Walla Walla SWAT standoff ends in arrest after stolen vehicle investigation

WALLA WALLA – The Walla Walla Police Department has released details regarding Thursday’s incident on the 400 block of Catherine Street that involved the SWAT team.

This past Wednesday, just after 6 a.m., Walla Walla police officers responded to the report of a stolen vehicle at an apartment complex on the 1900 block of Melrose Street.

The victim reported waking up to find their vehicle missing and soon received alerts that their debit card had been used without permission. While attempting to locate the vehicle, the victim observed it being driven on Melrose Street and followed it into a nearby parking lot on the 1900 block. The occupants of the vehicle fled on foot, and the victim later discovered several personal items missing from the vehicle, including a fishing rod and other property.

Officers obtained surveillance video from a local business connected to one of the unauthorized transactions and identified a female suspect. During the follow-up investigation, officers located a vehicle associated with the female suspect and observed stolen property inside. A search warrant was obtained, and officers recovered multiple stolen items belonging to the victim.

Further investigation identified a second suspect as Matthew Cavazos, 27, of Walla Walla. On Thursday, at 1:30 p.m., officers located Cavazos at a resident on the 400 block of Catherine Street. When officers attempted to contact him, Cavazos barricaded himself inside the residence and refused commands to exit.

Due to several safety factors, including Cavazos’s prior history of assaultive behavior, a history of resisting arrest, and credible information that he may have been armed with a handgun, the Walla Walla SWAT Team was activated. After obtaining an arrest warrant, SWAT personnel entered the residence and took Cavazos into custody.

Cavazos was arrested and booked into the Walla Walla County Jail on probable cause for the following charges – possession of a stolen vehicle, second-degree identity theft (three counts), second-degree theft (two counts), resisting arrest, and a dangerous weapons violation
WWPD reports no probable cause was developed for the female.

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Elkhorn Media Group