FREMONT, IN (WTVB) – A nearly seven hour armed standoff at a motel west of Fremont, Indiana came to an end late Thursday afternoon when a suspect surrendered but not before tear gas was fired by police and the suspect fired shots at officers after negotiations broke down.
Indiana State Police Sgt. Ron Galaviz said four Fremont Police Officers were called to the Travelers Inn on State Road 120 just before 11:00 a.m. to conduct a routine welfare check on an individual in one of the rooms.
When they went inside, they made contact with a man who was sitting in the bathroom. When police partially opened the bathroom door, they saw the man was armed with a handgun which he then used to fire on the officers. None of them were hit.
The officers left the room and called for assistance. Numerous police agencies responded to the motel. A perimeter was set up and the other motel rooms were evacuated.
Negotiators talked with the suspect over the phone throughout the afternoon in an attempt to end the situation peacefully after he had locked himself in his room.
The suspect identified as 36-year-old Joshua A. Kelley of Kendallville, Indiana surrendered at 5:45 p.m. and was immediately taken into custody.
Galaviz said no officers were hit when the suspect opened fire shortly before he surrendered.
A one mile section of State Road 120 was closed during the standoff. Fremont Community Schools were locked down as they were conducting summer school classes and a basketball camp.
Kelley is lodged in the Steuben County Jail without bond on charges of manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, pointing a loaded handgun, intimidation and three counts of criminal recklessness. Indiana court records indicate Kelley has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2000.
A warrant was issued for his arrest last month out of Steuben Superior Court when he failed to appear for a pre-trial conference in a methamphetamine possession case.
To complicate matters even further during the standoff, over 600 NIPSCO customers in the Fremont area lost their power for several hours.
The motel where the standoff took place at is right across 120 from the Briali Winery which used to be the Country Meadows Golf Course.
