Woman suffers broken eye socket and ankle after meeting man at Whatcom bar

A Whatcom County woman suffered a broken eye socket and fractured ankle after being assaulted by a Bellingham man she met in the bar of a Lynden-area restaurant.

The Lynden Police Department booked John Sutton Macdonald, 22, into Whatcom County Jail Monday, Aug. 22, on suspicion of second-degree assault and second-degree robbery, and jail records show MacDonald was released later Monday on $25,000 bail.

The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office responded at 12:45 a.m. Monday to the victim’s Blaine-area home after she called 911 to report that that a man she knew as “Johnny” punched her in the face and that she may have broken an ankle, Whatcom County Superior Court documents state. After learning that the alleged incident occurred outside a Lynden-area restaurant, the sheriff’s office referred the incident to Lynden police.

Lynden police first went to the restaurant and found a silver 2022 Toyota Tacoma registered to Macdonald in the parking lot, documents state, and then went to the victim’s home to find her with a eye that was swollen shut, a swollen ankle and abrasions on her foot.

The victim confirmed that “Johnny” was the owner of the Tacoma, documents state, and told police:

▪ She and Macdonald had met in the bar inside the restaurant earlier Sunday evening and they did not previously know each other.

▪ Macdonald had purchased her a couple of drinks at the bar and they became friendly.

▪ The victim and Macdonald eventually left the bar together and went to the parking lot and continued to talk near the passenger side of the Tacoma.

▪ Macdonald, who was seated in the passenger seat of the truck, took the victim’s keys away from her and did not willingly return them to her. The victim, who was standing outside the open door attempted to get her keys back.

▪ While she was attempting to get her keys, Macdonald forcefully removed the victim’s reading glasses from her face and refused to return them.

▪ As the victim attempted to get both her keys and glasses back, Macdonald punched her in the eye, causing her to fall backwards. The victim’s ankle was injured in the fall.

▪ The victim crawled to her vehicle and drove home.

A friend took the victim to St. Joseph’s hospital in Bellingham, where he learned she had suffered a broken eye socket and fractured ankle, according to documents.

Police went to Macdonald’s home in Bellingham, documents state, and he admitted to speaking to and kissing the victim, but denied taking her glasses or assaulting her. But police reportedly saw the glasses within Macdonald’s truck from outside the vehicle.