Swinomish Police rescue hostage, nab suspect

Swinomish Police apprehended a man described as a violent sex offender who was holding a woman hostage around 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Officers were able to rescue the woman and then stopped the suspect from fleeing by shooting out the passenger side tires of the van he was attempting to drive away.

Chief of Police Andrew Thorne said nobody was injured and Crayton Todd Williams, 38, was arrested and faces numerous charges stemming from the incident, which occurred inSwinomishVillagenear the entrance toShelterBay.

Police had heard from other law enforcement sources that Williams was in the neighborhood, and with tips from the community, were on scene when he jumped into the passenger side of a van at the intersection of Shelter Bay Drive andPioneer Parkway.

The driver of the van fled and a woman passenger was taken hostage by Williams. Thorne said the woman and Williams knew each other.

During a standoff with officers, Williams held the woman with his arm around her neck, choking her and threatening to kill her, Thorne said.

She screamed “He’s going to do it! He’s going to do it!” Thorne said.

Then, he said Williams told officers “One thing is going to happen, either I’m going to kill you or you’re going to kill me.”

Thorne said when officers heard him tell the woman, “I love you and we’re going to go together,” they took that as an indication he was going to take action.

Officers couldn’t tell whether Williams had a weapon, Thorne said. “He refused to show his hands and kept his hands behind his hostage.”

When officers stepped back from the vehicle, Williams jumped into the driver’s seat and tried to drive off.

That’s when an officer was able to pull the woman from the back of the van to safety, while another officer shot out the van’s tires and then two other officers pulled Williams out of the van and arrested him.

“Kudos to the community for keeping us informed, they really helped us out,” Thorne said. And, our officers acted fast and safe.”