Ronald Clayton: Rapist sentenced to 27 years after stabbing deputy in the neck

OLYMPIA, Wash. - A judge on Monday sentenced Ronald Clayton to 27 years in prison for the attempted murder of a sheriff's deputy in Washington state.

A Thurston County deputy was stabbed after responding to a disturbance at a Yelm home late on March 26, 2021. The incident happened around 8 p.m. at a home in the Nisqually Pines on Holly Street Southeast. Police say they got a 911 call for an attempted assault.

The deputy arrived shortly after the call and was stabbed in the neck. She then shot at the male suspect. Deputies and Yelm officers assisted with aid before medics arrived.

The deputy in her mid-30s was transported to St. Peters Hospital and went into surgery. She was expected to make a full recovery.

Clayton has a lengthy criminal record and has appeared on FOX 13 News in the past. The suspect is a convicted sex offender who was previously featured on Washington’s Most Wanted.

Clayton served a ten-year prison sentence for breaking into a stranger’s home, while on drugs. Then, raping a woman inside the home at gun point. Following the assault, Clayton proceeded to attack the woman.

Clayton was released in 2019 after serving 24 months in jail for failure to register as a sex offender.

Hours before this attack in the Yelm neighborhood, FOX 13's David Rose issued a Washington's Most Wanted fugitive alert for Clayton. This was due to officials saying Clayton cut off his GPS tracker around 1:40 p.m. Friday in Spanaway.

The incident in the Yelm neighborhood happened about 20 miles away from that location, and six hours later.