The Thurston County SWAT Team responded to a home in Tumwater on Wednesday morning when a suspect who officers were attempting to arrest for felony domestic assault refused to exit his home and barricaded himself inside.
Tumwater officers were dispatched to the residence, in the 2400 block of Callaway Ln SW, just after midnight Wednesday morning. The suspect’s wife advised 911 dispatchers that her husband picked her up and choked her during an argument. She also told dispatchers that he had been drinking and has guns in the home, according to probable cause statements filed in court.
Officers arrived to find the victim parked in her car down the street. The victim told officers that her husband had choked her hard enough to restrict airflow and held her down. Officers attempted to contact the male at the home but nobody answered the door, and he did not answer his phone.
Officers on scene contacted the on-call prosecutor, who told them to get a search warrant and enter the home, since Washington state law requires that domestic violence assault suspects be arrested, if the assault occurred within the last four hours.
A search warrant was granted just before 3:00 am, and the judge found probable cause to arrest the male suspect for Assault 2nd Degree, a felony, since he had strangled the victim.
A negotiator responded to the scene, and the suspect told them something to the effect of “if you come in to get me I will arm myself”, so the SWAT team was dispatched to take over the situation.
The SWAT team deployed a Noise/Flash Diversionary Device (NFDD), and the suspect surrendered and was taken into custody without incident. He was booked into the Thurston County Jail for Assault 2nd Degree DV, Assault 4th Degree DV, and Interfering with the Reporting of Domestic Violence, since he withheld the victim’s phone from her after she voiced her intention to call 911.
As of this writing (Thursday afternoon), the male suspect appears to have been released from jail, likely on bail or bond.
Thurston County Scanner, News, and Weather 