Vancouver man gets 19 months in threat

A man who prompted a police standoff in east Vancouver by threatening his mother with a broken wine bottle was sentenced Thursday in Clark County Superior Court to 19 months in prison.

Dillon T. Richards, 24, of Vancouver pleaded guilty to third-degree domestic violence assault and two counts of violating domestic violence court orders, as part of an in re barr plea. The plea allows a defendant to plead guilty to a lesser related charge they didn’t commit in order to avoid conviction for a greater offense.

He was facing second- and fourth-degree domestic violence assault, third-degree malicious mischief and two counts of violating a domestic violence court order. Those charges were amended as part of a plea deal.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Richards became upset because the house he was at, in the 1200 block of Northeast 129th Avenue, was out of wine. When his mother returned after getting more, he became enraged that it wasn’t the right wine. He smashed the bottle against an oven’s glass door and held the broken bottle to her face.

Both his mother and another woman in the house, identified in court records as his sister, said Richards planned to wait in the house until police arrived and shot him, the affidavit said.

Vancouver police surrounded the house, and Richards eventually came outside. He reportedly resisted arrest, and officers shocked him with a stun gun, police said.

On Thursday, Richards’ attorney, Todd Pascoe, said his client has mental health issues and suffered the loss of a close friend. He also struggled with substance abuse, Pascoe said.

Judge Suzan Clark agreed to follow the attorneys’ previously agreed-upon sentence of 19 months in prison. Richards was given credit for 32 days in custody.