Man jumps from second-story window to evade RPD K-9 nabbed by second K-9 waiting below, ending hours-long standoff
REDDING, Calif., — Authorities say the investigation into a man who has been accused of terrorizing and threatening to kill his neighbors and brandishing a knife at them led to his arrest following an hours-long standoff at the Redding apartment complex where he lives yesterday afternoon, Monday, May 23.
The man’s neighbors have since said the suspect, 46-year-old Jeffrey William Ekwall, “has long been harassing and terrorizing them” and that they fear for their safety every time he is around.
After yesterday’s arrest, officials said Ekwall has recently been arrested for drug charges, and domestic violence, as well as resisting officers while they were investigating his bizarre behavior in front of a local school. He also has prior arrests for assault with a deadly weapon, arson, threats, and brandishing a deadly weapon.
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City of Redding police officers were dispatched to an apartment complex in the 1000 block of Pine Street, due east of the intersection of Riverside Drive and S. Market Street, around 11:20 a.m. after receiving the report of a man causing a disturbance at the location, Riverside Police Officer Berg has since reported.
When officers arrived, they learned Ekwall had fled back into his apartment and barricaded himself inside.
Officers attempted to negotiate with Ekwall from outside his residence for over two hours. However, he refused to come out, “instead yelling vulgarities and throwing items around the inside of the residence,” Berg explained, adding that Ekwall was heard inside his barricaded apartment banging a solid object against the wall, while yelling, “I’m not going to jail”.
Based on the circumstances and Ekwall’s prior history of bizarre and confrontational behavior and arrests with Redding PD, members of the department’s Crisis Intervention Response Team (CIRT) responded to the location to assist with negotiation attempts.
When Ekwall continued to refuse to surrender to awaiting officers who had surrounded his apartment and the entire complex, officers sought and obtained a warrant for his arrest for making criminal threats and brandishing a knife during the initial conflict that led to officers being summoned to the scene earlier in the morning.
Once armed with the arrest warrant, officers, along with a police K-9, forced entry through the apartment’s front door, which Ekwall had barricaded by pushing several pieces of furniture and other items in front of.
Once inside the apartment, officers learned Ekwall had barricaded himself inside an upstairs bedroom, and when they deployed the police service dog into the bedroom Ekwall suddenly leaped from a second-story window in a further attempt to avoid apprehension and arrest, according to Berg.
“(Ekwall) landed on the ground and began to run away; however, a second police dog was positioned outside and apprehended (him) before he could escape,” the officer explained.
Ekwall was ultimately arrested and later booked into the Shasta County Jail in Redding on suspicion of making criminal threats, brandishing a deadly weapon, and resisting arrest.
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Online jail records indicate he remains in custody in lieu of $126,000 bail or bond.
Anyone with further information is encouraged to contact Redding PD at (530) 225-4200. Callers can refer to incident file number 22R031659 and can remain anonymous.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 51, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and operates Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS). Both are stringer organizations, providing breaking news coverage and community interest stories for other mainstream media organizations throughout the two regions they serve.
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.