Police surround house for 2 hours

Officers learn man not inside S. Toledo home

Police listen as Gary Cluckey, who lives on the first floor at 317 Western Ave., explains the layout of the house and the steps to the third floor.

A two-hour standoff at a South Toledo house Friday afternoon ended peacefully after police discovered the man they were seeking was not inside.

Police believed that Walter Roberts, 28, of 332 Sumner St. was armed with a gun and had barricaded himself in the attic of 317 Western Ave. Authorities were attempting to serve an arrest warrant on Roberts for felonious assault and kidnapping stemming from an incident Wednesday, Toledo police Sgt. Joe Heffernan said.

Roberts is reportedly on parole after serving time for a rape conviction, the sergeant said.

Police said that Roberts told police "he wouldn't be taken alive" and threatened to shoot police officers.

"Any time we're dealing with someone who feels they have nothing left to lose, we have to take extra precautions," Sergeant Heffernan said during the standoff.

Early in the incident, which started about 3:40 p.m., police were able to enter the house, and they had residents of the home -- some of whom were identified as relatives -- going in and out of the house attempting to talk to the suspect.

Sergeant Heffernan said they did make contact with a man who claimed to be Roberts during the incident.

The sergeant also said that, when police arrived to execute the arrest warrant, someone ran up the stairs and a commotion was heard.

It's unclear when or how the person who ran from police escaped.

According to Toledo Municipal Court records, Roberts pushed and repeatedly kicked, hit, and stabbed a woman at a home in the 300 block of Sumner Street Wednesday and would not let her leave for several hours.

Anyone who has information on Roberts' whereabouts should call Crime Stoppers at 419-245-1111.