BY MICHAEL BOOTH
For The Democrat-Herald | Posted: Wednesday, August 6, 2008 12:00 am
Suspect arraigned; Philomath case goes to grand jury
The man accused of kidnapping a Philomath woman, holding her elderly mother hostage and brandishing a weapon was arraigned Tuesday in Benton County Circuit Court.
William Scott Martin, 49, of Philomath heard charges of kidnapping, burglary, menacing and disobeying a "no-contact order." He was held on $1 million security in lieu of bail. A grand jury has been scheduled to review the case Friday. Martin's next appearance in open court has been scheduled for Aug. 20 at 1:20 p.m.
Full details of the incident, which involved a Philomath officer firing at least one shot that missed Martin, remain unclear.
Philomath Police Chief Ken Elwer requested that Oregon State Police detectives investigate the incident because the Philomath officer fired a shot.
A press release from OSP described the incident in this way:
A Philomath officer responded at 12:53 a.m. Monday to a call about a burglary in progress at 245 S. 15th St., near Applegate Street in Philomath. When officers arrived, they found a man armed with a handgun who was trying to force his 51-year-old ex-girlfriend, Kristy Seits, into a pickup behind the residence.
The arrival of the officers distracted the man, which gave Seits an opportunity to run from the armed man. The Philomath police officer fired at least one round and missed the man, who then ran back into the house and reportedly took as his hostage Kathleen Seits, 74. She is Kristy Seits' mother.
According to a Corvallis police officer's report, the suspect pointed his pistol at the Philomath officer, which is when the officer fired a shot. The Philomath police officer who fired the shot remains unidentified.
Officers from the Philomath Police Department, Benton County Sheriff's Office and the Corvallis Police Department went to the scene. The Linn County Sheriff's Office SWAT team and hostage-negotiation team also responded.
Diane Eatherton, the Seitses' next door neighbor, said Tuesday that she heard two gunshots before police came to her door and told her that she and her husband needed evacuate their residence.
"My husband called 911, but they said they already had officers there," Eatherton said. The couple drove south from the scene, and said that police had both ends of the street blocked off.
A Linn County hostage negotiator was able to talk the suspect into surrendering at about 4:40 a.m., about four hours after the incident started.
Eatherton said she and her husband were able to return home about 5 a.m. Although she didn't know her neighbors well, she said that she'd seen Martin visit her neighbor's house in the past and, as far as she knew, he had not caused any problems.
Another neighbor said she never heard shots and was awakened when police came to her door. Shortly after, she said, police apparently fired two shots into a street lamp to darken the street.
Elwer said Tuesday that he could not comment on further details until the investigation was complete. Those details include the identity of the officer, who has been with the department for two and a half years. As is routine in cases where an officer fires his weapon, he is on administrative leave pending resolution of the investigation.