Redding standoff ends after weapons-wielding man sets own trailer on fire

April 29, 2021 Trevor Montgomery

REDDING, Calif. — A man who at times was seen wielding various weapons, including a loaded handgun, metal pipe, knife, stick, and machete was arrested after a violent series of encounters with a neighbor over a property theft dispute led to an hours-long SWAT standoff Wednesday morning, April 28.

The volatile incident ended when the suspect set his own trailer ablaze and was then taken down by a well-place bean-bag shotgun blast as he tried to flee his burning residence on the 5000 block of Bell Road in southwest Redding.

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City of Redding police officers were dispatched to the scene at 8:24 a.m. after receiving reports of a man who had brandished a pipe against another citizen and broken the front windshield of the victim’s vehicle, Redding Police Sergeant Rob Garnero has since said of the incident and arrest.

The victim, 39-year-old Terry Patterson, told SHASCOM emergency dispatchers he lives at the Bell Road property and the suspect, 58-year-old Bruce Allen Valentine, also lives on the property in an adjacent travel trailer.

Due to the volatility of the situation and potential danger, SWAT members and a crisis negotiator were summoned to the scene and area residents were evacuated from their homes during the hours-long standoff. Redding Police Department photo

When officers arrived Patterson alleged Valentine came to his residence armed with a pipe in one hand and knife in the other, Garnero explained; saying, “(Valentine) accused Patterson of stealing from him, then struck the windshield of Patterson’s truck causing it to crack. Valentine then went back inside of his trailer.”

“Patterson told officers that Valentine again exited his trailer, but this time was armed with a handgun,” Garnero continued. “He loaded the handgun in front of Patterson and pointed it at him in a threatening manner …(then)… went back inside of his trailer before Redding Police arrived.”

While officers were conducting their initial interviews Valentine came back out of his trailer holding a large stick, at which time officers called out to him and attempted to gain his compliance, but Valentine refused to cooperate and reentered his trailer.

“Officers surrounded Valentine’s trailer and attempted to hail him out, but he would not comply,” Garnero described.

A trained hostage negotiator was summoned to assist and ultimately called Valentine’s cellphone multiple times to negotiate with him; however, negotiations eventually broke down when he told the negotiator he was armed with a machete “and would not give up without a fight.”

At that time, due to the rapidly evolving situation and threat to public safety, Redding PD’s SWAT was summoned to the scene and officers began evacuating area residents from their homes.

Officers who surrounded the trailer where the barricaded standoff occurred utilized the department’s armored tactical rescue vehicle as well as one of their UAV drones, which provided vital information about the rapidly evolving crisis to the officers on the ground from overhead. Redding Police Department photo

SWAT members soon arrived at the scene with the department’s recently acquired armored tactical rescue vehicle and assumed command of the incident; surrounding Valentine’s trailer while continuing their attempts to negotiate with the armed and combative man.

About four hours after the incident began, Valentine began breaking windows from inside his own trailer and ultimately set the trailer on fire.

As the trailer became engulfed in flames, Valentine suddenly fled from the trailer and attempted to run from officers in the home’s back yard.

When Valentine refused to obey commands to stop fleeing, an officer at the scene fired a less-lethal beanbag projectile weapon, striking Valentine and knocking him to the ground. He was then taken into custody without further incident.

Once the scene was safe and Valentine was in custody, Redding Fire personnel quickly extinguished the trailer blaze.

Although the trailer was completely destroyed by the fire, no other structures were damaged and no citizens were injured during the violent incident.

58-year-old Bruce Allen Valentine was eventually apprehended after he attempted to flee from his burning trailer on foot and was taken down by a less-lethal beanbag projectile. Redding Police Department photo

Valentine was later booked at the Shasta County Jail in Redding on suspicion of making criminal threats, brandishing a weapon, arson, vandalism, and resisting/obstructing peace officers.

Online jail records indicate Valentine remains in custody in lieu of $100,000 bail or bond.

Anyone with further information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Redding Police Department at (530) 225-4200. Callers can refer to incident file number 21R027633 and can remain anonymous.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.