Man accused of threatening people in downtown Spokane arrested after standoff

A man accused of threatening to stab people in downtown Spokane was arrested Tuesday evening after a standoff with the police SWAT team.

A 911 caller told dispatch at about 6:30 p.m. that a man was armed with a knife, tried to stab them and was currently “coming at them.”

The suspect, later identified as Jonathan Casto, 31, allegedly approached the two strangers after overhearing their conversation and joined in before becoming increasingly upset and threatening them with a knife, according to a news release from the Spokane Police Department. The victims were not injured, police said.

Officers responded and located the armed suspect on Howard Street between Main and Riverside avenues.

Casto refused to drop the knife, so police called in the SWAT team and hostage negotiators, police said.

After about a half-hour speaking with the negotiator, the suspect still refused to comply and continued to act erratically, according to police. Casto turned and walked away from officers, who then used a K-9 and other “less lethal” tools to stop the suspect, police said.

Casto had an open Department of Corrections warrant stemming from a prior felony assault, police said. He was booked into the Spokane County Jail on the warrant, and police say second-degree assault charges are possible. Casto has eight prior felony convictions and told officers Tuesday night he had recently used methamphetamine, they said.