Police say woman held hostage by attempted murder suspect said he didn’t threaten her

A woman reportedly held hostage by an attempted murder suspect told police he never threatened her, though she thought the man would try to stop her if she attempted to leave, according to an arrest report.

On Oct. 30, the Metropolitan Police Department has said, police responded to a hostage barricade situation in the 5500 block of Mountain Vista Street.

The suspect — whose identity was not initially released — was wanted on a California attempted murder warrant, Metro said previously.

Police arrested Dashaun Declouet, who faces a charge of battery, which constitutes domestic violence with substantial bodily harm in Las Vegas Justice Court.

“The victim was said to have been held inside against her will by the suspect who in the past month had substantially battered her and threatened to kill her on multiple occasions, including forcibly putting a firearm in her mouth,” a Metro search and rescue Instagram post alleged.

Although witnesses had alleged to Metro that the woman was being held against her will, police said she told them Declouet had never threatened her “and that no weapon was used against her.” Declouet also denied threatening the woman or preventing her from leaving, according to the report.

But “she stated that she thought that if she were to try to leave Declouet would try to stop her,” Metro said. “She then explained that she was concerned for her safety and Declouet’s safety, expressing concerns with law enforcement using force against them.”

In a previous incident, the woman had claimed that her boyfriend punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground, then stomped on her legs, body and head, according to the report. She was transported to the hospital with a fractured nose. It’s unclear when that incident occurred; the date is not specified in the report.

On Oct. 30, police sought to take into custody the suspect of that previous incident, who was with the domestic violence victim, according to Metro. Police said they discovered she “was being held against her will by the suspect.”

Officers attempted to call him out of an apartment, the report said, but he refused to leave. His girlfriend had called another person and said, “He won’t let me leave,” according to police. The victim’s name and the witness’ name were redacted in the report.

After an incident in August, the victim and Declouet stopped living together, police said, but he had come by to get his belongings on the day of his arrest. The victim told police that they were in the apartment when they realized law enforcement had surrounded it, according to the report.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.