PORT ANGELES — A judge set $50,000 bail Tuesday for a man who kept police at bay in a three-hour standoff just north of Sequim on Monday.
Joshua M. Lemaster, 23, is being held in the Clallam County jail for investigation of first-degree assault, fourth-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Craddock Verser set the bail during Lemaster’s 13-minute initial appearance in Clallam County Superior Court on Tuesday.
The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office plans to file formal charges at 3 p.m. Thursday.
Clallam County sheriff’s deputies and Sequim police formed a perimeter around a House Road residence after Lemaster was in four physical or verbal altercations with neighbors, court documents say.
Witnesses said Lemaster was armed and had threatened to “shoot up the neighborhood,” according to the Sheriff’s Office investigation.
Deputies forced their way inside the house and arrested Lemaster in the living room without further incident.
A .22-caliber rifle, a pellet rifle and a 6-inch knife were recovered from inside the house.
During the standoff, a crisis negotiator with a bull horn failed to established contact with Lemaster.
There were 10 sheriff’s deputies, six Sequim police officers and a Lower Elwha Klallam police patrol unit at the scene.
Deputies said Lemaster is from San Francisco and has recently lived in Sequim. His prior convictions in California were not available in the court file on Tuesday.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.