Oregon man arrested after 7-hour standoff

1/3/2005

An Oregon man was arrested early yesterday after a seven-hour standoff with Oregon police.

William M. Contos, 35, of 907 Schmidlin Rd. had fired a shotgun and a 22-caliber rifle inside the residence at least three times, forcing his father, mother, and brother to flee, police said.

A hostage negotiator spoke to Mr. Contos several times to try to get him out voluntarily, police said. Officers used chemical agents in the basement of the house to force Mr. Contos to surrender about 3 a.m., when negotiations broke down.

He was treated at St. Charles Mercy Hospital before being booked into the Lucas County jail on charges of inducing panic and handling weapons while intoxicated, both first-degree misdemeanors.