A 40-year-old Aberdeen man is in custody at Aberdeen City Jail for allegedly arming himself with a firearm and threatening his family on Wednesday afternoon, April 20, according to an Aberdeen Police Department statement.
Aberdeen police (APD) received a domestic violence call at 12:10 p.m., on Wednesday, because of a situation in the 200 block of West Fourth Street, the department said.
Ricky Lewis Johnson had allegedly armed himself with a 9mm pistol and threatened the victim and their children, authorities say.
Lewis, who now faces an assault in the first degree charge, peacefully surrendered to APD a few hours later, according to APD Lt. Steve Timmons.
The victims are OK, according to Timmons.
McDermoth Elementary School had to be put on lockdown while police searched for the suspect. It was the second time an Aberdeen School District building had to go on lockdown during the 2021-22 school year. Aberdeen High School was placed on a “modified lockdown,” for about 30 minutes, on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, after an Aberdeen man allegedly shot an 18-year-old woman at an apartment building in the 200 block of F Street.
“Due to the uncertainty of the suspect’s location and (McDermoth) Elementary school being across the street, the school was notified and went on lockdown status while officers attempted to locate the suspect,” the statement read.
The suspect “fled” the apartment minutes before officers arrived.
APD, which received assistance from Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office deputies, Hoquiam Police Department officers, Washington State Patrol, and Cosmopolis Police Department officers, in its containment and search for the man, checked the apartment complex and other “associated residences.”
The authorities’ containment area included a two-block radius, Timmons said.
“However, we were receiving information that he could be at a house in Hoquiam, or somewhere in downtown Aberdeen,” Timmons said.
The school’s lockdown lasted about 1 hour and 47 minutes, Timmons said.
“Video was later located from the area that confirmed the suspect fled the scene in a vehicle just prior to the officers arriving,” the statement read.
Johnson had been driving a green Mercury Sable, which was later found near the Aberdeen Police Department.
In further attempts to locate the suspect, officers were able to make contact with him through his friends, who “encouraged” him to surrender peacefully to the police.
“We were with the friend, who was texting him via phone,” Timmons said.
At about 3:15 p.m., on Wednesday, the search for Johnson ended.
“(Johnson) subsequently arrived at the Aberdeen Police Department and (he) turned himself in,” the statement read.
The firearm has not yet been found. The Mercury Sable was seized and a search warrant is pending.
Domestic calls in the area aren’t rare, but cases like the one with Johnson, are unique.
“While we respond frequently to domestic violence calls and weapon-related calls,” Timmons said, “Having those two types of calls combined near a school, where a school is on lockdown is not very common.”
The Aberdeen Police Department urges victims of domestic violence, to please call the Domestic Violence Center of Grays Harbor at 800-818-2194, or 360-538-0733, or the National Hotline at 1-800-799-7233,” the statement read. “If you are in immediate danger, call 9-1-1.”
