ELLENSBURG – A Cle Elum business owner’s absence from work may have saved his life after an armed and disgruntled employee went looking for them at a metal shop on the east side of town Friday. Kittitas County Sheriff’s officials say 55-year-old Tom Hester, threatened the company’s owner over the phone and was walking around the business with a shotgun damaging vehicles and equipment. During an hours long standoff, Hester reportedly fired several shots inside the business, before he surrendered. Hester is expected to be criminally charged for threats and property damage. No one was hurt in the incident.
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