FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – The FWPD says that a man is in custody following an overnight standoff just east of downtown Fort Wayne.
Officials said that after a hangup call to 911, dispatch began receiving texts around 1:30 a.m. from a woman saying she had been “battered” by a man in a residence on the 1000 block of East Berry, close to Coombs.
Officers arrived and initially found that the woman was not able to get out of the residence. As well, the man inside refused to come out.
After other units were called to the scene, the woman was able to leave the residence voluntarily. However, the man still would not come out. During the following four hours, officers reportedly tried to get him to surrender to no avail. Eventually, gas was deployed and he was taken into custody.
Police identified the man as 59-year-old David Span Jr. He is now facing several charges.
The FWPD released the following:
The Fort Wayne Police Department responded to a 911 hang-up call from a residence on the 1000 block of E. Berry St. at roughly 1:30 am Wednesday morning. As officers responded, Dispatch received text messages from a victim, alleging that she had been battered and was being held against her will. Once on scene, officers attempted to have the victim exit the residence voluntarily, but were advised she was unable too.
The Emergency Services Team (EST), Crisis Response Team (CRT), and the Air Support Unit (ASU) were paged to assist with the incident. Shortly after the tactical units arrival, the adult female victim exited the home. Numerous attempts were made to contact the suspect and have him exited voluntarily, but were unsuccessful. After countless failed attempts to get the suspect to willfully exit, gas was deployed. After the deployment of gas, the suspect exited the home and was taken into custody without further incident.
Arrested: David Span Jr., 59 years of age
Preliminary Charges: Criminal Confinement, Domestic Battery with an Active No Contact Order Protecting the Victim, Invasion of Privacy, Domestic Battery with a Prior Conviction, Domestic Battery Involving a Deadly Weapon.