After January SWAT standoff, Kelso man pleads guilty to harrassment

A Kelso man has pleaded guilty to felony harassment after authorities say he attacked a woman in January in the Rose Valley area.

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Stuart Todd Valley, 63, of Kelso, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 days in Cowlitz County Jail and 12 months probation, but was credited for time served.

The rest of the original charges, which included unlawful imprisonment, fourth-degree assault, and obstruction, were dismissed.

Law enforcement was dispatched at about 12:02 p.m. on Jan. 9 to a residence on the 3400 block of Mount Pleasant Road in rural Kelso.

A woman reported that an intoxicated Valley was throwing soup cans at her and hit her dog with a dog bowl. She also told dispatch Valley had threatened her with a bread knife a day before, according to court records.

Citing an undisclosed disability, the victim couldn't leave the home, so she barricaded herself inside a bedroom by holding the door closed, the report states.

The dispatcher reported hearing yelling in the background. At one point, the call dropped, but when it reconnected, the victim said Valley told her, "If you come out of the room, you're coming out in a body bag," according to the records.

The victim would later tell the police that earlier in the day, she tried to wake Valley, who was intoxicated and passed out on the couch, but he became aggressive.

While backing away, the victim threw an empty beer can at him. He retaliated by throwing the dog's water bowl at her and then began throwing soup cans, one of which hit her ankle.

When deputies arrived at the residence, they reportedly saw Valley leaving and were told he wasn't free to go. Valley would keep coming in and out of the residence multiple times over the next two hours, yelling at deputies to leave the property, even though he was told he was under arrest.

Authorities suspected he may have had access to a rifle, so Lower Columbia SWAT was called.

He was taken into custody at about 2:32 p.m

According to court records, Valley was convicted of a fourth-degree assault in 2019, and he has a compliance hearing on April 29.

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