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Man found hiding as standoff ends By Mark Freeman A 13-hour standoff between police and an armed and reportedly suicidal man holed up in his Medford home ended peacefully Tuesday when officers found the man hiding in a crawl space under the house. Matthew Donald Garrett had barricaded himself in his home at 1414 Beekman Ave. about noon Monday after allegedly hitting, choking and pointing a rifle at his wife, Stephanie, during an argument, according to the Medford Police Department. Garrett, a pharmaceutical salesman, was found unarmed and hiding beneath the house about 1:20 a.m. Tuesday and was whisked to the Rogue Valley Medical Center for a mental-health evaluation, police said. He was arraigned in a Jackson County court Tuesday afternoon on misdemeanor charges of fourth-degree assault, menacing and harassment. The charges stem from Garrett�s alleged altercation with his wife, but none from the standoff, authorities said. "It�s not a crime, basically, to barricade yourself in your house, alone," said prosecutor Matt Chancellor of the Jackson County District Attorney�s Office. Police also recovered a .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle and ammunition from the home. No shots were fired during the 13-hour impasse, which was punctuated about 3:30 p.m. by Medford police�s attempt to use a taser to stun Garrett enough for officers to apprehend him while he was standing at the front of his house. That effort failed, however, and Garrett retreated into his house and broke off contact with police. "In that type of situation, we wanted to slow it down, calm it down," Medford police Lt. Tim George said Tuesday. "We wanted to end it in a peaceful manner and use the least amount of force to get him. "The last thing we want to do is jack up someone who is suicidal," George said. Police had lengthy telephone conversations with Garrett before that incident, but George declined to reveal the nature of those conversations or exactly what made Garrett distraught and reportedly suicidal. The standoff continued through a cold rain and even snow flurries until about 11:20 p.m. Monday, when a police SWAT team entered the house, police said. After a 90-minute search, Garrett was found hiding in the crawl space. About 10 nearby residences were evacuated during the standoff, and police blocked traffic on South Peach Street as well as side streets into Garrett�s neighborhood until Garrett was apprehended. Tim Maddox, who lives two houses from Garrett, had come home for lunch from his sales job and remained home the whole day as SWAT team officers sat nearby keeping an eye on the Garrett home. Maddox�s wife, Melissa Maddox, couldn�t cross the police barricade after work and had to spend the night in a local motel without as much as an overnight bag. But Tim Maddox did not begrudge the heavy and lengthy police presence. "They definitely took the right precautions," Maddox said. "You don�t want anyone hurt." Garrett was lodged Tuesday at the Jackson County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail, a relatively high bail sought by prosecutors because of the nature of the incident, Chancellor said. "With the incident yesterday, the standoff, he�s a risk to himself and others," Chancellor said. "At this time, it�s best to keep him incarcerated." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.