A 45-year-old man is accused of holding his girlfriend against her will and threatening her with a knife after she announced she was leaving him.

Jerry Alan Reis of Kennewick pleaded innocent to unlawful imprisonment with allegations of domestic violence and use of a deadly weapon. Prosecutors also claim that the crime was part of an ongoing pattern of abuse of the girlfriend over a long period of time.

His trial is scheduled to start Oct. 3.

Richland police responded to a south Richland apartment Aug. 1 after a friend of the victim said Reis was holding a knife to his girlfriend's throat and wouldn't let her leave their Peachtree Lane home, court documents said.

Police said officers discovered Reis was a convicted felon and had threatened to shoot police officers in the past, so they first used a public address system in a police car and bullhorns to try to talk with people inside the apartment. After several attempts with no response, police asked neighbors to leave their apartments.

Officers then opened the front door and sent in a SWAT robot equipped with a camera and radio to search for the victim and Reis. Using the robot, they found the victim sitting upright in the bed next to Reis, who appeared to be asleep while holding something in his hand, court documents said.

Reis was told to stand up and show his hands, and that's when he reportedly tossed an object onto the floor, documents said. Officers later found a knife on the floor.

The victim told police that Reis had become angry when she said she was leaving him, court documents said. When she tried to leave, he blocked her car with his own vehicle. She then got angry and went back into the house.

The victim denied that a knife was used against her, documents said.

Reis is being held in the Benton County jail.