'Mistaken identity leads to horrific beating' -- The Le Flore County Guardian

A Saturday night drinking party at a home on a popular rural road near Wister turned into the scene of a horrific beating, nearly ending the life of a young Howe man who, it now seems, was not the intended target of the man charged with the assault.

Charged with felony aggravated assault is Jesse Rice of Wister, last reported held in the Le Flore County jail on $10,000 bond.

Ticketed for allowing minors to consume alcohol on premise was Sharron Armstrong, owner of the home where the drinking party took place. Armstrong reportedly claimed to be sleeping and unaware of the party.

Tyler Stites, who was graduated in May from Howe High School, is a student at Carl Albert State College and is employed as a cashier at Wal Mart in Poteau, was stabilized in Le Flore County but sent on to Saint John Medical Center in Tulsa because of the severe extent

of his injuries.

Sources close to the family say that Stites was lucky to have received medical attention when he did. He sustained broken bones in his jaw, chin, cheek bones and forehead, and his face was cut so badly around one orbital bone that doctors initially feared he would lose an eye.

Stites reportedly is now out of danger but will face a great deal of reconstructive surgery, and there may be other medical ramifications as well.

A doctor who worked on the young man said the injuries were nearly identical to those sustained by people who are thrown against windshields in violent car crashes.

A reason for that, according to sheriff’s reports and witnesses who were at the

party, is that Stites’ injuries began with a beer bottle blow to the face, shattering on impact and knocking the young man unconscious. The alleged assailant reportedly continued, lifting Stites’ head and bashing it against a nearby car bumper.

What triggered the attack?

According to witnesses, the alleged assailant was convinced that Stites was interested in a girl that he admired, and told several people that he intended to take action against him. Several people reportedly attempted to talk him out of it, saying that it was another young man he was seeking, ultimately to no avail.

The Guardian was told that at least a dozen people, maybe more, were partying at the residence where the attack took place, and that individuals were seen going in and out of the home at various times.