Charges have been laid after a man, who has been wanted by police since last September, barricaded himself inside of a home near southeast London for roughly three hours over the weekend.
London police were initially called about a man who had damaged property at the home on William Street near Hamilton Road around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday. When officers arrived, a suspect barricaded himself inside before taking to the roof of the home.
Additional officers, London firefighters, and paramedics were called to the scene. After talking with a negotiator, the man was assisted from the roof by police and firefighters just before 1:30 a.m. on Sunday. He was taken to hospital as a precaution, police said.
A search turned up a quantity of suspected fentanyl.
Through further investigation, police learned the suspect in the standoff was wanted in relation to an incident last September 2 in which a man crashed a vehicle into a police cruiser. The man had run from the vehicle without putting it in park in the area of Colborne and Hill streets. It then rolled backwards hitting the cruiser, causing minor damage. A loaded handgun and over $1,600 worth of drugs were seized.
An arrest warrant was issued for a then 38-year-old London man on 15 charges including possession of stolen property obtained by crime, possession of a firearm contrary to a prohibition order, careless storage of a firearm, unauthorized possession of a restricted firearm, and possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking.
The same man, now 39, has now been charged with two additional counts of possession of a Schedule I substance and one count of mischief under $5,000. He was scheduled to appear in London court on Monday.