Soap Lake man arrested after standoff

SOAP LAKE – A Soap Lake man is in custody after a standoff at him home Tuesday morning, according to a statement from the Soap Lake Police Department.

Erik Milton was booked into the Grant County Jail on charges of intimidation of a public servant and attempted assault in the first degree, the statement said.

SLPD received a report shortly before 9 a.m. that a male subject was verbally harassing and intimidating employees at the Soap Lake post office over allegedly missing mail and reportedly had attempted to strike an employee with a vehicle, the statement said. The complainant provided police with a license number, and the subject, later identified as Milton, was exiting his vehicle at his home when Soap Lake Police Chief Ryan Cox arrived, according to the statement. Milton left the door of his vehicle open, ignored commands from Cox and retreated into the house through a window, according to the statement. Due to the presence of weapons in the vehicle and past police encounters with Milton, SLPD called in assistance from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office and Ephrata Police Department.

Because the residence is in a tight neighborhood and Milton’s whereabouts in the house were unknown, Cox launched the department’s drone to give the on-scene units a bird’s-eye view of the area, according to the statement.

For more than 20 minutes, Cox attempted verbal commands over the public address system of a patrol car to get Milton to surrender peacefully, but these went unanswered, the statement said. After about 25 minutes, Milton started communicating with officers through a window. Several minutes later, with the assistance of K-9 Chewy, Milton peacefully surrendered without incident, the statement said.