http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100121/NEWS02/1210371
Cops nab gunman after tense standoff
By ERIC FRANCIS RUTLAND HERALD CORRESPONDENT - Published: January 21, 2010
SPRINGFIELD — An armed Springfield man who caused a tense standoff with police at the Mountain View apartment complex during the noon hour on Saturday has been arraigned and released into his mother's custody.
Anthony King, 21, appeared in White River Junction District Court on Tuesday where he pleaded innocent to a felony count of first-degree aggravated domestic assault with a deadly weapon and to an accompanying misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.
Police from Springfield and several surrounding jurisdictions responded to the apartment buildings, which sit behind the old track field at Springfield High School, on Saturday after King's ex-girlfriend called 911 reporting that King had cocked a rifle, threatened to kill her and locked himself inside her apartment with the couple's young twins after she told him she was done with their relationship.
Officers were initially unable to reach King on the phone so they moved quickly to set up a perimeter to prevent him from moving among the half-dozen buildings that make up Mountain View. A pair of officers took up positions on the high school property to prevent King from sneaking out the back while others waited with shotguns and rifles behind their cruisers in front of the apartment where they believed King was holed up.
The girlfriend, who had called police from a neighbor's apartment after fleeing her residence, said in a written statement that when King allegedly threatened her with the gun, "I was terrified. My heart began racing and my stomach sank. I wasn't sure he'd really do it, but to me it seemed a possibility."
Eventually, in response to entreaties from police using a loudspeaker, King answered the phone in the apartment and spoke to Springfield Detective Patrick Call, according to documents filed with the court.
"Anthony advised that he didn't know why we were there and (said that she) probably made some stuff up," Cpl. Chris Norton wrote in his affidavit, adding that King agreed to come outside and speak to police after they assured him that they would let his stepbrother in to care for his children after he came out.
Police formed themselves into a "contact team" behind an officer carrying a ballistic shield before moving into a common hallway and up to the apartment door, bringing a police attack dog with them. Norton said King came out, but instantly "became very belligerent" when he recognized a particular officer behind the protective shield.
Call said that an "extremely upset" King began "screaming and hollering" that he did not want to be near that particular officer before turning and heading back toward the apartment at which point Call grabbed his leg and pulled him to the floor, where several officers managed to get King into handcuffs after a brief struggle.
After being pulled outside, King allegedly continued "yelling profanities over and over" while police searched the apartment and found two rifles, a box of .22 caliber rounds, marijuana seeds and a pair of pot pipes, according to Call.
"Due to the proximity of the weapons, ammo and drugs, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will be contacted for forfeiture procedures," Norton wrote.
Judge Theresa DiMauro did not impose monetary bail on King, but did order him to observe a 24-hour-a-day curfew at his mother's residence in Bellows Falls while his case is pending.
By ERIC FRANCIS RUTLAND HERALD CORRESPONDENT - Published: January 21, 2010
SPRINGFIELD — An armed Springfield man who caused a tense standoff with police at the Mountain View apartment complex during the noon hour on Saturday has been arraigned and released into his mother's custody.
Anthony King, 21, appeared in White River Junction District Court on Tuesday where he pleaded innocent to a felony count of first-degree aggravated domestic assault with a deadly weapon and to an accompanying misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.
Police from Springfield and several surrounding jurisdictions responded to the apartment buildings, which sit behind the old track field at Springfield High School, on Saturday after King's ex-girlfriend called 911 reporting that King had cocked a rifle, threatened to kill her and locked himself inside her apartment with the couple's young twins after she told him she was done with their relationship.
Officers were initially unable to reach King on the phone so they moved quickly to set up a perimeter to prevent him from moving among the half-dozen buildings that make up Mountain View. A pair of officers took up positions on the high school property to prevent King from sneaking out the back while others waited with shotguns and rifles behind their cruisers in front of the apartment where they believed King was holed up.
The girlfriend, who had called police from a neighbor's apartment after fleeing her residence, said in a written statement that when King allegedly threatened her with the gun, "I was terrified. My heart began racing and my stomach sank. I wasn't sure he'd really do it, but to me it seemed a possibility."
Eventually, in response to entreaties from police using a loudspeaker, King answered the phone in the apartment and spoke to Springfield Detective Patrick Call, according to documents filed with the court.
"Anthony advised that he didn't know why we were there and (said that she) probably made some stuff up," Cpl. Chris Norton wrote in his affidavit, adding that King agreed to come outside and speak to police after they assured him that they would let his stepbrother in to care for his children after he came out.
Police formed themselves into a "contact team" behind an officer carrying a ballistic shield before moving into a common hallway and up to the apartment door, bringing a police attack dog with them. Norton said King came out, but instantly "became very belligerent" when he recognized a particular officer behind the protective shield.
Call said that an "extremely upset" King began "screaming and hollering" that he did not want to be near that particular officer before turning and heading back toward the apartment at which point Call grabbed his leg and pulled him to the floor, where several officers managed to get King into handcuffs after a brief struggle.
After being pulled outside, King allegedly continued "yelling profanities over and over" while police searched the apartment and found two rifles, a box of .22 caliber rounds, marijuana seeds and a pair of pot pipes, according to Call.
"Due to the proximity of the weapons, ammo and drugs, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will be contacted for forfeiture procedures," Norton wrote.
Judge Theresa DiMauro did not impose monetary bail on King, but did order him to observe a 24-hour-a-day curfew at his mother's residence in Bellows Falls while his case is pending.
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