Man charged in strangling case

Published 1:30 am Friday, May 29, 2026

A 20-year-old man is facing a felony charge after allegedly strangling a bystander into unconsciousness outside the Oak Harbor Library on May 17, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged Ezekiel E. Egli in Island County Superior Court May 20 with assault in the second degree. If convicted, he could face 12 to 14 months in prison under the standard sentencing range.

According to a report by an officer with the Oak Harbor Police Department, a group of young people were at the library in the late afternoon. The alleged victim and two women were leaving and walking to a car when Egli approached them. He had broken up with one of the women earlier in the day and called out to her.

The victim, however, got in between them and told him the woman didn’t want to talk to him.

Egli punched the man in the face and then strangled him from behind, the report states. The victim said he blacked out and woke up on the ground. Witnesses said the victim started having a seizure. Police called an ambulance to respond to the scene.

Egli drove off before police arrived, the officer reported. An officer found him parked on Southwest Barlow Street and arrested him.

Egli claimed he acted in self-defense, saying that the man had gotten into his “space,” the report states.

The police report states that Egli was previously convicted of robbery in the second degree in 2024.