Armed standoff ends with arrest of Newberg Ford owner

Sherriff's deputies attempting to arrest Meri Kerekanich for drunk driving are faced with her armed husband in the driveway of their rural Newberg home

(Editor's note: Updates were made to this story on Aug. 2)

A rural Newberg couple were arrested early Thursday morning after an armed standoff at their home northeast of town.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office says an armed man, John E. Kerekanich, 68, confronted deputies who were trying to arrest his wife for driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII).

The incident began around 11:44 p.m. July 25 when deputies received a complaint about a suspected drunken driver. Deputies responded to a residence in the 23600 block of Southwest Mountain Home Road and attempted to take Meri E. Kerekanich into custody. Deputies say she resisted arrest, at which point John Kerekanich allegedly armed himself with a .45-caliber pistol and threatened to shoot sheriff's deputy Jason McLaughlin.

Deputies called for assistance from the inter-agency Washington County Tactical Negotiations Team.

Over the next several hours, deputies and negotiators from the Washington County Crisis Negotiations Unit spoke with the couple to arrange a peaceful resolution.

John Kerekanich, owner of the Newberg Ford dealership, surrendered at 2:49 a.m. Thursday and was taken into custody. He was arraigned Aug. 1 in Washington County Circuit Court on felony charges of unlawful use of a weapon and first-degree escape.

Deputies obtained a search warrant for the residence just before 5 a.m. Meri Kerekanich, 58, surrendered without further incident. She will be charged with DUII, resisting arrest and third-degree escape. She is a realtor at The Kelly Group in Newberg.

Deputies recovered the gun used in the incident. No one was injured.

Also assisting in arrests were the Sherwood Police Department, Tigard Police Department and the King City Police Department.