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Alan Gromus was found guilty Thursday in Skagit County Superior Court on two counts of assault involving use of a deadly weapon.

Gromus faced two counts of first-degree assault in the Sept. 30 attack of his wife, Pamela Gromus, and their neighbor, Greg O'Connor, with a metal baseball bat.

Alan Gromus, 57, of South Fidalgo Island, a former Mount Vernon High School teacher, was accused of attacking his wife outside the couple’s Campbell Lake home and then assaulting a neighbor who walked up during the assault. Pam Gromus, 54, suffered head injuries, and O’Connor received a dislocated and broken ankle.

Alan Gromus was taken into custody Thursday afternoon pending a new bail hearing. Sentencing will be held at a later date. He could face as much as 23 years in prison.

The defense had tried to argue that there was another assailant and that Gromus didn't see the person who attacked his wife. After the attack, Pam Gromus said her husband beat her with the bat. She later changed her story and indicated she saw another man there wearing a gray sweatshirt, but authorities said none of the evidence indicated the presence of another person.

O'Connor testified that when he came out of his home, he saw Alan Gromus choking his wife with the bat as she lay on the ground. He said Alan Gromus then attacked him.

The prosecution and defense gave closing statements Wednesday afternoon, and the jury reconvened this morning to deliberate the case.

* Read the full story in Friday's issue of the Skagit Valley Herald or the E-edition online, available with subscription.

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