GOLD BAR, Wash. — Tami Ball has let her fear turn to compassion. On Jan. 10, Ball said a man walked into her Gold Bar grocery store, half naked, found her in a back office, locked the door and pulled out a pistol.
“I just started talking to him and I realized the man was scared - he was terrified,” Ball said. “When I realized he had a gun I sat down in a chair and started crying because I didn’t want to be shot.”
For the next three-and-a-half hours Ball worked to defuse the situation – keeping the gunman calm, even getting him something to eat and drink. Her coworkers were able to evacuate the store and call 911 – and the SWAT team responded.
Eventually that man, later determined to be 55-year-old Charles Randall, let her go.
“I was in such a euphoric state because I was so relieved that it was over,” Ball said.
Randall was arrested and charged with unlawful imprisonment and indecent exposure. He's currently in a Snohomish County Jail.
Tami Ball and her partner argue he should be in a mental health facility.
Court records show he lost his right to own a weapon in 1985 but petitioned that order in 2021.
“Unfortunately, it’s the lack of taking care of these things properly that’s allowing this recidivism rate – if you look downtown, if you look at the people that are not getting served who are not getting access – there’s not even a bed for him get into to get the help he needs,” said Ron Gigliotti, Tami’s longtime partner.
The Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office is not commenting on the ongoing investigation, though the sheriff’s office confirms deputies did respond to Randall’s home earlier that same day when he called to report people in his home that were not there. The sheriff’s office said he was under the care of a friend and he did not make any harmful statements.
Hours later he’d be inside Ball’s store armed with a pistol.
“I’m sure I’ve waited on him probably a couple of times but I didn’t know who he was,” Ball said.
Ball and her partner are trying to put this ordeal behind them – but said they’ll likely leave town despite the support they’ve received.
“There’s been such an outpouring from the community. They’ve been wonderful I didn’t know I was so loved,” Ball said.