Oregon woman uses ruse to escape brutal assault, court records say

A Gresham woman escaped a domestic violence attack by calling 911 and asking to order pizza after she was shocked with a stun gun and beaten with a pole in front of her children, court documents say.

Police on Wednesday arrested a man and accused him of assaulting the woman, his romantic partner, in front of her children. He then barricaded himself in their apartment with her youngest child when police tried to arrest him, leading to an hourlong standoff.

Jonathan Earl Hunt, 36, faces charges of second- and fourth-degree assault, as well as a charge of unlawful use of a stun gun during the incident, which happened at an apartment near East Burnside Street and Northeast 179th Avenue in Gresham, court records show.

The victim managed to call 911 after the initial assault under the pretense of ordering a pizza and replied “yes” when the dispatcher asked if she was in danger, according to court records.

Police found her in the parking lot outside her home, where she told responding officers that Hunt had hit her with a metal pole with his “whole strength” after he became enraged about a call from the Department of Human Services, court records say.

Hunt then shocked her in the neck with a stun gun or Taser, shoved her onto her hands and knees and kicked her in the back while he shouted threats, court records allege.

She added that her three of her four children, ages 7, 7 and 4, were in the apartment with her during the assault, court records show. Court records also show that Hunt had lived in the home with them for two months and had been refusing to leave.

Emergency responders took the woman to the hospital after she told police what had happened, but Hunt was still inside with one of the children, court records say.

Police ordered Hunt to come out of the apartment, but he refused to comply — and barricaded himself in the home with the woman’s 4-year-old instead, court records show.

Crisis negotiators convinced Hunt to release the 4-year-old after an hourlong standoff, and Hunt surrendered to police shortly afterward.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

— Tatum Todd is a breaking news reporter who covers public safety, crime and community news. Reach them at ttodd@oregonian.com or 503-221-4313.