It happened in Graham before 4 o'clock Wednesday morning.

Deputies say the car owner saw the thief, which police later identified as 27-year-old Edward Zanassi, inside his white 1967 Camaro. He approached Zanassi and witnesses say they started fighting. His roommate noticed the struggle and joined in.

Originally, witnesses told deputies say that's when the men beat the suspect unconscious.

The suspect then appeared to be subdued, so the two men called police. When paramedics arrived, they had to perform CPR on Zanassi. He was then taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup in critical condition.

But Detective Ed Troyer with the Pierce County sheriff's department says Zanassi has only one small abrasion and it appears he was not beaten after all.

Troyer says he's had to sort through a lot of misinformation, perhaps because the incident happened during the dark early morning hours and neighbors heard raised voices yelling and saw three men rolling around on the grass.

Troyer says it does appear that Zanassi bit the finger of the owner of the Camaro. The owner's friend then grabbed the suspect around the neck until he let go of the finger. The friend then released Zanassi, who dropped to the grass.

Both men said he appeared to be snoring and they thought he was asleep.

Troyer says they will be investigating whether Zanassi might have been on drugs, and whether a combination of drugs with the fight and chokehold all led to his injuries, or if it was just the chokehold.

Troyer added that Zanassi is well-known to police as he's a suspect in five identity theft cases and a recent car theft, in addition to drug charges.

Investigators also believe the Zanassi did not act alone. There was a newer black Acura seen speeding away from the scene that they believe was a getaway car.

Another stolen Ford Taurus was also found dumped down the road. Detectives towed it away as evidence.

Police took the car owner and his roommate in for questioning. They were not arrested. It will be up to the prosecutor whether or not to file any charges.