(CENTREVILLE) - A Centreville man has been arrested following an armed standoff.
St. Joseph County Sheriff Chad Spence says at 3:43 PM on July 13, Sheriff's personnel encountered 44 year old Christopher Merkle in the secured area of the Sheriff's Office where the patrol vehicles and the jail intake entrance are located. Merkle had driven onto the sidewalk next to the Sheriff's Office building and stopped with the front of his vehicle facing the building.
When he was confronted, Merkle fled the property, nearly causing a traffic crash.
Deputies located Merkle and his vehicle near the west Village limits of Centreville, where a standoff ensued and the St. Joe Valley Special Response team was activated. During the incident, Merkle called 911 and stated he had a handgun and a shotgun. Traffic in the area was stopped while deputies negotiated with him.
After several minutes of negotiations, deputies took Merkle into custody. He actively resisted arrest and deputies deployed a Taser before taking him into custody.
During the investigation, Merkle stated that he was going to drive his vehicle through the Sheriff's Office building.
Merkle is being held in the St. Joseph County Jail on a third offense of operating while intoxicated and four counts of resisting and obstructing a police officer. Bond was set at $50,000.
Spence says this was a dangerous incident and he's proud of the teamwork shown by the deputies and all the agencies involved in bringing this to an end. He also says this serves as a reminder that the deputies and employees face risks even while reporting to work or leaving at the end of their shift.