Sonoma man arrested after hours-long standoff with deputies

The armed man who barricaded himself for hours in his Sonoma home Saturday night had shot at his wife, who escaped the scene unharmed before a sheriff's SWAT team arrived, Sonoma County sheriff's officials said.

Timothy P. Deschenes, 55, was taken into custody without incident around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, shortly after the sheriff's office SWAT unit arrived at the home in the 300 block of Nicoli Lane, a dead-end street near Fourth Street West, authorites said.

Deschenes was alone in the home and surrendered to the SWAT team “fairly quickly,” Lt. Jim Naugle said Saturday.

The SWAT officers approached Deschenes' home in an armored personnel carrier and began communicating with him using a loudspeaker, Sonoma Police Chief Bret Sackett said in a press release late Saturday. The man then came outside and surrendered, he said.

Police and medical personnel descended on the neighborhood shortly after 3 p.m. based on a telephone call from a man who said a friend had called him and said he had just shot his wife and needed a place to hide, Sackett said.

Deschenes acknowledged the deputies' presence but refused to speak to them or come out of the house. A neighbor reported hearing two gunshots from the house earlier in the day, Sackett said.

Deschenes' wife was eventually reached on her cell phone and reported that she was safe. The woman confirmed that Deschenes had shot at her, he said.

The sheriff's office urged residents to avoid the area Saturday night.

A sheriff's office hostage negotiator established a telephone connection with Deschenes, whose demeanor in the conversation was described as “volatile.” He said he was going to “have a shootout with police,” Sackett said.

Deschenes frequently opened the door, yelling at deputies before closing it again, he said. At one point he threw a handgun, gun magazines and a cell phone out the door and onto the front lawn, Sackett said.

Sheriff's detectives are investigating the scene and expect to determine possible charges after interviewing Deschenes and his wife, Sackett said.

You can reach staff writer Guy Kovner at 521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @guykovner.