A southern Oregon man was arrested after barricading himself and his 3-year-old daughter inside his home near Roseburg for two weeks and threatening deputies with booby traps and “lethal force,” authorities say.
Stephen Adam Cain, 42, told law enforcement officials that he would keep his daughter inside his home until she turned 18, records show.
But he released his daughter Monday and surrendered peacefully after talking with negotiators over days, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. He’s being held in the county jail.
“At no point did law enforcement deem Cain to be an imminent threat to citizens or neighbors,” the agency said.
Court records show an attorney for Cain’s ex-girlfriend called authorities on March 4 about a custody dispute and that Cain was threatening a “standoff” if forced to give up custody of their young daughter.
Cain contacted authorities shortly after to acknowledge that he was in violation of a child custody court order but didn’t intend to return the girl to her mother.
A Douglas County sheriff’s deputy contacted Cain over the phone later that day and he refused to give up the child. He also said he had friends inside his home who would help him protect the girl, records show.
He later told a sergeant that he considered himself a victim of the courts, the records show. He also referred to an email he had sent to his former girlfriend’s attorney, which included a list of rules for law enforcement in contacting him.
They included a mandate that federal authorities negotiate with him and examine all evidence in his child custody case and that he would return fire if fired upon, records show.
He also warned that all entrances to his home on Willamina Court near Roseburg were “rigged,” according to the documents. The email included photos of the front door that appeared to show wires connected to the doorknob and running along the frame and mantle.
Another photo included a table covered with several rifles, tactical gear and boxes of ammunition, according to the records.
“Do not attempt entry under any conditions or lethal force will have to be applied,” he wrote in the email, according to court records.
The sheriff’s office said negotiators continually spoke with Cain over two weeks to reach a peaceful resolution.
Court records show he’s accused of unlawful use of a weapon, second-degree custodial interference and obstructing governmental or judicial administration.
He’s set to be arraigned Tuesday, records show.
-- Jim Ryan; jryan@oregonian.com; 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015
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