Thurston judge sets $2 million bail for Olympia man accused of stabbing parents with sword
A 37-year-old Olympia man accused of attempting to kill his parents with a sword is being held in the Thurston County jail in lieu of $2 million bail.
Johnathan Daniel Beacon attended his preliminary appearance in Thurston County Superior Court Friday afternoon. He’s been accused of two counts of second-degree attempted murder and one count of resisting arrest.
Olympia officers arrested Beacon Wednesday evening at a home on the 3500 block of Merryman Place Southeast, which is near LBA Park. Police Lt. Paul Lower said officers responded to a 911 call and forced their way into the home after hearing screaming. He described what the officers saw as a “horrifying scene.”
First responders transported Beacon’s mother to Providence St. Peter Hospital while his father was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Lower said both of them were in critical condition after suffering multiple stab wounds.
Beacon appeared in court virtually from the county jail. He wore a smock and restraints on his arms and legs. Correctional staff requested he be restrained due to safety concerns, according to court records.
In a declaration filed with the court, a deputy said Beacon refused to follow orders to be booked into the jail for over 24 hours and had been refusing to eat or drink since being brought into custody.
“Arresting officers passed on information to jail staff that Mr. Beacon had told them his goal is to assault correction staff and escape,” the deputy said. “Mr. Beacon told arresting officers that he had nothing to lose, so he was going to try to escape.”
Judge Anne Egeler allowed the use of restraints during Friday’s hearing. She later set bail at $2 million, saying it was necessary to assure his presence at the next court hearing. Additionally, Egeler said there was a substantial danger Beacon may commit a violent crime or intimidate a witness before trial.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Elizabeth McMullen asked the court to set bail at $2 million after sharing that she had reviewed officer video from the scene.
“I’ve had the chance to review the body camera footage of the initial entry into the home and into the bedroom where this incident, at least in part, occurred, and it is disturbing to say the least, the things that you can see and hear,” McMullen said.
Defense attorney Diana Wildland sat in a county jail booth with Beacon. She asked the court to allow his restraints to be removed and set bail at a lower amount.
“My client is indigent,” Wildland said. “He is entitled to reasonable bail. These are mere allegations at this point, not a conviction, of course, as the court is well aware.”
With respect to his restraints, Wildland said her client has not had any kind of behavioral issues since he’s been in jail.
The investigation
A probable cause statement describes the investigation into the Oct. 16 incident from the perspective of law enforcement.
Officers responded to the home at about 8:15 a.m. after dispatch received a suspicious 911 call in which screaming and cursing could be heard in the background, according to the statement.
The first officers who arrived at the scene forced their way inside and into a master bedroom where the screaming was coming from. They reported seeing Beacon kneeling next to his parents, both 72, while holding a “knife,” the statement says.
The parents were on the floor, bleeding profusely from multiple stab wounds. Officers ordered Beacon to drop his weapon and he initially complied, but they reported he began resisting when officers attempted to arrest him.
A sergeant used a taser on Beacon and he was “ultimately detained,” according to the statement.
The statement does not use the word “sword.” However, Lower said multiple officers noted the use of a sword in their reports about the incident.
When reached for comment, Tara Tsehlana, spokesperson for the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, told The Olympian Beacon wielded a knife and a katana, a Japanese sword.
Immediately after detaining Beacon, officers treated his parents who were lying in “massive pools of blood and screaming in pain.”
“Officers provided lifesaving first aid in the form of tourniquets, chest seals, and pressure bandages to slow the large amount of blood loss,” the statement reads.
Medics arrived to treat the wounded parents and officers removed Beacon from the scene and transported him to the Olympia Police Station.
At the station, Beacon allegedly called the officers and detectives “cowards” and said he would not follow rules, according to the statement. He also allegedly said he did not speak “pig Latin.”
Once at the hospital, Beacon’s mother allegedly told police that Beacon became “agitated in an argument” with his father before the stabbing began. She told police the argument started when Beacon’s father asked him to turn down some music, according to the statement.
Beacon initially used a knife before grabbing a pellet gun and a katana, according to the statement and Tsehlana. He allegedly screamed, “You ruined my life and I hate you.”
The statement indicates Beacon’s father spoke to a firefighter in a brief moment of consciousness. He reportedly said he had gotten into a fight with his son.
Beacon is due back in court at 9 a.m. Oct. 29 for his arraignment hearing.
