SWAT team, others wait hours for resolution

PORT CHARLOTTE -- A man with a gun barricaded himself inside a Port Charlotte house Saturday morning while members of the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office,(CCSO) county SWAT team and Sarasota County Sheriff's SWAT team gathered outside. John Weston, 48, was alone in the house. He surrendered after a standoff that lasted over 11 hours.

The situation began while deputies were investigating another incident.

"We were investigating a hit and run crash that he may have been involved in," said CCSO Sgt. Tom Scott.

That crash occurred around 5:30 a.m. near Edgemere Street and Midway Boulevard. A motorcyclist fled the scene, leaving his motorcycle behind. Police went to Weston's house because it was the address listed on the motorcycle's registration, a CCSO statement said, but one answered the door.

At 9:11 a.m., deputies were called back to the house to meet with Weston so he could file a stolen vehicle complaint. The deputies began to talk to Weston about the crash earlier, the CCSO statement said, and Weston revealed a firearm that had previously been concealed.

"At this time, it is unknown why Mr. Weston chose to brandish the firearm," the statement said.

The deputies went for cover and set up a perimeter. Then, the deputies heard several shots fired inside the house, the statement said, and at one point some shots were fired at a deputy. No law enforcement officers were injured during the standoff.

Kelly Sprenger, who lives about a block from Weston's home, said she often hears one of her neighbors riding a motorcycle through the area. A Detroit Tigers cap atop her head, she stood with others beneath a palm tree at the intersection of Dupin Avenue and Midway Boulevard to watch SWAT team members put on their gear.

Sarasota County Sheriff's SWAT team members arrived before 3 p.m. to assist the Charlotte County team. As one man took a long black sniper rifle out of its case on the asphalt of Dupin Avenue, a neighbor called out, "Is that pump or CO2?"

The officer grinned back at him.

The residential neighborhood seldom sees such activity, said Raymond Roy Ebanks, who has lived there six years.

"I was cutting grass and I thought, wait -- what's going on here?" he said.

The CCSO did not order a mandatory evacuation, said CCSO Sgt. Jill Roguska, but residents were urged to leave if they had a safe place to go. Roguska said she did not know if there were more weapons in the house.

For hours, a CCSO helicopter circled overhead. The Red Cross distributed Gatorade from the back of a truck. Police moved around the house and clustered around a mobile command unit. A Florida Power & Light truck came; the electricity on the block was shut off for several hours while police tried to convince Weston to leave the house. The hot, sunny day shifted into an afternoon storm with lightning and thunder.

The Crisis Negotiation Team was among the units outside Weston's house. The CCSO was able to communicate with Weston, and he was asked to leave the house. He refused, the statement said, so "various techniques, including the deployment of chemical agents, were used."

Finally, around 7:45 p.m., police were able to take Weston into custody. He will be charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the statement said.

Weston is the sole owner of the house, according to the Charlotte County Property Appraiser's records. Weston's only previous arrest in Charlotte County occurred in 2002. It was for a domestic battery charge, which was later dropped at the request of the victim. He has no record with Florida's Department of Corrections.

After he was taken into custody, Weston was transported to Fawcett Memorial Hospital's emergency room for treatment of minor injuries.

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