November 21, 2017 at 4:23 p.m.
Standoff suspect makes first court appearance
Standoff suspect makes first court appearance
According to online court records, a criminal complaint was filed Monday charging Mathew E. Smith with failure to comply with officer's attempt to take person into custody, a Class H felony. He is also facing two counts of misdemeanor bail jumping, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of disorderly conduct.
According to the criminal complaint, a woman called the sheriff's department at 9:49 a.m. Thursday to report Smith was threatening to kill himself and others in a residence on U.S. Highway 8 West in the town of Crescent. The caller said Smith had a knife and possibly a gun.
When members of the sheriff's department arrived at the residence, they were told Smith had been arguing with his girlfriend when he made the threats. The deputies saw Smith exit the rear of the building and ordered him to surrender, but he ran back inside the residence.
A perimeter was then established and the Oneida County Special Response Team and officers from other area law enforcement agencies were called to assist in taking Smith into custody. The complaint says officers made over 20 attempts to contact Smith by telephone and numerous times by public address system, but he did not respond. This took place over the course of approximately 6 hours, according to the complaint.
After a warrant was obtained, the SRT entered the residence and took Smith into custody, recovering a knife and drug paraphernalia, the complaint states.
Smith's girlfriend told investigators that Smith had become enraged over a perceived infidelity.
She said he repeatedly threatened her and another person with the knife and refused to leave the residence when she and other occupants asked him to do so, prompting the call to 9-1-1.
When investigators checked the National Crimes Information Center database they learned Smith had a court order out of California prohibiting him from having any contact with the woman until 2019. He also had an outstanding arrest warrant issued in Oneida County for failing to show up for a court appearance.
At a bond hearing Monday afternoon, court commissioner Sven Strutz set bond at $5,000 cash. Smith was back in court late Tuesday before Branch II Judge Michael Bloom for his initial appearance on the charges.
According to online court records, the defense moved to dismiss a charge of intentionally contacting a victim, witness or co-actor after a court order for a felony conviction that was also filed Monday.
Bloom agreed to dismiss that charge and scheduled a preliminary hearing on the remaining charges for Nov. 30.
If convicted of the felony, Smith faces up to six years in prison while the other charges carry a 3.5-year maximum prison sentence, along with a maximum fine in each case of $10,000.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at [email protected].
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