Police nab pair; one on the lam
From left, Belinda Ann Patterson and Joshua David Thweatt
Belinda Patterson
Joshua Thweatt
Washington police arrested two people Sunday at an apartment building in the 500 block of Duncan Avenue stemming from separate incidents and are looking for a third on a bench warrant after he allegedly fled from the building.
Belinda Ann Patterson, 42, of 575 Duncan Ave., is charged with hindering apprehension after she allegedly concealed Dontae Patterson at her apartment Friday and then helped him escape from the building after warning him police were coming.
Joshua David Thweatt, 35, of Washington, was arrested Sunday morning on charges of defiant trespass and terroristic threats after he was at the building without permission and allegedly threatened an elderly tenant.
Police were called to the apartment building Friday afternoon after receiving a report Dontae Patterson, 31, of Washington, was there with a gun.
When police arrived, they said Dontae Patterson and Belinda Patterson were not at the building.
A resident told police Dontae Patterson broke open his door and fled. The Pattersons, described by authorities as married but estranged, were reportedly seen walking in an alley.
Police were called back to the apartment Sunday morning for a report of an intruder in the building. An elderly tenant told officers he was confronted by a tall white man in the hallway of his home. The man, later identified by police as Thweatt, allegedly threatened to kill the tenant.
Officers searched the residence room by room and said they found Thweatt hiding in a bedroom on the first floor. He had been told by the tenant not to be on the property earlier this month.
Police said they also found a syringe believed to be loaded with heroin in the bedroom. Belinda Patterson reportedly told police that it was her syringe. She was taken into custody on the hindering charge.
Both were arraigned before District Judge Traci McDonald. Patterson was placed in Washington County jail on a $2,500 percentage bond. Thweatt was jailed on $5,000 bond.