Standoff Near University High Ends Peacefully; Man Arrested

An argument between a woman and her 21-year-old son escalated into an armed standoff near a Spokane Valley high school Wednesday morning before ending peacefully.

Sheriff’s deputies surrounded a duplex at 10207 E. Eighth about 8:40 a.m. and blocked traffic several blocks away. One block south of the duplex, students filled classrooms at University High School.

The woman and her preschool-aged daughter left the home 30 minutes after the standoff began while nearly a dozen deputies ringed the house, their guns drawn. Both appeared unharmed.

Ten minutes later, Brandon Belstad walked out the front door with his hands raised and was taken into custody.

Belstad was arrested for domestic violence assault and taken to the Spokane County Jail, Sheriff John Goldman said. Belstad’s mother told deputies her son had a handgun and threw it into a field behind the house during the standoff.

It was not clear if Belstad ever pointed the gun at his mother or kept her inside the duplex against her will. Deputies were not immediately able to find the gun.

Classes at the high school were not disrupted.

Belstad, who according to Superior Court records has previous convictions for malicious mischief and theft, had been staying with his mother for a couple of weeks, Goldman said.

An argument over a behavioral problem apparently sparked the standoff, the sheriff said. He would not be more specific.

Deputies began arriving shortly after Belstad’s mother called 911 and told a dispatcher her son had a gun, Goldman said.

“She was feeling intimidated and threatened,” Goldman said.

Moments later, the telephone line went dead as Belstad ripped the cord out of the wall and hit his mother with the phone, Goldman said. After several minutes, a dispatcher was able to get Belstad’s mother back on the phone.

The mother and daughter came out of the house a few minutes later.

“Things got pretty tense when the phone went dead,” Goldman said.

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