Updated: Man taken to hospital after standoff

Posted 3/19/15

Law enforcement officials entered the Gilbert Street home around 7 a.m. — concluding a standoff with Weber that had lasted through the night — and found him unconscious, according to a news release from the Powell police department. Weber was …

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Updated: Man taken to hospital after standoff

Posted

A Powell man was taken into custody and hospitalized on Thursday morning after a standoff with police on North Gilbert Street.

Police say Jack P. Weber, 32, is suspected of having committed multiple felonies, but on Thursday, medical treatment was taking immediate priority over the pursuit of criminal charges.

Law enforcement officials entered the Gilbert Street home around 7 a.m. — concluding a standoff with Weber that had lasted through the night — and found him unconscious, according to a news release from the Powell police department. Weber was initially taken to Powell Valley Healthcare for medical treatment, but was being flown to St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings for additional treatment later in the morning, said hospital spokesman Jim Cannon.

Details on Weber's condition were not available.

The series of events began at around 2 p.m. Wednesday. That’s when Powell police received a report that a woman in the 300 block of North Gilbert Street had been assaulted two days earlier and was in a great deal of pain.

Responding officers found the woman had suffered severe injuries and she was taken to the hospital by ambulance.

Weber was identified as a suspect in the assault, but when officers tried to question him at the North Gilbert Street residence, he would not answer the door, according to a news release from Powell police. Another person and a young child left the home, but Weber refused to come out, the release said.

Negotiations between police and Weber went on through the night.

“During phone negotiations the suspect made statements that they wanted to die by the hands of police, the phrase ‘suicide by cop’ and ‘I won’t be taken alive’ was told to several officers and family members by the suspect,” police wrote in the news release, saying Weber also talked about overdosing on prescription drugs.

Officers set up a perimeter around the home and kept trying to make contact with Weber through the night, both by phone and by banging on doors and windows. While officers detected movement, Weber did not come out.

At around 7:15 a.m., a team of officers with the Cody Police Department in camouflage clothing and helmets — assisted by Powell police — “made entry into the house,” the release said.

They found Weber unconscious on the floor of the living room and he was taken to Powell Valley Hospital by ambulance.

The release said that when Weber is medically cleared, he’ll be taken to jail. Police are recommending criminal charges that include aggravated assault, kidnapping and interference with an emergency call.

Because of the residence and perimeter’s proximity to the Powell Middle School, Park County School District No. 1 Superintendent Kevin Mitchell had issued a notice to parents about the closure of the area — east of the middle school on Third Street and around Gilbert and Hamilton streets.

“The Powell Police Department have not indicated there is any reason to expect any violence during this event,” Mitchell said around 7:20 a.m.

He later issued an update saying that the suspect was in custody and that, although there was no danger to the public, the area was still being shut off by police.

“Please avoid the area for a while,” Mitchell wrote.

Students were walking to school as the standoff came to a close and several looked in surprise and curiosity as they passed by blockaded streets.

In addition to the help from Cody police, the Powell cops were also assisted by the Park County Sheriff’s office, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, the Powell Volunteer Fire Department and Powell Valley Healthcare Ambulance.

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