Blaine man pleads guilty to assaulting woman with no-contact order against him

A Blaine man will serve 13 months in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a woman and later breaking a no-contact order she filed against him.

Joshua James Hayward, 36, of Blaine, pleaded guilty in Whatcom County Superior Court June 15 to committing second-degree assault in November 2021 and breaking a domestic violence no-contact order in April 2022 set to protect the woman he assaulted, according to court documents.

Hayward pushed a woman known to him and broke her arm in November 2021, according to court records. Hayward was arrested on first-degree assault and first-degree criminal impersonation charges. A no-contact order was established in December 2021.

On April 12, 2022, in the 8000 block of Harborview Road, Hayward entered the home of the woman who had an active no-contact order against him. Hayward hit and punched the woman several times, rifled through her bedroom and took medication from a safe, according to the affidavit of probable cause (APC). Hayward then struck the woman with a small, metal safe, and when the woman picked up a knife in self-defense, Hayward took it and cut her arm, the APC shows.

Hayward fled the scene on foot, heading westbound on Harborview Road. Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputies, using a K-9 unit, found Hayward hiding in the woods about a mile away, according to the APC.

In addition to the no-contact order violation, Hayward was charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, fourth-degree assault, third-degree theft and second-degree assault upon arrest. Those charges were dropped following Hayward’s guilty plea.

The plea deal also amended down Hayward’s first-degree assault charge to second-degree and dropped the first-degree criminal impersonation charge in the November 2021 case.

Hayward is also required to undergo treatment for substance use. The woman will remain protected by a no-contact order.

This article was updated from the print issue to clarify the separate cases included in the plea deal.