Kidnapping charges for man who snatched toddler while naked in Port Orchard

A 28-year-old man from Haiti, staying in the Port Orchard area with relatives, is facing felony charges for kidnapping and assault after he was arrested following a chaotic incident at a home off Lake Flora Road on Saturday, March 16. He was booked into Kitsap County Jail Wednesday and appeared in Kitsap Superior Court that afternoon.

The suspect, who had moved in with the family approximately two months ago, according to a Kitsap County Sheriff's Office report, was reported to 911 around 5:30 p.m. as having a mental health crisis that had lasted several days. The suspect often ran off, a family member said, including leaving a hospital at one point. When deputies arrived that Saturday afternoon, the suspect was not at the property.

Several hours later deputies were altered again, by multiple callers, after the suspect returned to a neighbor's backyard and was seen standing naked near a fire, starting a sudden series of events that led to a shooting and a reportedly bloody fight in a neighbor's backyard.

The sister-in-law of the suspect attempted to speak to him and coax the suspect back to the a trailer at the family's home. The woman was holding her three-year-old daughter, and as they walked together back toward the property the suspect began to hug both the woman and daughter, according to a probable cause statement for his arrest. The woman reported that the hug became forceful, near her neck and head, and made it difficult for her to breath. She pushed the suspect away. The naked man then grabbed the child from her arms and ran into a stand of woods between the properties.

The neighbor who had the fire in his backyard observed the interaction and saw the man run off, and grabbed a revolver from inside his home. He chased the suspect into the woods, he told deputies, and initially fired a shot into the air. The female family member told deputies that she had "screamed at him to shoot" because her child had been taken, and confirmed hearing two shots fired in the woods after the neighbor chased the suspect.

A statement from the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office said that the neighbor shot several times, and struck the suspect in the hand and arm.

When the woman caught up with the suspect, neighbor and child in the wooded area, she said the neighbor had the child in his arms and was laying on his back. The suspect was punching the neighbor and child repeatedly, with such intensity the woman worried either could be killed. She ran into the commotion, grabbed the child from the neighbor's arms and fled back to her home.

The neighbor told deputies that during the fight with the suspect, the suspect bit him on the leg and again on the stomach. The neighbor pulled the trigger on the gun several times, but it was out of ammo, and then struck the suspect on the head with the gun. The neighbor then got a chokehold around the suspect, according to the KCSO report, which subdued the suspect enough so that the neighbor could run back to his house. The suspect ran back into the woods, the neighbor reported.

After deputies arrived and secured the scene and victims, the suspect walked out of the woods and surrendered, and was taken to a medical facility for his injuries.

The suspect was booked into Kitsap County Jail and appeared in court Wednesday, where he was assigned an interpreter to speak Haitian Creole and charged with first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault, both felony charges, and fourth-degree assault. His bail was set at $500,000. The suspect will be evaluated for his competency to stand trial while he is held at the jail.