He was convinced his new friends were plotting with his girlfriend against him.
Driven by paranoia and fueled by Ecstasy, Douglas Lawrence allegedly pointed a handgun at his three friends, threatened to shoot them and even placed closet doors in front of the entrance to keep them inside a Tacoma home on South 11th Street.
The ordeal lasted seven hours before a police tactical team used a robot to help officers enter the house early Saturday and arrest the man.
Pierce County prosecutors charged Lawrence, 22, with three counts of first-degree kidnapping and three counts of second-degree assault. He pleaded not guilty, and bail was set at $350,000.
The victims told police they met Lawrence about two months ago and had been popping pills together. They didn’t know why he went “berserk” and held them hostage.
“The defendant was claiming his girlfriend was sending him text messages about having him killed,” charging papers state. “The defendant thought the victims had set him up.”
One of the victims was able to use a cellphone to call 911. The open line – where dispatchers could hear Lawrence’s threats – led officers to the house.
Three handguns were found inside the home.
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