Trish Bennett, Editor
CIRCLEVILLE – A Commercial Point man faced charges Tuesday in Circleville Municipal Court after a nearly two-hour standoff with deputies last week.
David P. Walter, 55, is charged with domestic violence and using weapons while intoxicated, both first-degree misdemeanors. His case was set for a pretrial hearing at 10 a.m. April 6 in Circleville Municipal Court.
According to reports, deputies were dispatched just after midnight Feb. 27 to Walter’s home on Front Street in Commercial Point after his wife called the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office to request an emergency squad for her husband because “he was acting strange.”
While on the phone, Walter allegedly began making statements that he would kill anyone who tried to come to his home, and the dispatcher reported hearing the sound of someone racking a shotgun. His wife then reportedly said, “Don’t point the gun this way, David.”
Walter’s wife ran to a neighbor’s house, and when deputies arrived, they reported spending one hour and 44 minutes attempting to call Walter outside with the PA system and by telephone.
“A couple of times, he stood in the doorway at the front of the house and yelled out for us to come in and kill him,” Sgt. Timothy Carpenter wrote in his report.
Corporal Erick Eberhard finally convinced Walter to come out with his hands up and no weapons. He was ordered to the ground, then handcuffed and frisked before being transported to the Pickaway County Jail.
A total of nine deputies, two lieutenants and Sheriff Robert Radcliff responded to the scene, as well as the SWAT unit from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
“No one got hurt, that’s the important thing,” said Lt. Dale Parish. “We consider it a good day.”
Walter was released on a personal recognizance bond to await further hearings in his case.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
