The man who assaulted a woman later confirmed to be his then-girlfriend in Port Orchard, took a vehicle at gunpoint and fired several shots at law enforcement in a fiery 2022 standoff in Bremerton may spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Tina Robinson sentenced 35-year-old David Alexander Knox to 50 years in prison April 15 after he pled guilty to nine felony counts in January. Charges included two counts of first-degree robbery, first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of second-degree attempted murder, among others.

Kitsap County Sheriff John Gese in an April 25 statement called the case seminal in the department’s history, “given the sheer outrageousness of his actions and firing many rounds at police officers and carjacking victims. Several of our own deputies testified as victims at his sentencing.”

Knox already had a lengthy criminal history dating from 2004-18 as indicated by court documents. He admitted in a Jan. 5 defendant statement to assaulting his then-girlfriend, which occurred at the Port Orchard Walmart and culminated in the parking lot around Jerry Lane SE. The woman had told Port Orchard police that Knox had accused her of stealing $50 from him.

Police discovered Knox two days later on July 24, and he fled from officers before exiting Highway 3 at Austin Drive and crashed his vehicle. Knox then fired shots at law enforcement and used the firearm to forcibly take an unrelated vehicle with a driver and two passengers.

A phone left in the car by one of the passengers helped law enforcement track Knox to a home on Harlow Drive in Bremerton, which several law agencies surrounded. Knox admitted to firing more shots at officers while barricading himself in the house in a lengthy standoff, which ended when he attempted to flee from the house and successfully obtained another stolen vehicle and fired more gunfire toward officers. The car was wrecked nearby before he was taken into custody, and the house used in the standoff was engulfed in flames.

“After two years the court system has spoken on this case,” Gese said. “The case highlighted the difficulty of police dealing with very dangerous subjects at a time in our Washington state history where the legislative mandates threw everyone into confusion.”

Knox will also serve 36 months of community custody following his release.