Camping trip in rural Washington ends with domestic violence charges

When a weekend camping trip in rural Skamania County, Washington, turned violent, the victim pulled a gun on her ex-boyfriend as he attacked her, eventually landing her attacker in jail.

The woman, 34-year-old Jillian Denton, was camping in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, near Old Man Pass, about 75 miles outside of Portland, early Sunday morning when the incident unfolded, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office said in statement. She was with her 10-year-old son and ex-boyfriend, 36-year-old Micah Herrera of Medford, Oregon.

Saturday evening Denton and Herrera became involved in an argument and as the night passed into morning, the altercation escalated to physical proportions. Denton said Herrera instigated the fight, and when he began to attack her, she pulled a handgun on him in an attempt to bring the situation to an end.

Herrera, however, was able to gain control of the gun and took it from Denton. At some point during the altercation, Herrera sustained a burn to his hand, although authorities did not indicate how they believed the burn occurred. Citing his injury, Herrera demanded Denton take him to get medical treatment.

Denton, along with her son, drove Herrera to a Mini Mart in Stevenson. Once there, Denton said she was able to distance herself and her son from Herrera, and then she called 911 around 5 a.m. to report the assault and get medical treatment for Herrera.

When Skamania County Sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene, Herrera was taken into custody. He remains in the Skamania County Jail, facing charges for second-degree domestic violence assault via strangulation, which is a felony. In addition, Herrera had an outstanding warrant from a different law enforcement agency in Washington.

According to the Skamania County Jail roster, as of early Thursday morning, Herrera has not yet been arraigned.