SPOKANE, Wash. — Ring surveillance video caught a naked man with a hammer, smashing the front window of a home in the early morning hours of July 1 in North Spokane.
Court documents said Spokane Police on-scene identified the suspect as 34-year-old Eric Johnson, after comparing the video to a recent booking photo.
In his alleged smashing spree, Johnson hit several of his neighbors' homes and vehicles.
Johnson was arrested July 2, around 8 a.m., after a SWAT standoff outside his home.
One neighbor said she had four of her windows broken. She said her Ring camera caught the attacker.
"It's very hard to watch," the neighbor said. "The fact that there was a man on our front porch that was naked, that want to do us harm, via our property. I keep thinking about what would happen if my boyfriend went out that time or our dogs had been out. It's the 'what ifs' that terrify me more than anything."
People in North Spokane said up until Johnson moved onto their street at the beginning of the year, their neighborhood had been quiet.
A neighbor said they don't know him too well, but their surveillance cameras quickly became familiar with his presence.
One homeowner said as early as April, she believes he began visiting her home in late hours of the night.
"We got images of a man coming up to our front door and just kind of standing there, then walking back away," she said. "We didn't know who it was. It happened about three times."
She said she had a previous run-in with Johnson where he appeared at her home and demanded she give him a ride.
She said she was getting in the car to meet someone for a run, but Johnson stood at the back of her car, preventing her from leaving.
She said she texted her boyfriend, who came out of the house and confronted Johnson.
She said she later called Crime Check that day to report what happened.
Another neighbor believes she was also targeted the night of July 1 because of a prior altercation with the suspect.
Ring camera footage showed Johnson allegedly breaking her front window. She said her bedroom window and the windshield of her truck were also broken.
She said she first saw him on her Ring camera May 5, but Memorial Day weekend is when she had her first face-to-face with Johnson.
"It started out somewhat normal until he was insistent that he needed to go into my house to get a glass of water," the neighbor recalled. "And then, my instincts kicked in and told me it wasn't safe. I moved into my front yard to make sure my neighbors could see me. And then, I texted a neighbor to come out and help me because I knew they were home. They come out and he was still resistant after we asked him to leave. He didn’t leave the property until I called 911.”
The neighbor said Johnson was also arrested this day in May, but was later released. Allowing him back onto his street to allegedly attack her home.
Now, she worries the same will happen, with even worse consequences, if he's released again.
"It’s fear," the neighbor said. "It's straight up terror that if he gets out, I know he's coming for me.”
Neighbors said they're afraid to leave their homes or go about their normal, daily routines because they might run into Johnson again.
Johnson has been in Spokane County custody since July 1 on second-degree malicious mischief charges and a $5,000 bond.
He also has several open harassment cases.
Neighbors said they're planning on attending his next court appearance with prepared witness statements and will be pursuing additional charges and permanent restraining orders.
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