Armed man shows up at Kennewick house. He refuses to come out when police come to arrest him.

A three-hour standoff in Kennewick started with a man showing up at a Fir Street home where he wasn’t supposed to be.

A domestic violence protection order was supposed to keep Joseph Ayala, 24, from being near one of the residents at the house, but he showed up at 3:30 a.m. Thursday and knocked on the door, said Lt. Aaron Clem. Once inside, he came into contact with the person protected by the order.

While no one was hurt in that exchange, Ayala had a weapon, police said, so they approached a home on Seventh Avenue and Fir Street with caution later in the day, police said.

As officers closed in, he shut blinds and refused to come out.

Police closed nearby roads for a few hours while they tried to convince Ayala to come out.

Eventually, the Tri-City Regional SWAT team was brought to the home and the team used chemical agents to force Ayala to surrender.

He was booked into the Benton County jail for violating a court order.

This story was originally published August 30, 2019 at 11:33 AM.