Residents of Vancouver neighborhood near Arnold Park were told to shelter in place Wednesday night while law enforcement searched for a man who had a brief standoff with Clark County sheriff’s deputies inside the jail and then fled on a motorized bicycle.
According to a statement from the sheriff’s office, a deputy was completing paperwork outside the Clark County Jail about 8 p.m. with a person in custody when a man walked up to the patrol vehicle and started yelling. The deputy drove the vehicle through the jail sally port — a secure entryway that allows for safe transfer of those in custody to the jail.
The man was able to duck under the roll up doors of the sally port before they closed.
He then pulled a firearm, later determined to be a pellet gun, and placed it against his head, according to an agency statement.
“After a brief standoff where the deputy attempted to negotiate with the apparently suicidal subject, the subject then exited the sally port, and the doors were secured,” according to the statement.
The man kept his firearm pointed at his head as he walked around the jail, 707 W. 13th St., Vancouver, and courthouse.
Sheriff’s deputies and Vancouver police tried to contain the man but he got on an electric bicycle, while keeping the firearm pointed at his head even after he put on a motorcycle helmet.
He was able to escape on the bicycle into downtown — keeping the firearm pointed at his head the entire time — while police continued to pursue him.
An arrest team in an armored vehicle attempted to stop the man several times using non-lethal projectiles.
The armored vehicle followed the man to the area around Northeast St. Johns and Arnold roads, where he got on the Burnt Bridge Creek Trail.
At this point, a shelter in place notice was issued for homes within a half-mile radius of the 4300 Block of Northeast 26th Court, just north of Arnold Park.
The regional SWAT team responded. Law enforcement used drones to find the man. SWAT, with the assistance of a crisis negotiation team, were able to get the man to cooperate after “extended negotiations,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Jaison Teragouchi was evaluated at a local hospital before being booked into the Clark County Jail for one count of possession of contraband inside a correctional institution.
