LONG BEACH — A short-term friendship turned hostile after a man visiting a friend was allegedly assaulted. The incident unfolded on an unspecified date at a residence on the 1300 block of Washington Avenue in Long Beach.

The Long Beach Police Department responded to the Ocean Beach Hospital emergency room and met with a man with a laceration above his left eye.

LBPD Officer Eric Cowsert states in court records, “[The alleged victim] said that a person who he only knows as ‘Jose Garcia’ entered the house and began assaulting him by punching him numerous times in the face. [The alleged victim] stated that Jose said that he was going to kill him during the assault.” The assailant was later identified as Jose A. Lizardi, 28.

According to court records, the two had known each other a few weeks, worked on a vehicle together and helped do some work in Warrenton.

“[The alleged victim] explained that they had friendly guy banter back and forth but got into an argument” at an Ilwaco restaurant, Cowsert states in court records. “Jose made disparaging remarks about the area in Mexico where [the alleged victim’s] mother was from. This led to Jose and [the alleged victim] exchanging disrespectful insults.”

According to court records, the alleged victim told Cowsert that the friend he was visiting intervened and stopped the alleged assault. The friend reportedly told the alleged victim that “Jose would kill him if he talked to the police.”

The alleged victim “told me he did not know if he wanted to press charges and asked me if he could just get a restraining order against Jose,” Cowsert states in court records. “I provided [the alleged victim] with instructions on how to apply for a court order.”

“I also explained to [the alleged victim] that he didn’t have to make an immediate decision on pressing charges and that he could contact me before the end of [my shift] or at least at the start of my [next shift] to let me know either way.”

The alleged victim also provided Cowsert with some sort of video of Lizardi.

According to court records, the alleged victim sustained multiple contusions to his face in addition to the laceration. The treating doctor at the hospital also discovered brain injuries from a previous assault the man suffered seven years earlier.

Known suspect

The victim decided on Aug. 27 that he wanted to press charges against Lizardi. He provided Cowsert with written and recorded statements about the chain of events leading up to the assault.

Lizardi was located and contacted by Cowsert on Sept. 3. He stated he knew the alleged victim but denied any assault. Cowsert ran a criminal check on Lizardi and discovered he had a warrant for escape from custody for a vehicular assault conviction and additional Pacific County warrants.

On Sept. 4, Cowsert observed Lizardi and another male subject standing on the front porch at a residence on Washington Avenue.

Lizardi and the other male subject ran into the residence and closed the door when Cowsert stopped to talk with them. “I knocked on the door and announced that I was attempting to speak with [the friend]. [The friend] eventually opened the door and spoke with me,” Cowsert added.

According to court records, the friend confirmed that the assault occurred and said it was unprovoked.

“[The friend] told me Jose told him that if he were anyone else, he would have killed him for stopping the fight,” Cowsert states in court records. “[The friend] did not seem to be in any type of fear of Jose or Jose’s threat against him.”

The friend refused to make a written statement about the incident.

Taking all this into consideration, the Pacific County Prosecutor’s Office filed one count of felony harassment against Lizardi on Oct. 19. Felony harassment is a Class C offense with a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.