Standoff in Mesopotamia ends safely

MESOPOTAMIA — A township man faces possible criminal charges for an eight-hour standoff at his house on Laird North Road that started with a single-car accident on nearby Donley Road.

The episode ended safely, with the holed-up man and the officers at the scene all being uninjured.

Sgt. Jeff Klem of the Southington Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said Gordon Mathies Jr., 51, was involved in a single-car crash at about 11 p.m. Wednesday.

When a trooper from the highway patrol arrived, the driver of the car was gone. The trooper learned that Mathies was at his home and that he had a firearm.

The trooper, a supervisor and deputies from the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Department went to the home and tried to get Mathies to come out, but he wouldn’t.

Officers saw him inside the house holding a long gun, Klem said.

The officers were joined by personnel from the special response team of the Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force and a negotiator for the patrol, but Mathies didn’t come until until about 7 a.m. today, when officers entered the house and took Mathies into custody.

Mathies was taken to Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital. Officials there said they had no information on him, however. He was also not in the Trumbull County Jail as of late this afternoon.

Klem said Mathies was charged with DUI and failure to control, but officers were consulting with prosecutors on any additional charges.