Armed man arrested after 6-hour standoff holding girlfriend in apartment

An agitated and erratic man fired shots in the air and then barricaded himself in an apartment for about six hours, prompting the sheriff’s office to activate its SWAT unit.

The 39- year- old Pontiac man had prompted a call to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office after firing a gun at the North Hill Farms Apartment complex at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5. Arriving deputies were told he had pointed a gun at a couple while they were in their car on Firelite Lane before going into an apartment.

The sheriff’s office said deputies tried talking to the man.

“The resident of the apartment has had prior contacts with deputies involving weapons violations,” the sheriff’s office said. “The resident eventually responded to deputies. His statements were erratic and did not make sense. Deputies negotiated with the suspect to exit the apartment, but he refused.”

The man’s girlfriend’s daughter arrived and told deputies her mother, 35, was inside with him and stated the man had “a large arsenal of weapons and had been acting erratically.”

The SWAT unit arrived and opened negotiated, but the man still refused to leave.

“The SWAT team breached the door and deployed a robot to enter the apartment,” the sheriff’s office said. “The subject then surrendered and was taken into custody without incident.”

The girlfriend left the apartment safely. Investigators recovered a handgun, officials said, that matched the shell casings found outside the apartment.

The man was jailed, pending potential charges.