More than a year after a man was arrested following a six-hour standoff at the Westwood Village Target store, his trial is beginning today. According to court documents, 32-year-old Timothy A. Clemans has chosen to defend himself in King County Superior Court, where he is on trial for one count of attempted first-degree kidnapping, with a deadly-weapon enhancement. Clemans is alleged to have gone into the store on January 21st, 2022, armed himself with a knife from the kitchen-merchandise section, and started telling people he was going to hold them hostage. He was finally subdued and arrested by SWAT team members and has been in jail ever since. As noted in our followup last year, Clemans is accused of having done this one week after getting out of jail on an assault case, and five days after calling 911 to say he was going to take hostages at a Target store; he allegedly made a similar call just before this incident, saying he would take hostages at a store unless he got the mental-health services he needed. Court documents say his trial, over which Superior Court Judge Marshall Ferguson is presiding, is expected to last about two weeks. 18 people are on the witness list, including 11 police officers.
West Seattle, Washington
23 Saturday
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