Clarkston man with long criminal history held on $500K jail bond

ASOTIN — Britton M. Hanson, 42, is being held on a $500,000 bond in Asotin County Jail for allegedly stalking and harassing a woman. His bond was set Thursday after he was arrested the previous day.

According to court documents, the alleged victim in this case received death threats via text messages from Hanson and was “terrified” when she reported it to police Monday.

In addition to the threatening messages, Hanson hit her car with a baseball bat in Lewiston and slashed her tires in Clarkston, according to the probable-cause affidavit. A tracker was reportedly placed on her vehicle in 2020.

Hanson allegedly threatened to kill the woman and her family, and has previously attempted to strangle her and made threats concerning employees of the Asotin County Prosecutor’s Office. One of the recent texts said, “I will kill people close to you in front of you” and threatened to tape her eyes open and make her watch.

Public defender John Perry has been appointed to represent Hanson. His next court appearance is May 20.

Hanson reportedly lives with his father on the 1200 block of Van Arsdol Street in Clarkston. Multiple agencies, including the Asotin County Sheriff’s Office, Quad Cities Task Force and Clarkston police converged on Hanson’s vehicle Wednesday near Libby and 15th streets.

During the arrest, Hanson allegedly almost hit several patrol vehicles while speeding in reverse. His vehicle stalled, and Hanson bailed and began running, according to court documents. He was arrested on the 1100 block of 15th Street.

Hanson’s prior convictions include organized crime, inciting violence, unlawful possession of a firearm, assault and unlawful imprisonment in Washington state. An Idaho conviction for grand theft is listed, along with a drug possession in California.

The defendant was charged with burglary, threats to kill, intimidating a witness and malicious mischief in 2019, according to the documents filed in Asotin County Superior Court. He also faced an original charge of attempted murder in Stevens County in 2013, before entering into a plea agreement.

His criminal history dates back to when he was a juvenile in Lewiston, according to previous reporting. He admitted in court in 1998 to threatening to kill Lewiston High Principal James D. Wilund, carrying a weapon on school property and possession of drug paraphernalia in a case where he received a suspended sentence on a charge of abuse of a schoolteacher.

In addition to felony harassment and stalking in the current case, Hanson is being charged with first-degree kidnapping, domestic violence, second-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm.

He will have an opportunity to enter a plea when he appears later this month for his arraignment before Superior Court Judge Brooke Burns.

Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com. You can follow her on X @newsfromkerri.