--
March 10--Authorities believe the man suspected of attacking a judge and a sheriff's deputy Friday in the Grays Harbor County Courthouse made his getaway by calling his mother for a ride out of Montesano.
Less than 24 hours later, his mother turned him in after finding out he was being sought in connection with the attack that touched off an extensive manhunt, said Sgt. Ed Patrick of the Grays Harbor Sheriff's Office.
Steven Daniel Kravetz, 34, was arrested in his mother's West Olympia home at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday and booked into the Mason County Jail for investigation of felony assault.
Kravetz is accused of attacking sheriff's Deputy Polly Davin after she confronted him inside the county's historic courthouse Friday shortly after noon.
The attacker told Davin his name was "Michael Thomas" and then stabbed the deputy. He also stabbed Superior Court Judge David Edwards when he intervened in the attack on Davin.
During the struggle, the deputy was shot with her own handgun. The attacker ran out of the courthouse with the deputy's gun.
Both Edwards, 63, and Davin, 45, were treated at Grays Harbor Community Hospital and released Friday night.
Authorities said they found evidence linking Kravetz to the courthouse assault during Saturday's arrest, including the deputy's handgun.
Kravetz's mother, Roberta L. Dougherty, 58, called 911 to report her son's whereabouts shortly after the Sheriff's Office released a "wanted" flier Saturday morning with photos of Kravetz and Dougherty.
Olympia police monitored the home where Kravetz had been living with his mother in the 300 block of Division Street starting shortly before 11 a.m., said Olympia police Lt. Jim Costa. A SWAT team surrounded the home and negotiated with Kravetz for about a half-hour before arresting him without incident, Costa said.
During the search on Friday, authorities said they feared the name given by the attacker at the courthouse may have been false. The lack of security cameras also compounded the difficulty in the search.
But authorities received a break when they heard from a Montesano attorney, who said Kravetz had used the phone in his office a short time after the attack, said Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Rick Scott.
Kravetz went to the office of attorney Robert Ehrhardt and called his mother, Scott said. Kravetz's mother drove to Montesano and picked him up, he said.
Patrick said it is unclear whether Dougherty knew at the time that her son was suspected in the attack on the judge and deputy.
Dougherty is not facing charges.
Ehrhardt refused to comment Saturday.
Kravetz lived in Grays Harbor County between 2005 and 2007, when he was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence involving his mother, Scott said. Details of that incident were not known on Saturday.
Kravetz has 2008 felony convictions in Lewis County for third-degree assault with a weapon and making a false statement to a public servant, according to court records. In that incident, he was arrested after he refused to cooperate with police after being kicked out of a Centralia public library, said Centralia police Sgt. Stacy Denham.
Denham said Kravetz got into an argument with another library patron. Kravetz tried to evade officers, then lied to them and said his name was David Martin Anderson, Denham said.
Officers used a Taser on him when he fought arrest, Denham said.
Officers learned his real name from his mother, who was with him at the library, and discovered a warrant out for his arrest in Montesano. They also found part of a pair of scissors in Kravetz's pocket, he said.
Kravetz was on state Department of Corrections (DOC) supervision from August 2008 through July 2009, but he had no parole violations and was determined a low risk to re-offend, according to a DOC spokesman.
Investigators still don't know why Kravetz was at the courthouse Friday, but they said he got there on a transit bus from Thurston County.
Meanwhile, Judge Edwards is being called a hero for intervening in the attack on Deputy Davin.
Rita Zastrow, who works in the courthouse, told the Aberdeen Daily World she believes Edwards' actions saved other bystanders from being wounded.
"Judge Edwards is a hero," Zastrow said. "I know so. He intervened and Polly did an incredible job of surviving. I want her right beside me if ever there were trouble. She's an amazing officer. I am so proud of her."
Seattle Times staff reporter Jennifer Sullivan and news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report, which includes information from
Seattle Times archives.
Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246 or [email protected].
On Twitter @EmilyHeffter.
