground."

The woman reported that she managed to get away from Griffin and get her children and herself into a pickup truck, locking the doors

Griffin allegedly tried to get into the truck, but several men from other campsites reportedly intervened and told him to stop.

According to sheriff's office reports, Griffin denied hitting his wife, although he said he grabbed her by the neck and pushed her out the trailer door.

He later allegedly told a deputy that he had pulled her hair.

Griffin was lodged in Deschutes County Jail.