EVERETT — The 4-year-old girl was hiding in a closet when SWAT members busted through the door of a Marysville apartment where a convicted sex offender had been barricaded for nearly 13 hours.
The girl told investigators Jason Tryon didn’t hurt her, but she’d been scared and wanted to leave the apartment after she saw him fighting her mom.
Prosecutors have charged Tryon with unlawful imprisonment while armed with a deadly weapon and fourth-degree domestic violence assault. He is accused of punching the child’s mother, his girlfriend, in the face during the Jan. 14 incident.
Tryon, 33, made a brief appearance Monday in Snohomish County Superior Court, where he pleaded not guilty to the felony charges. He was jailed on $500,000 bail.
Tryon is a Level 3 registered sex offender with a 2004 conviction for having sex with a teenage girl, whom he also supplied with drugs. He was under supervision of the state Department of Corrections at the time of the standoff.
His girlfriend told police that she and Tryon had been smoking marijuana and methamphetamine earlier in the night. They ended up arguing and Tryon reportedly threatened to cut himself with a large kitchen knife. The woman demanded that Tryon drop the knife and when he refused, she threatened to clobber him with a metal baseball bat.
The woman told investigators that Tryon, who stands 6 feet, 8 inches, grabbed the bat from her and threw her to the ground. He also allegedly punched her in the face, leaving her with a bloody nose.
The argument woke up the woman’s 4-year-old daughter, who reportedly witnessed the assault, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Matthew Baldock wrote in court papers.
The woman ran to a neighbor for help. The neighbor attempted to retrieve the girl, but Tryon reportedly refused to let the girl go and threatened the woman with a knife, court papers said. She called 911.
Tryon allegedly refused to surrender and barricaded himself in the apartment, piling furniture against the front door. During the standoff, officers could hear the girl pleading with Tryon to let her leave.
Eventually, heavily armed tactical officers forced their way into the apartment and arrested Tryon. He allegedly had a 12-inch butcher knife in the waistband of his pants. The girl was found hiding in a closet.
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office reports Tryon has no fixed address. The conditions of his freedom included avoiding illegal drugs and staying away from children.
Tryon’s girlfriend told police that his sex offender history hasn’t been an issue in their relationship and that he hasn’t harmed her daughter.
When arrested on Jan. 14, Tryon was awaiting trial for moving from a Marysville home and failing to register as a sex offender at his new address.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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