Man convicted of attempted murder of Puyallup cop in standoff sentenced to prison
A man found guilty of trying to shoot and kill a Puyallup police detective and assaulting three other officers while they tried to arrest him for violating a domestic-violence no contact order was sentenced Friday to 58 years in prison.
Muelu Salanoa Jr., 39, forced his way into his ex-girlfriend’s niece’s apartment in January 2023 and barricaded himself inside after she called 911 to report that Salanoa had threatened to shoot her and shoot up her workplace.
Salanoa shot at the police after officers tried for nearly an hour to convince him to come outside and speak with them. When Puyallup Police Department detective Greg Reiber used a battering ram on a door, Salanoa twice fired a shotgun loaded with birdshot. The shots blasted two holes in the door, striking Reiber in the face and body. Two other police officers, Brian Sutphin and Patrick Thomson. were also hit.
The three law enforcement officers and others on scene were awarded in May 2024 with a medal of honor, the state’s highest award for police officers. A number of the officers were in court for Salanoa’s sentencing hearing, but they did not make any statements.
Their injuries weren’t life threatening, and several people said in court Friday that it was lucky no one was killed or more seriously hurt.
“Mr. Salanoa is facing very serious consequences as a result of his actions,” deputy prosecuting attorney Ben Nelson said in court.
Nelson said prosecutors were asking for a sentence at the low end of the standard sentencing range due to the number of sentencing enhancements and conditions tied to his convictions. Firearm sentencing enhancements alone accounted for 23 years of his prison sentence.
“Mr. Salanoa, even with that recommendation, will likely spend the rest of his adult life in prison,” Nelson said.
Salanoa’s jury trial began with opening statements Jan. 16 and closed Feb. 5. After three days of deliberations, jurors found Salanoa guilty of second-degree attempted murder, three counts of first-degree assault, first-degree domestic violence burglary, first-degree malicious mischief, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and violation of a court order.
The second-degree attempted murder conviction was vacated at sentencing due to issues of double jeopardy. Salanoa was convicted of both the attempted murder and assault of Reiber in the same course of conduct, according to prosecutors, and the attempted murder was vacated because it has a lower standard sentencing range than first-degree assault.
Nelson said evidence at trial made it clear that Salanoa’s drug use likely played some role in his conduct on the day of the incident.
Salanoa’s ex-girlfriend at one point indicated Salanoa smoked methamphetamine and fentanyl daily, according to court documents. Nelson said he believed it was important to recognize that Salanoa’s actions weren’t isolated, pointing out that he had prior criminal convictions for first-degree robbery and second-degree assault.
The defendant’s drug use was presented to the jury during trial as a possible defense with regard to his intent. Salanoa’s attorney from the Department of Assigned Counsel, Dino Sepe, wrote in a court filing that a retained forensic psychologist had concluded Salanoa was so intoxicated by drugs at the time of the incident that he wasn’t able to form the intent for the offenses he was accused of.
Sepe also wrote in pre-trial motions that because of Salanoa’s intoxication, he believed the people at the door were gang members sent by his girlfriend to harm him.
There were multiple exchanges of gunfire during the nearly six-hour standoff, and police shot Salanoa in the hand in one exchange.
While negotiations went on, Salanoa filmed himself talking about getting into a shootout with the cops. At one point, police used a drone worth $31,000 to monitor Salanoa, but he brought it down with two shots from the 9mm pistol he was armed with.
Salanoa eventually surrendered and was booked into the Pierce County Jail, where he has remained in custody throughout the case.
Friends and family of Salanoa wrote letters of support to the court prior to his sentencing hearing. They described him as a hardworking person who was devoted to faith and family.
Sepe said in court that Salanoa was an “enigma,” telling Pierce County Superior Court Judge Timothy Ashcraft that in letters to the court, Salanoa was a kind Christian man who helps his family, and then there’s the Salanoa the court had seen in videos from the incident and heard about through testimony.
“I’ve seen what drugs have done. They take people and turn them into things that they wouldn’t otherwise be,” Sepe said.
“Is it an excuse? No, it’s not,” he added. “But yet you can’t ignore that it played a serious factor.”
When it was Salanoa’s turn to speak, he addressed the court through a Samoan interpreter. He apologized to the Puyallup Police Department, the community and his friends and family, and he asked for their forgiveness.
“My behaviors I conducted were wrong and this is due to my own addiction to the drugs,” Salanoa said through the interpreter. “It’s not something for me to use as an excuse for my behaviors, but because of being under the influence of drugs, I did not know where to turn or what else to do to protect myself.”
Salanoa said he wasn’t deserving of forgiveness, but he was praying and asking for it.
“I only ask, your honor, if there is any way possible that I be able to get out of here alive,” Salanoa said.
