Man faces felony charges after HPD SWAT standoff

A man pointed a gun at a baby during a SWAT scene that ended peacefully in north Houston on Sunday morning.

Houston patrol officers responded to the 850 block of Ringold Street at around 10:40 a.m. after receiving reports of an armed man, later identified as 32-year-old Darell Taylor, inside the house with a baby. Earlier in the day, Taylor’s girlfriend had gone to a north Houston police station to file a domestic abuse report against him.

When patrol officers arrived at the house, Taylor pointed a gun at the baby and refused to come outside. By the time the SWAT team and negotiators arrived sometime after 12 p.m., they found Taylor in the driveway holding the baby and brandishing a gun, said Richard A. Besselman, a lieutenant with HPD’s SWAT team.

“He was sitting in the driveway, kind of waving the gun, pointing it at himself and the baby,” Besselman said.

Eventually, negotiators were able to calm Taylor down and convince him to surrender. Police took him into custody shortly before 1 p.m., said HPD spokesman John Cannon. Neither the baby nor Taylor sustained any injuries.

Besselman credited the hostage negotiators for preventing a potentially tragic situation, especially since Taylor was very upset during negotiations.

“He was extremely distraught, and things like that can end in a bad way for sure,” Besselman said. “One of our negotiators talked to the suspect for a short time and convinced him to put down the weapon and end it peacefully.”

Taylor has a criminal history in Harris County dating back to 2004. His record i ncludes three charges for assault of a f amily member, one of which was dismissed when he was convicted on another charge. In January 2009, Taylor was sentenced to six years in prison for trying to drag a girlfriend out of a gas station by her hair to prevent her from leaving him.

Taylor will be charged with two felonies, endangerment of a child and possession of a weapon by a felon. He may also be charged with misdemeanor assault.