SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane police said on Tuesday afternoon that officers recovered an "airsoft handgun which resembled an actual firearm" from the scene of an hours-long standoff downtown on Monday night.
Spokane Police Ofc. John O'Brien said in a release on Tuesday that the airsoft gun was recovered from a beverage cooler that the suspect, 49-year-old Phillip Booher, was hiding in during the standoff.
O'Brien also said that footage shows that Booher was hiding behind an employee counter with "what appears to be a gun" while igniting a fire.
In court documents, the owner of the Devines gas station said she watched live security footage of the suspect. She said Booher lit newspaper on fire, documents said. She was able to Facetime police to give them a live feed of Booher while he was inside the store, according to documents.
Booher was arrested at about 11:30 p.m. on Monday after a six-hour standoff. Cpl. Teresa Fuller said Booher was known to police before the standoff.
Booher was booked into the Spokane County Jail on Tuesday. His bond is set at $500,000, according to the Spokane County Jail Inmate Roster.
Police said Booher was booked on the following charges: first degree assault, attempt to elude police, first degree burglary, first degree arson, an unrelated warrant for second degree burglary, and other possible charges as the investigation continues.
Booher had a warrant out of Walla Walla for burglary and theft charges.
His girlfriend, who asked to remain anonymous, told KREM after his hearing Tuesday this is out of character for Booher.
"Once it all got going, the snowball just started rolling and he just couldn't stop it," she said.
All roads in the area have since reopened as of 6 a.m. on Monday.
Police chase leads to standoff
At about 5:30 p.m. on Monday, a Washington State Patrol trooper stopped a vehicle with three passengers. The female driver was identified quickly but a male passenger, later identified as Booher, was not forthcoming about his name and was asked to step out of the vehicle, police said.
Police said Booher pointed a gun at the trooper and told him he was not going back to jail as he got out of the vehicle, police said.
Booher got back into car, leading the trooper on a vehicle chase into downtown Spokane. During the chase, he pointed the gun out the window at officers. Police said it appeared Booher was trying to carjack civilians downtown after he exited the vehicle and fled on foot.
Booher then ran into the Devines 76 gas station on 2nd Avenue and Walnut Street, where he barricaded himself inside, police said. Several people inside the store, including the clerk, were able to escape safely.
Jeffrey Davis said he was in the gas station when Booher entered.
"He took my phone to negotiate with police inside the cooler while he's drinking beer and he set the store on fire with the Doritos," Davis said.
Davis returned to the scene Wednesday hoping to find his cell phone.
"I'm thinking that could've been me in there. He could have taken me and her hostage or any thing else. He could've taken the customers. He said plain and simple he wasn't going back to jail," he said.
Negotiators spent more than an hour trying to talk Booher out of the store before he began lighting things on fire at about 7 p.m., police said. SWAT then inserted a chemical agent into the store to force Booher out but he did not leave.
O'Brien said the SWAT team used the chemical agents to try to preserve life and property by forcing Booher to exit the building.
Police said a plan was put in place to safely fight the fire, despite Booher telling negotiators that "he would shoot the first officer he saw."
Booher refused to leave the building for several more hours, police said. The fire inside the store forced people staying at the nearby Tiki Lodge Motel to evacuate to STA buses for their safety. Avista crews also responded to assist with power concerns in the area.
"I just came back from Walmart, and I saw all of these lights and the tape and was just like, wow. Could have been me, could have been anyone. I just pray that everybody's going to be okay," said Judy Fuller, a Spokane resident at the scene.
SWAT officers moved in just after 11:30 p.m. on Monday and took Booher into custody. KREM crews said Spokane police used an armored vehicle at one point to break through the wall of the gas station where Booher was holed up.
KREM crews said flashbangs were also used multiple times.
Booher was treated by medics at the scene and taken to the hospital, where he was treated before being booked into jail.
Trooper Jeff Sevigney said two people in the vehicle were also detained during the incident.
"Thankful that the incident overnight in Spokane was resolved without any serious injuries. Thanks to our allied agencies for your assistance," Sevigney tweeted on Monday morning.
Surveillance footage shows dramatic scenes
Uncle Rusty's, a diner next door to the gas station, captured dramatic moments from the standoff in its surveillance cameras.
First, footage shows the suspect running into the gas station and customers running out.
Cameras also caught police arriving on the scene and an employee fleeing the building, as well as an armored vehicle parking near the gas pumps.
As the night moves on, the footage shows the fire that police said Booher started creating smoke that comes out of the gas station.
Employees at Uncle Rusty's said it's crazy to think the suspect could have ended up in their restaurant but they're just grateful that nobody was hurt.