Vancouver man sentenced in SWAT standoff

A Vancouver man who fired several shots, prompting a SWAT response in the Harney Heights neighborhood, was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in prison.

Demetrius A. Diamond, 22, pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court to third-degree assault with a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm in connection with the December incident. The sentence included an 18-month firearms enhancement.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Vancouver police responded to a weapons disturbance shortly before 1 a.m. Dec. 19. The caller reported hearing shots fired in the 4000 block of East 14th Street and a man yelling, “Please stop!”

A witness told police she had been at a neighboring residence, 3909 E. 14th St., with Diamond, and he was drinking earlier in the night. She said he became upset about a recent news story involving an Oklahoma police officer who was convicted of raping 13 black women, court records said. Diamond then made references to shooting people, according to court documents.

Diamond’s mother, who was inside a residence at 4001 E. 14th St., said she heard Diamond outside yelling loudly at Eddie Lopez, a neighbor, the affidavit said. Diamond was pacing around the driveway, she said, carrying a handgun. She tried to calm him down, but he became more agitated.

Lopez told police he came home from work and Diamond began yelling and threatening to kill him. Lopez said he heard several shots and went to a nearby house and locked himself inside, the affidavit said.

SWAT units found Diamond unarmed inside the home at 3909 E. 14th St. Police later found a stolen, loaded handgun on the floor of the residence and a stolen AR-15-style Smith & Wesson rifle on the couch, court documents said.

As part of his sentence, Diamond is not to have contact with Lopez and is barred from owning firearms.