Lakeland Standoff Ends With Arrest

LAKELAND, FL — A lengthy standoff between Lakeland Police and a man barricaded in an apartment that began late Tuesday night ended Wednesday with an arrest. The man is accused of striking his girlfriend and threatening a neighbor with a gun and long sword.

According to the Lakeland Police Department, the first sign of trouble in the Westlake Apartments came around 11 p.m. Dec. 27. At that time, a woman who lives in the 500 block of Hartsell Avenue called to say her boyfriend, Nelson Santiago, 44, punched her in the face and then fled her apartment.

“Witnesses at the location reported seeing Santiago holding a handgun as he fled,” an email from the police department said.

Officers and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office searched the area for Santiago for more than an hour before clearing the scene. Shortly after they left, however, a call came in saying Santiago had returned to the apartment.

“First responding officers observed Santiago in the apartment and set up a perimeter, considering him armed and dangerous,” the agency said.

While officers were on the scene, a woman told them she had an encounter with Santiago earlier Tuesday evening. Around 8:45 p.m., he is accused of “brandishing a long sword and a handgun” at the woman as she was driving through the complex. The woman’s statements and her positive identification of Santiago from a photo pack were enough for police to obtain an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon warrant, the agency noted.

Officers spent several hours trying to get Santiago out of the home peacefully, the agency said. By late Wednesday morning, however, the SWAT team and agents from the Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations responded to the scene. Chemical agents were ultimately used, the police department said.

“Within minutes (of deployment), Santiago attempted to flee out the front door of the apartment and was apprehended by Police K9 Valor,” the agency wrote.

Santiago was taken to Lakeland Regional for medical clearance following his Wednesday arrest. He faces felony domestic violence and aggravated assault charges.

Photo courtesy of the Lakeland Police Department