Suspect jailed after shootout with police and a standoff in a stranger’s Kennewick apartment

A man was arrested after exchanging gunfire with a Kennewick police officer and then forcing a two-hour standoff inside a stranger’s apartment.

The confrontation happened Tuesday when a team of police officers and deputies from Kennewick, Richland and Benton County were in the middle of a scheduled operation to arrest people wanted on warrants.

Anthony Martinez-Mata, 26, of Kennewick, was one of the suspects on that list. He was wanted on a felony assault charge involving a gun, Kennewick police said in a news release.

They saw him in a car near the Clearwater Bay Apartments on the 5200 block of Clearwater Avenue shortly before 6:20 p.m.

He jumped out of the car and ran to a nearby motorcycle but couldn’t get it started.

When officers approached him, Martinez-Mata ran into the complex and opened fire at a pursuing officer.

The Kennewick officer shot back, but it’s unclear if Martinez-Mata was hit.

The officer, not named in the release, was not hurt.

Martinez-Mata then barged into a stranger’s apartment, and the person inside escaped out a back window.

Officers surrounded the apartment and were joined by the Tri-City Regional SWAT team. After a couple of hours of negotiating, Martinez-Mata surrendered about 8:30 p.m. and was taken to the hospital for injuries that weren’t life-threatening.

Just before midnight he was booked into the Benton County jail on suspicion of first-degree burglary, first- and second-degree assault and possession of a stolen vehicle.

The Regional Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was called in to handle the shooting investigation. The unit, which covers Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties, does independent investigations of officer-involved shootings.

Martinez-Mata’s last conviction came in 2018 when he pleaded guilty to a 2017 drive-by shooting in Pasco. He was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison. He was released in October 2021 but violated his probation in June when he failed to check in as required.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

This story was originally published September 14, 2022 10:25 AM.