NEWS

Man flees cops into attic, prompts apt. evacuation

A man who fled from police into the attic space of an apartment complex on Appleblossom Drive North prompted law enforcement officers to evacuate the entire complex for three hours while they executed a search. 

The man was eventually arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail. 

The incident began at 3:45 p.m. Monday, April 29, when Keizer Police Department (KPD) officers went to an apartment at 148 Appleblossom Drive looking for a man wanted on outstanding warrants from numerous agencies in addition to pending charges from local departments. The suspect was known to flee from police and resist arrest. 

Officers questioned a female occupant where they believed the man was staying and she gave consent to search the apartment. Inside, officers noticed insulation on the floor below an access point to the attic and found an empty gun case for a Glock handgun. 

A shoe fell to the floor when officers opened the door to the attic. Officers recognized the shoe from the last time the suspect fled police, said Sgt. Greg Barber, of KPD. There is no firewall between units at the apartment complex, which meant the man potentially had access to multiple exit points. 

With the suspect considered armed, KPD and Salem Police Department officers evacuated the rest of the complex. Cameras were then used to try to locate the suspect in the attic, verbal commands went unanswered. Eventually, a K-9 unit was deployed into the attic and he located the suspect hiding in insulation where cameras could not detect him. 

Officers had to breach the attic in another spot, inside the apartment where the search began, and extract the man as he was unable to crawl out on his own. After extraction, the suspect was treated for breathing problems and a dog bite at Salem Hospital. He was then taken to the Marion County Jail. 

The suspect was identified as Erin Quall, 38. Quall has a history of arrests for theft, burglary, robbery and identity theft.