$500K bail for accused hostage taker

COEUR d’ALENE — A man accused of taking hostages amid a standoff with SWAT is in jail on $500,000 bail.

Kenneth T. Wilson, 59, of Spokane, is charged with three counts of aggravated assault and with unlawful possession of a firearm, both felonies.

He was also cited for obstruction, false imprisonment and animal cruelty, all misdemeanors.

Police responded around 11:20 a.m. Sunday to a report that a woman may have been shot inside a Hayden residence.

While waiting for SWAT to arrive, police reported hearing gunshots inside the residence and seeing smoke billow from a window.

Neighboring residents were evacuated. Northern Lakes Fire responded under protection from law enforcement to ensure other houses were not damaged if the residence caught fire.

The altercation reportedly began after the woman Wilson lived with at the Hayden residence learned of his criminal background.

Wilson has been convicted of numerous felonies in Washington, including attempted rape in 1994, as well as failure to register as a sex offender in 2002, 2004 and 2005.

He was also previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance in 2008 and with false imprisonment and assault in 2017.

Witnesses said Wilson hid in a closet for several minutes before he emerged and fired a handgun at a woman, who simultaneously used bear spray on him.

She said she carried the bear spray specifically to protect herself from Wilson.

After the gunshot, one woman said she hunkered down in a bathtub, then ran into a bedroom and hid.

She told police she prayed as she heard more gunshots.

The woman escaped out a window after she heard someone — believed to be a SWAT operator — tell her to jump.

Meanwhile, the other individuals fled into a different bedroom.

Wilson allegedly fired multiple shots into the room before the hostages climbed out a window.

Police said Wilson exited the home with his hands up around 2:30 p.m.

Nobody was injured.

One of the witnesses said she saw a dog “on fire” before she escaped the residence. How the dog caught fire is unclear.

Multiple pets were inside the home during the event, according to court documents, which prompted the citation for animal cruelty.

The condition of the pets is unknown.

First District Judge Ross Pittman ordered Monday that Wilson be held on $500,000 bail.