Man who pulled toy gun arrested

LAKE STEVENS — It could have been a deadly encounter.

It was late Monday night when Lake Stevens police officer Andrew Thor gave chase to a man accused of theft for not paying a taxi fare.

The suspect, 35, ran into a supermarket. He burst through some double doors and fell to the floor of a storage area in the back of the store. The man then quickly turned onto his back and pulled out what appeared to be a black Beretta handgun.

He pointed it at Thor with his finger on the trigger.

The officer feared for his life.

“There was no doubt in my mind that he wasn’t playing around,” Thor said.

Thor didn’t have time to draw his service revolver, but had already had an electronic stun gun in his hand.

The officer zapped the suspect with a paralyzing electric shock, then held him down while calling for backup. Officers from Lake Stevens, Monroe and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office heard over their police radios that the suspect had a gun. They quickly swarmed to the location in the 700 block of Highway 9.

“He did extremely well,” Lake Stevens police Sgt. Robert Miner said. “In fact, the suspect is very lucky he didn’t get shot.”

The suspect, who reportedly wore two coats beneath a leather jacket, kept resisting, court papers said. Thor zapped him with the stun gun a second time to subdue him.

Once the suspect was handcuffed, police were able to retrieve the weapon.

It was a toy, a remarkably realistic air-soft weapon with the dimensions and appearance of an actual handgun, court papers said.

“It looked like a real Beretta,” Miner said.

Thor said it was a convincing replica.

“When he rolled over and all I saw was the barrel of what I thought was a real gun, it was at that second I thought I have to hit him with something and the Taser was out,” Thor said.

The suspect was arrested for investigation of first-degree assault, possessing drugs, theft and resisting arrest.

Police believe the man has mental health issues, including bipolar disorder. They also found suspected methamphetamine in his wallet, court papers said.

Lake Stevens police have encountered the same man in the past, according to court records.

On Monday, he reportedly made some odd statements to police.

“He stated he was an undercover DEA agent and believed his jacket was laced with Kevlar lining,” a police report said. “He stated that he had supreme authority over Lake Stevens and its officers and stated it was his will that (police) immediately release him.”

Instead, he was taken for evaluation at a hospital emergency room and booked into the Snohomish County Jail.

Miner and Thor are thankful Monday’s confrontation resulted in an arrest and not a death.

Miner said he hopes the suspect not only faces criminal charges, but also gets a mental health examination and treatment.

Thor replays the night in his mind.

“When you see that handgun come out, that’s when you can’t really describe that moment because it happens so fast,” Thor said. “At the academy they teach you that there is no such thing as a routine call and this is a perfect example of that.”

He added: “I guess fate was in his favor that night. It worked in his favor and mine.”

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.