Mason County sheriff’s deputy pleads not guilty to assault

SHELTON, Wash. (AP) — A Mason County sheriff’s deputy accused of choking and biting his wife when she tried to rouse him from a drunken stupor has pleaded not guilty to fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. Jake Talton Delaney entered his plea in Mason County Superior Court. His attorney, Alan Harvey, declined to comment. Shelton police arrested Delaney on Jan. 18 after a neighbor visiting the couple’s house called 911 and told police she witnessed the assault. He was booked into the Thurston County Jail. A Shelton police officer who tried to take a statement from Delaney described him as “extremely intoxicated.”