Area law enforcement converged on Orchards Park Friday morning in search of a man accused of threatening another man with a knife.
Clark County sheriff’s deputies responded to 6503 N.E. 94th Ave. about 7:30 a.m. for a report of a person who had brandished a weapon.
Deputies spoke with a 35-year-old man who said that he was confronted by an acquaintance Christopher Matthews, 43, who claimed that he was owed money, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Sgt. Fred Neiman.
Matthews reportedly used an open bladed knife and made threatening motions toward the victim while also verbalizing threats of harm, Neiman said.
When he was told that 911 had been called, Matthews ran south to Orchards Park, according to Neiman, and witnesses reported that a person matching his description was seen running through the park.
Deputies, troopers with Washington State Patrol and Vancouver police officers converged on the park, set up containment and searched the park using a police dog but did not located the suspect.
He was last seen wearing a camouflage army jacket and black ball cap, according to Neiman.
During the search, authorities encountered a man who fit the suspect’s description and ran away from deputies. He was caught and found to not be the brandishing suspect, but the man, identified as Richard Bellone, 47, was arrested for suspicion of failure to comply and a Department of Corrections warrant.
