Wanted man captured after standoff in NE Portland
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Police fired tear gas into a Portland airport hotel room early Thursday to end a three-hour standoff with a man who refused to leave the room and was suspected of being armed.
Portland Police also said the man's sister was with him and he was high on meth.
Neighboring rooms at the Travelodge hotel on NE 82nd Avenue were evacuated shortly after midnight and streets were closed as the Special Emergency Reaction Team moved in.
US Marshals were also in on the capture.
A short time after the SERT member and crisis negotiators arrived, police said James David Tautfest, 34, released his sister but refused to come out of the hotel room.
Tautfest then kicked a hole in a wall, went into an adjacent attic, "crashed through the floor" and went into a weight room below, according to police. He then climbed back through the floor and back into a hotel room, police said.
After negotiations stalled, officers fired tear gas at about 3:45 a.m. and Tautfest surrendered without incident. Portland Police said no firearms were found.
According to Eric Wahlstrom with the US Marshals in Portland, "Tautfest had multiple warrants from Vancouver, he recently fled from Kelso Police by jumping out of the window of another hotel."
Kelso Police recovered a handgun in that incident, Wahlstrom said. Tautfest was wanted out of Washington State for identity theft, forgery, theft and possession of a control substance, according to Portland Police.
Wahlstrom said his sources told him Trautfest was "always armed" and made statements to officers Thursday that he had a gun, prompting the SERT response.
According to a former girlfriend contacted by KATU News, Tautfest stayed with her while he was going to school "and he was doing really good" until he used drugs.
"A lot of his friends he wouldn't even introduce me to because he didn't want me to know who they were and what they were about," she said.
"He's completely normal, he's fun, my family loves him," she said. "Drugs completely changes him."
"I think that's the only way for him to stay out of trouble is when he's locked up," she added.
Tautfest is currently in the Multnomah County Jail.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press and KATU News. All rights reserved.)
LOL! I wouldn't exactly say it was without incident and doubt the hotel staff would either. Looks like the tear gas worked. He's crying like a baby in that pic.
Amazing this didn't end with him dead. Good job LEO!
I guess he shoulda had a firearm, instead of just claiming to have one! The ending might have been different!
users are losers
Let me guess, he got bullied by his dance coach in high school.
@danoseknows Good one i thought...
Jail time + Counseling + mediation and an active structure of good people would do a world of good. According to his ex he was a nice guy before the drugs. He obviously needs to talk to someone and find a better path. It can happen I have met many ex drugys who have done some amazing things to turn themselves around. Kids, family good jobs. He just needs to find a different addiction one that's healthy.
Dream on!
Another loser who will continue to burden society until he no longer breathes. Lock him in a cell, accidently leave a few hundred pounds of meth in there, and then come back in a week and see if he needs anything.
@I812Â The only loser here is the ignorant smug punk who thinks he speaks wise words of wisdom without any kind of compassion for mankind. Â You make me sick.Â
@LeftLongviewLongAgo @I812 This guy has been a burden on society for more than a decade and you want compassion? Let me guess: You either created this loser or are related to the loser.
This is a really old post. Did you need help reading it?Â
Another ignoramus caught up in meth addiction compounded with the lovely behaviour that meth beguiles people into doing. I still find the irony in calling it a "controlled substance" - no one actually controls it besides the dealers; law enforcement and addict are at their mercy and the mercy of a failed drug war.
i imagine his problems started when as a child he was probablhy called titfest by peers.
Why didn't they burn him to death like Dorner? I guess we have better cops here than in LA!
Tautfest...its time to turn your life around and enjoy life free of addiction! You need help man and the devil has taken over your soul.
" identity theft, forgery, theft and possession of a control substance"Â - Not the worst criminal in town fer sure.
It's Ricky from Trailer Park Boys.
@Playanekes Lol, it kinda looks like him but last time they were in town was X-mas.  I wonder where Bubbles is!  ;)
That Travelodge should not be considered an 'Airport Hotel'. It is a drug and prostitution den...not a hotel that travelers would want to stay at.
too bad the tears came from the gas
Those details will be lost in time. All that will remain is him crying in his mugshot that all his buddies will see.
I'm rather shocked the police didn't toss in CS canisters and burn the motel to the ground.
It looks like the tear gas worked!
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@TheUglyTruth Shouldn't it really be called HugAThug or LoveALoser or HelpAHobo over Project Respond?
Nah, Sammy has gone on to other adventures!
What were the warrants for?
And was he actually armed?
@StealthActivist. Read the above article..........
Tautfest was wanted out of Washington State for identity theft, forgery, theft and possession of a control substance, according to Portland Police.
Portland Police said no firearms were found. Tautfest is currently in the Multnomah County Jail.
OK, he'll be out soon enough, and on his way up to the Clark County Jail with a hold for Multnomah County.
@Biker1085Â I believe the story has been updated since the initial posting so reading the story, at the time the comment was made, would have been more appropriate since the news staff loves to alter the story after we make comments...
CTWU,StealthActivist.
Point taken. My apologies to StealthActivist if this was the case.
@StealthActivist It doesn't matter. The police will deploy their swat teams at a mere rumor these days.
@axpman @StealthActivist Good, that is what they are for.