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A 37-year-old man arrested in a standoff with police at a home in St. Marys on Monday remained in custody at the Mercer County Adult Detention Center Tuesday evening.
A court appearance in Mercer County is scheduled for Jan. 7 for Zachary L. Toler, of St. Marys, who was removed from a home at 317 Lynn St. by Auglaize County sheriff's personnel Monday afternoon.
Auglaize authorities executed a judge's order in a civil case evicting Toler from the home on Lynn Street, but immediately transported him to the Mercer County facility for an outstanding warrant on a charge of failure to appear out of Mercer County Juvenile Court.
The arrest occurred around 1:30 p.m. Monday, ending a situation that had multiple law enforcement units on scene for more than four hours.
Auglaize County Sheriff Mike Vorhees said his office was executing an order from Auglaize County Court of Common Pleas Judge Frederick Pepple, who granted an order of eviction for the property on Lynn Street Dec. 22. St. Marys police assisted on scene.
Pepple ordered Toler to vacate the home by 8 a.m. Monday, Vorhees said.
Sheriff's deputies arrived around 8 a.m. to ask Toler to leave the home, but Toler refused to come out and refused to respond to communications from law enforcement, Vorhees said. Police had information that indicated there may have been a weapon in the residence, so the team tried to exercise care and prioritize safety for all involved, Vorhees said.
The situation became extended for hours as Toler remained unresponsive to all appeals, the sheriff reported.
"We tried to make contact in several ways," Vorhees said. "The subject refused to talk to us. He refused to acknowledge any of our appeals."
Eventually, officers contacted Toler's father and obtained a direct cell phone number for Toler. Repeated calls to the number also yielded no response, Vorhees said.
Outside, the scene remained quiet as Lynn Street was blocked off to traffic and police officers waited. Both Toler and bystanders in the neighborhood commented live in Facebook posts as the situation unfolded, reporting that included a live-streamed video showing multiple police cars on scene. Neighbors reported not being able to leave their homes while the standoff continued.
Toler himself indicated in multiple posts that he saw the police presence as a "raid" intended to prevent him from presenting evidence against a criminal network in federal court.
"If you are seeing this I have been killed or captured to prevent testimony in federal court against a criminal enterprise I have named 'NACP - National Alliance of Child Predators,'" one of his posts read. "They have infiltrated state government agencies, courts and law enforcement."
Finally, Toler himself posted on his Facebook account just after 1 p.m. that there was, "Tear gas. Broken windows. Need Media attention."
At about 1:30 p.m., Vorhees confirmed, tear gas was used as a last resort and a special response team was sent into the house. Toler was found hiding in an upstairs area and was taken into custody without conflict or incident, Vorhees said. Several weapons were found in the house.
"From start to end, we tried to do everything peacefully, according to proper procedure, and in the end that goal was accomplished - it just took a little longer than we would have liked," Vorhees said of the encounter.
St. Marys safety service director Greg Foxhoven addressed the incident at the St. Marys City Council meeting Tuesday night, noting that the St. Marys Police Department was on hand in a supporting role.
"We were there to assist the sheriff's office. It was basically their show. As you know, the sheriff does have jurisdiction inside city limits," he said. "They had requested last week that we assist them with this process. We're glad it ended the way it did. We did everything they asked us to do."
In terms of the civil case, Zachary Toler vs. Delilah Toler, Vorhees noted that the property at 317 Lynn St. will now be turned back over to Delilah Toler and her husband, Anthony.
A full report of Monday's incident will also be sent to the Auglaize County Prosecutor's Office for possible criminal charges.
