Domestic dispute leads to Jennings SWAT standoff

A report of a woman being held at gunpoint led to a standoff with police and the arrest of a Jennings County man yesterday morning.

The Jennings County Sheriff’s Department said deputies were called to a domestic dispute in the Hickory Hills Subdivision at about 9:45 a.m. Thursday morning. Deputies say that a woman had escaped from the home and called for help after having a gun pointed at her by 57-year-old Anthony R. Dean.

Dean wouldn’t talk to deputies by phone but repeatedly tried to call the victim. The Jennings County Emergency Response Team and Indiana State Police SWAT teams were called in and continued to try to contact Dean. He reportedly walked onto the front porch several times and eventually was talked into sitting in a chair on the porch. The SWAT team and Jennings County police dog Axle moved in to prevent him from going back inside.

After a brief struggle, including punching Axle and the use of less-lethal weapons, Dean was taken into custody. After being taken to St. Vincent Jennings Hospital to be checked out, Dean was arrested on preliminary charges of intimidation with a deadly weapon, domestic battery, resisting law enforcement and criminal confinement.