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Man Arrested After Standoff With Thornton Police

THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4)- A man wanted for assault that left his alleged victim in the hospital, was arrested in Thornton on Sunday evening after he barricaded himself inside a home. Police were able to convince the man to turn himself over to police after several hours.

The incident became about 8 a.m. Sunday when police officers in Thornton tried to arrest a suspect wanted in an overnight assault of a woman.

Police say the suspect wouldn't answer the door and an officer smelled gasoline.

"When they went to the front porch they could smell the faint odor of gasoline and so for safety's sake we decided to back out," said Thornton Police Sgt. Matt Cabot.

Police set up a perimeter around the neighborhood and brought in the Adams County SWAT team.
Several homes were evacuated and surrounding neighbors were told to stay inside.

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A man was arrested after keeping police at bay in Thornton on Sunday (credit: CBS)

"It's pretty interesting to see something like this happening, especially as close to home as it is," said neighbor Malcolm Holden.

Cabot said it wasn't until hours later that negotiators were able to make contact with the suspect by phone and convince him to come out.

"We had negotiated with him for about 45 minutes, he did come out with his hands up, he was not armed when he was taken into custody," said Cabot.

The suspect was arrested on charges of second-degree assault, felony menacing, retaliating against the victim and false imprisonment.

Police said the victim remained in the hospital on Sunday night.

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