A man was arrested Thursday afternoon after he showed up at the home of an ex and threatened her with a handgun, according to police. The 25-year-old tried to escape, but was apprehended.
On March 29th, at approximately 1:30 pm, East Precinct officers responded to an apartment building in the 2100 Block of East James street on a report of a domestic violence assault. The call stated that an ex-boyfriend had shown up armed with a handgun. The victim was able to escape to a nearby apartment. According to the victim, the suspect had gained access to her apartment by climbing in an unlocked window. The victim was not at home at the time, but returned home a short time later. When she entered the apartment, she saw the suspect sitting in a chair and confronted him about being inside her apartment. The two began to argue. When the victim stated that she wanted to leave, the suspect removed a handgun and pointed it at her, at one point pressing the barrel of the gun against the victim’s forehead. Several times the suspect told the victim that he would kill her. The suspect became even more agitated and began kicking in doors and punching holes in the walls of the apartment. The victim was able to finally flee to a neighboring apartment where she was able to call 911.
Officers arrived and formed a tactical plan to attempt to locate and safely arrest the suspect. Officers entered the front of the apartment building, while several officers contained the back of the building. The suspect fled out the rear of the building, pursued by officers. Upon seeing the officers staged at the back of the building, the suspect reached for the handgun in his waistband. He was immediately ordered to drop the gun and attempted to hide it in the bushes. Officers were able to take the suspect into custody. The loaded .38 caliber revolver was recovered by officers.
Officers learned later from the victim that the suspect had threatened to kill her during a prior encounter several weeks earlier, but that the suspect was not located at that time. A check of the suspect’s name revealed two outstanding misdemeanor warrants. The 25 year old suspect was later booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Domestic Violence Assault, Investigation of Burglary-DV, Investigation of Malicious Mischief-DV, Investigation of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, and the warrants.
Domestic Violence Unit detectives will conduct the follow up investigation.