PORT ANGELES — Bail at five times the amount requested by the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was set Tuesday for a Port Angeles man who allegedly threatened two women, one with a machete-like knife.
Alexander A. Chapman, who turned 36 on Monday, was charged Tuesday with two counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, Class B felonies.
Superior Court Judge Lauren Erickson set his bail at $50,000 and his arraignment for 1:30 p.m. Friday.
Chapman was arrested early Monday evening at the Royal Victorian Hotel in Port Angeles after he was disabled by a stun gun. Port Angeles police responded to the incident at about 5 p.m. Monday.
A wing of hotel rooms was evacuated due to a smell of smoke reported emanating from Chapman’s room, prompting a call to the Port Angeles Fire Department. Assistant Chief-Fire Marshall Mike Sanders said Tuesday the call report gave no indication that smoke was present at the hotel when firefighters arrived.
Chapman earlier acted in an aggressive, threatening manner toward the women while yelling at them, according to a probable cause statement.
One of the women said he came out of his room, machete in hand and slamming the blade against a door frame. She said Chapman was incoherent.
Chapman allegedly pointed one of two large knives at one of the women. Police later found two of the knives in his room along with a third weapon, a smaller fighting knife, they said.
Police said the longer weapons were identified as similar to curved kukri knives, which have a machete-like blade. One of the women said the blade of one was 3-feet long.
During the incident, Chapman allegedly hit doors repeatedly with the long knife, yelled obscenities at the women as they talked at the bottom of stairs outside the hotel, talked of getting friends and “taking care of things,” and complained that people needed to stop yelling at him.
“No one was yelling at Alexander,” according to the probable cause statement.
The man’s mother said he was a paranoid schizophrenic, according to the statement. She said he had been hospitalized in California under that state’s law allowing persons to be held involuntarily for a 72-hour mental health evaluation.
After he was told he was under arrest, Chapman walked angrily toward the hotel office. He was stopped by an officer who fired a stun gun, the electric probe landing in his left thigh, according to a probable cause statement.
“He came out of the room unarmed and was very upset,” Officer Sean Ryan said Tuesday.
“He angrily mentioned he wanted to face his accusers. He was very angry.”
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Robeson asked for $10,000 bail.
Robeson said Chapman had an active Ohio arrest warrant and recently moved to the area. Robeson did not have further details on the warrant.
“Here we have, if the allegations are true, what amounts to an unprovoked act of aggression against two individuals who were minding their own business,” he said.
“In addition, we are concerned about, after his arrest, he attempted to rush the hotel office, had to be stopped and ultimately tased by law enforcement.”
His conditions of release include no contact orders with the alleged victims and not drinking alcohol.
Erickson said, based on the allegations, there is a substantial likelihood Chapman might commit a violent crime, imposing bail of $50,000.
Chapman said he will hire his own lawyer.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.