MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Police believe a drug deal gone bad led to an armed standoff among three people at a Mountlake Terrace home Wednesday.
The incident touched off a massive manhunt for one of the gunmen.
Mountlake Terrace police Cmdr. Doug Hansen said it was fortunate no one was shot.
“All it takes is a light finger on the trigger and before you know it, bingo,” Hansen said. “This whole drug thing brings more grief than you can imagine.”
A Kent man, 28, was tracked down and arrested for investigation of unlawful possession of a firearm. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail.
Police were continuing to investigate what happened in the home in the 500 block of 241st Street SW, Hansen said.
The confrontation began around 6 p.m. Wednesday after a woman claimed the Kent man sold her bad drugs, according to court records. When she tried to get her money back, she and the man broke out handguns, according to court papers.
Police believe the man first pointed his gun at the woman and tried to remove a pistol from her purse.
There was a struggle and the man ended up with her gun and the woman ended up with his gun, Hansen said.
The woman’s father heard the commotion, grabbed his gun and ran down the stairs, police said.
At one point, the people with the guns were pointing them at each other.
A friend of the man put the woman in a bear hug, trying to defuse the situation, Hansen said.
The Kent man then ran from the home with several thousand dollars the woman had given him.
The woman gave chase in her BMW, court papers said.
Police later discovered the Kent man’s loaded pistol in her car along with other ammunition.
The woman initially told police that the men came to the home to sell her a car, Hansen said.
Another man at the home told police that the real cause of the confrontation was a disagreement over a drug deal.
The $7,000 transaction was supposed to land the woman hundreds of Percocet pills.
The suspect was captured after a manhunt. Police from Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Woodway, Kenmore, Shoreline and Lake Forest Park set up containment. Three police dogs were used in the search. He was caught about 90 minutes after police were called.
Police believe the man ran through yards and into the woods trying to avoid capture.
He was nabbed just across the Snohomish and King county line, Hansen said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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