NORFOLK, Va. (NPD) – A hostage situation was resolved without
incident early Sunday morning on East Tanners Creek Road involving three young
children.
Johnathan D. Harris, 33, was arrested following his surrender
to police after negotiators were successful in talking him out of a residence
in the 1400 block of East Tanners Creek Drive around 1:30 a.m.
After Harris was taken into custody, police found four people,
three children and one adult, inside the residence held against their will. All
four people were found unharmed.
Officers responded a suspicious situation 911 call 10 p.m.
The caller told police dispatchers that Harris was inside the residence and
refusing to let his three children, ages 6, 7, and 9, and a woman, 54, leave
the house. The caller told police officers when they arrived that Harris made
threatening statements toward the children and the adult inside the house.
Police special operations team, bomb squad, and police negotiators
responded and set a perimeter around the house. Shortly after 1 a.m. negotiators
were able to contact Harris over the phone. After speaking for over 15 minutes,
Harris surrendered to awaiting special operations team members outside without
incident.
Detectives have charged Harris with four counts of abduction
by force without justification and he is currently being held in the Norfolk City
Jail without bond. Detectives believe the incident stemmed from a domestic situation
early in the evening.
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