Moses Lake standoff ends with death

Suspect reportedly kills self

MOSES LAKE — A standoff with police ended when Jonathon D. Espinoza, 21, reportedly committed suicide in a Moses Lake apartment Friday morning.

Moses Lake Police were called to an apartment on Hill Street, across from the Moses Lake Clinic, at 6:48 p.m. when a 35 year-old woman reported her boyfriend was threatening to kill her, said police Chief Dean Mitchell. The victim reported seeing Espinoza loading a shotgun.

"She was able to distract him and leave with her two small children," said Mitchell.

Officers arrived at the residence, securing the area, and attempted to talk Espinoza into surrendering.

The Moses Lake Regional Tactical Response Team was activated and an armored car brought to the front of the residence to be used as cover by law enforcement as they fired tear gas canisters into the apartment.

Police estimated the square footage of the apartment and calculated how many gas canisters it required to flush the suspect out, Mitchell said.

Roughly ten canisters of tear gas were fired into the apartment. The suspect remained inside.

Officers could hear coughing coming from inside the apartment, but the suspect ignored police requests for him to surrender.

"There was no negotiations, he wouldn't talk," said Mitchell.

A request was made to the Benton County SWAT team to bring a "ball" camera to help task force members. The ball camara allowed officers to see around corners and upstairs when they entered the apartment, without exposing themselves to potential gunfire, Mitchell said.

At roughly 4 a.m., long after negotiations ended, officers entered the apartment after hearing a gunshot using the camera ball, moving slowly through the apartment, he said.

"There was only one shot they heard," said Mitchell. "He was found upstairs."

Espinoza apparently died from a self-inflicted wound from a shotgun, according to police. The Grant County Coroner is conducting an autopsy to determine an official cause of death.

Espinoza has a criminal record with felony convictions, including unlawful firearms possession, harassment and illegal possession of prescription drugs, mainly from Thurston County, Puyallup, and Yelm, Wash., according to Mitchell.

Television media reported the victim returned to the apartment, screaming allegations of the police killing Espinoza. Mitchell denied the woman had knowledge of how her boyfriend died.

"She never did enter the apartment," said Mitchell.