Moses Lake standoff ends in tear gas, fire

A Moses Lake man who barricaded himself in a home was arrested Monday after four hours of negotiations ended with tear gas and a fire.

A homeowner called Grant County Sheriff’s Office deputies to the 3100 block of Valley Road Northeast around 11:30, reporting Joel Koch, who has been staying in the home, was refusing to leave and behaving erratically.

Koch barricaded himself in a bedroom with a knife, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. After “negotiations broke down” around 3 p.m., the Moses Lake Tactical Response Team lobbed tear gas into the home.

Shortly after, responders noticed flames in the bedroom. Deputies arrested Koch and firefighters put out the fire. The basement was water damaged and there was some fire damage in the bedroom.

The release said the tear gas used by the team does not have pyrotechnics. The Grant County Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.