MORGANTOWN — A Tunnelton man and registered sex offender barricaded himself inside a house on North Willey Street with a gun before surrendering to police after a stand-off Tuesday.
Christopher Scott Phillips, 37, was arrested as a result of the incident. Charges are pending, Morgantown Police Chief Ed Preston said.
Phillips is a registered sex offender with the West Virginia State Police, according to the agency’s sex offender directory. He was convicted in 2002 of three counts of third-degree sexual assault, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse against a female victim 0-5 years old and spent 12 years 7 months in a correctional facility.
Officers with the Morgantown Police Department responded to the 1000 block of North Willey Street at about 1:15 p.m., for a domestic dispute, according to Preston.
Police were alerted to the situation by a third-party that the victim, Phillips’ wife, was texting, Preston said.
When officers arrived on scene, Phillips’ wife ran from the house and told officers her husband was inside with a handgun, police said. She told officers Phillips pointed the gun at her and threatened to shoot her.
The area around the house was closed to vehicles and Monongalia County Schools was notified of the situation, due to the proximity of Mountaineer Middle School to the home, Preston said.
The MPD’s Special Response Team — essentially a SWAT unit — was activated and sent to the scene and the Morgantown Fire Department was staged near the scene, according to the MPD.
When The Dominion Post arrived on scene, a sniper was positioned on a hill overlooking the home and other officers were watching the home with rifles from behind various cover, including police vehicles.
University Police Department was also on scene.
Additionally, several members of the SRT were lined up beside the home Phillips was inside of.
Detectives were able to contact Phillips and convinced him to surrender, without any shots being fired or injuries, Preston said.
Phillips exited the house just before 3 p.m.
A semi-automatic handgun was recovered from the scene and as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Phillips was being processed at the MPD, Preston said.
The home in question was visible from the back deck of Town Hill, a bar on Willey Street, and several patrons watched the standoff while occasionally giving directions to people on detour routes.
Shasta Smith lives on Willey Street near the bottom of Mansion Avenue and was allowing people approaching the blocked-off area from the direction of downtown to turn around in her driveway.
