MAN WITH WARRANT FROM COLE COUNTY BARRICADED IN ROOM
(UPDATE: Around 7:50 a.m. Thursday, authorities reported the incident has ended peacefully. Cpt. Jeffrey Shanks says concerned for the man’s well being, officers conducted what is known as a “soft entry” into the room and took the man into custody without further incident. The man was not armed, Shanks said.)
Platte City Police Department and the Platte County Sheriff’s Department have been on the scene for several hours overnight at a standoff at the Ramada Inn in Platte City.
As of 6:50 a.m. Thursday morning, a man with a warrant out of Cole County remains barricaded inside a room at the hotel. A female companion came out of the room about 5 a.m. but the man remains inside, says Captain Jeffrey Shanks of the sheriff’s department.
The sheriff’s department SWAT team and the crisis negotiation team are at the scene. Shanks said the incident began about 9:30 or 10 p.m. Wednesday night when Platte City police had received information from an outside agency that the man may be at the hotel, which is located at 2512 NW Prairie View Road.
Authorities say they are unsure whether the man is armed. Shanks said the female has told police the man is not armed. The man, approximately 46 years old from the Cole County area, is reported to be a person of interest in burglaries in Cole County, Shanks said, and weapons were some of the items taken in those burglaries.
Joe Wellington, Platte City police chief, conducted the early negotiations with the man. Most of the negotiating with the man has been verbal contact through the door for several hours, Shanks said. Most occupants of the hotel voluntarily evacuated, he said.
More information as it becomes available.
