Domestic-violence suspect shot Puyallup cops through door before standoff, charges say

A man was charged Thursday with the attempted murder of two Puyallup police officers for allegedly firing a shotgun through an apartment door where law enforcement had responded for a domestic-violence incident.

Muelu Salanoa Jr. was charged in Pierce County Superior Court with two counts of first-degree attempted murder, first-degree burglary, felony harassment, violation of a court order and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He was also charged in a separate case with unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle.

Pleas of not guilty were entered on the defendant’s behalf at arraignment Thursday afternoon. Court Commissioner Craig Adams set bail at $2 million in this case, and $75,000 in the stolen vehicle case.

In arguing for that amount of bail, deputy prosecutor Afton Gregson referred to the facts of the case, stating that it was an “incredibly dangerous” situation for police and residents of the apartment complex. She also cited the defendant’s criminal history and said Salanoa had been stalking and threatening his ex-girlfriend.

“He’s demonstrated time and time again that he will not comply with court orders,” Gregson said in court. “He is a danger to the victims and the public. He’s also a flight risk.”

According to court records, Salanoa was previously convicted in King County of first-degree robbery and second-degree assault in 2004. On Tuesday, he had warrants out for his arrest in King County Superior Court and municipal courts in Kent, Puyallup and Federal Way.

The shooting Tuesday afternoon at an apartment complex at 1715 E. Main Ave. led to a nearly six-hour standoff with the man involving multiple exchanges of gunfire from Salanoa and police and prompting a SWAT team to respond and negotiate with the 37-year-old man to surrender.

Salanoa allegedly shot at police after officers tried for nearly an hour to convince him to come outside and speak with them, according to charging documents. Prosecutors wrote in the documents that Puyallup Police Department had responded after the defendant’s ex-girlfriend called 911 and said the man forced his way into her apartment and threatened to shoot her and “shoot up her place of employment.”

At about 2:36 p.m., a group of officers gathered to break a door to the apartment, and detective Gregory Reiber used a battering ram to try to gain entry, records state. He hit the door twice, and after the second blow, two shotgun blasts went through the door.

Reiber was struck by birdshot rounds that hit him in the face, scalp, arm, hand and abdomen, according to the probable cause document. A second person, officer Brian Sutphin, was struck in the arm. Puyallup police later said both officers were treated at a hospital and released the same night.

Officers retreated to safer locations and the standoff continued, records state. An exchange of gunfire occurred minutes later, and the defendant appeared to have been struck by a round. He retreated into the apartment. According to the probable cause document, that’s when SWAT teams from both PPD and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department were called to respond. It was later found Salanoa was shot in the hand.

While negotiations went on, prosecutors wrote that Salanoa came outside several times only to retreat indoors. At different times the defendant was seen smoking a cigarette, pointing his weapon out the door or shouting that he was going to kill himself, records state. Hours into the standoff, Salanoa allegedly shot down a drone police used to try to get a view into the apartment. The device was destroyed.

Salanoa emerged from the apartment and surrendered at about 6:53 p.m., according to the probable cause document. He was taken to Tacoma General Hospital to be treated for his gunshot wound before he was booked into jail.

A detective tried to interview the defendant after he left the hospital, but records state Salanoa had trouble staying awake.

“He did confirm that he knew police officers were trying to ram the door open, and he said he was ‘really scared,’” prosecutors wrote in the probable cause document.