A judge at the Pierce County Courthouse in Tacoma ordered that a man accused of shooting two Puyallup police officers during an hours-long standoff Tuesday, be held on more than $2 million bail.
Thirty-Seven-year-old, Muelu Salanoa Jr.is facing attempted murder charges for what police said began as a domestic violence incident.
Salanoa was seen for his first appearance in court through a video stream and responded to the judge as the judge asked him several questions.
The prosecution was granted the bail amount by the judge after arguing that Salanoa was a danger to the community, “he has demonstrated time and time again that he will not comply with court orders. He is a danger to the victims and the public,” they said.
Public court documents released on Thursday, reveal that on Tuesday, the victim called 911 and said Salanoa, her ex-boyfriend, had forced his way into her apartment on East Main Street in Puyallup.
She went on to say that the suspect threatened to "shoot her and to shoot up her place of employment."
After she was taken to safety by police, a standoff began. Ultimately, officers said Salanoa used a shotgun to shoot through the door at the officers when they tried to go into the apartment.
Court papers state one of the officers got hit in the face by shotgun pellets and was hit in other parts of their body. Another officer was hit in the arm. Officials said both officers were treated and are expected to recover.
The documents also said that Salanoa shot down a police drone that they were using to try and look into the apartment. At some point during the standoff, officers fired back the documents saying Salanoa might have been hit in the hand by one of those rounds before he was arrested.
In court, Salanoa was seen with a bandaged hand, listening to the judge as he was ordered not to contact the victim.
“Pay attention. That means absolutely no contact,” the judge said. The documents describe a 9-year relationship between the victim and Salanoa that ended in 2021.
The victim said she had called the police multiple times as “the defendant routinely told her that he would kill her if she didn't come back to him, stating that if he couldn't have her, no one could.”
A paragraph in the court papers describes that the “behavior escalated to gunfire beginning in October 2022 when the defendant showed up at a family memorial service and was asked to leave. The defendant fired a shot up in the air from his car window as he drove away. In another incident, the defendant threatened to shoot up the residence of a male co-worker that the victim had been spending time with. The defendant did show up at the co-worker's apartment and shot into it. A spent bullet was later recovered inside the apartment.”
The victim also said that he was “smoking fentanyl and methamphetamine daily.”
The suspect was reported to have felony convictions for robbery and assault. The convictions dated back to 2006, and because of this, he was not allowed to have a gun. When the standoff happened, officials said he violated several no-contact orders.
The next court date, in this case, is set for late February.