North Whidbey man back in jail after threats, rifle incident, bond revoked

A Zylstra Road roommate fled through a window with his dog after Anthony D. Soto brandished a rifle and threatened to kill him, then a $1,500 release unraveled within days as Island County prosecutors asked the court to send him back to jail.

Soto, 39, was charged in Island County Superior Court on April 21 with felony harassment and unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree after deputies said he fired a rifle out a doorway at a North Whidbey home. The incident began over a dog-related dispute in the shared house, where Soto lived with three other men. Court documents say he left after the argument, stayed at a hotel, then returned on April 17 with an AR-15-style rifle.

The next morning, deputies said Soto fired six or seven shots out the doorway, and the arresting officer described it as six rounds fired in the exact direction of someone’s house. The roommate barricaded himself in his room when Soto allegedly pointed the rifle and threatened to kill him, then escaped through a window with his dog. Deputies checked nearby homes and reported no injuries and no property damage.

The Island County Sheriff’s Office and the prosecutor’s office sought $50,000 bail, but Judge Christon Skinner set bail at $1,500 cash or a $10,000 bond at a preliminary hearing. Soto posted the cash and was released. By April 24, however, prosecutors had already filed a motion to revoke his pretrial release, saying he violated court orders and threatened additional people.

That motion said Soto blamed co-workers for losing his job and threatened to run them over and to “take them out” while they were sleeping. Prosecutors also pointed to violent cases in California, including a 2007 arson case in which Soto was convicted of arson causing great bodily harm and later a 2016 case in which robbery and battery charges were dismissed and he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. Defense attorney Claire Highland argued the California arson incident was nearly 20 years old and had already been considered when bail was first set.

Judge Carolyn Cliff ultimately issued a bench warrant and raised bail to $250,000, sending Soto back to jail. The swift reversal underscored how quickly a release can collapse when threats move from a charged courtroom record to fresh allegations of danger in the neighborhood.