Sailor reaches plea agreement in domestic assault case

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A 33-year-old Navy sailor who was jailed last June for second-degree domestic violence assault reached a plea deal with prosecutors to have the felony charge reduced to a gross misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree assault.

Correy A. Bushman pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of domestic violence assault during an appearance in Jefferson County Superior Court on June 3.

Following the recommendation of both prosecutors and the defense, Superior Court Judge Keith Harper sentenced Bushman to 364 days in jail, with credit for time served and 363 days of the sentence suspended.

Bushman was also ordered to pay $700 in court costs.

Bushman started receiving mental health treatment after his arrest, and the court ordered him to continue his treatment. 

The maximum sentence for fourth-degree assault (domestic violence) is 364 days in jail.

In his statement of guilt, Bushman wrote: “I deeply regret my course of conduct. I should have removed myself from the volatile situation.”

With the conviction, Bushman will not be able to own firearms.

Bushman, a petty officer first class who was working at Naval Hospital Bremerton at the time of his arrest, was jailed for attacking his wife during an June 6, 2021 argument at their Port Ludlow home.

The dispute turned violent after his wife tried to grab her phone to call a friend to pick her up.

Bushman allegedly had hidden her phone so she couldn’t use it, but when his wife discovered her phone was gone, she tried to use her husband’s phone.

The woman told police that her husband threw her to the floor as she was on the front porch and pinned her down, then put his hands around her neck and started squeezing, according to court documents.

She also said her husband stopped choking her after she bit him several times, according to the probable cause report in the case. 

She told police she got back inside the house to discover that her husband had cut the power off. He came back inside when she was looking for her phone, and then started choking her again.

After the second attack, Bushman called 911.

Bushman denied trying to strangle his wife, and told authorities he had pinned her to the ground in an attempt to stop the fight.