Man detained after SWAT surrounds Medford home

A man faces a string of felony charges accusing him of attempting to set fire to an east Medford home and attacking a woman with a knife and a blunt object, leading to a SWAT team surrounding the house in a standoff turned manhunt.

Jeffrey Aaron Moore, 25, was arrested Wednesday on assault and attempted arson charges, accusing him of trying to set a fire before sunrise in the 2200 block of Crater Lake Avenue and later attacking a 61-year-old relative with a knife and hammer, according to Medford police.

At about 5:54 a.m. Wednesday, a person passing by the home witnessed a small fire on the side of the house, extinguished it with water and called 911.

Medford Fire Department determined that the fire was “highly suspicious for arson,” but the residents told police and fire investigators that they didn’t know who started the fire.

At 7:51 a.m., after police and fire had left the scene of the fire call, the 61-year-old victim called 911 to report an assault.

The woman told police that prior to the attack, she had confronted Moore about starting the fire.

Moore allegedly made admissions about setting the fire, armed himself with a knife and hammer, and attacked the woman.

Medford police descended on the house at about 8 a.m. believing that Moore was inside his bedroom but refusing to come out, according to Medford police Lt. Mike Budreau.

Police believed that Moore was inside the house armed with a knife and a hammer, and brought in the SWAT team as a precaution, said Budreau. After searching the house, officers determined that Moore had fled the scene before police had arrived.

At 11:17 a.m., police found Moore walking on Cherry Lane near North Phoenix Road, and arrested him without incident on charges of first- and second-degree assault and attempted first-degree arson.