Suspect Arrested After Tense 5-Hour Standoff With Sheriff's Deputies

TOWN OF DOVER, NY — After asking the public to avoid part of Old State Route 22 in the Town of Dover on New Year's Day, and to avoid flying personal drones in the area, due to a barricaded subject, the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office revealed more details about the dramatic standoff on Thursday.

The Dutchess County Sheriff's Office said that 36-year-old Richard P. Danko, of Dover Plains, was arrested on Wednesday, around 1:20 p.m., after a report of threatening someone with a shotgun and a subsequent five-hour standoff with law enforcement.

Around 6:10 a.m. on Wednesday, deputies responded to 16 Old State Route 22 in Dover after a report that someone was threatened with a shotgun.

Once they were on the scene, Danko was identified as the possible suspect in the report. However, he refused to cooperate with the investigation and fled into a home, according to the Sheriff's Office.

After around five hours of attempted but unsuccessful negotiation with Danko, members of the Sheriff’s Office’s Emergency Services Unit entered the home and took him into custody without further incident.

Before the standoff, Danko was wanted on a warrant for reckless endangerment during a previous unrelated incident.

In connection wth both the pre-existing warrant and Wednesday's standoff incident, he has been charged with felony third degree criminal possession of a weapon, felony second degree criminal contempt, misdemeanor second degree menacing, misdemeanor resisting arrest, and misdemeanor bail jumping.

After being processed, Danko was arraigned and remanded to the Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center in lieu of $10,000 cash bail. The Sheriff's Office noted that on Wednesday, he was only arraigned on the warrant and bail jumping charge, with the other charges filed after the arraignment.

The Sheriff’s Office says that several of their personnel and units responded to the scene and contributed to the successful outcome of the incident, including Patrol, Detectives, Crisis Negotiators, K-9, Emergency Services, and UAS (drones).

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the New York State Police, the Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response, and the J.H. Ketcham Hose Company.