Armed Standoff Ends Peacefully

Tue., July 16, 1996

Compiled From Wire Services

A man who holed up in his rural mobile home with an assault rifle, a pistol and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition surrendered to police Monday afternoon, ending a 24-hour standoff.

Michael Horton, 44, walked out at 12:40 p.m., said Jennifer Peaslee, a dispatcher with the Linn County sheriff’s office.

No shots were fired during the standoff, she said.

The standoff began Sunday about noon, when a Sweet Home police officer went to Horton’s home to check a report of gunfire.

Earlier in the day, investigators said, Horton had argued with his wife and she left the house. She said he threatened her with a gun. As the officer pulled into the driveway, Horton pointed his rifle at the officer and ordered him to leave. The officer backed away and called for help.

By daylight Monday, 30 officers from around the state, including Oregon State Police and FBI crisis negotiators, had surrounded the mobile home.

At 6 a.m., police fired several canisters of tear gas into the house. Two hours later, at 8:20 a.m., Horton talked to police by telephone, but still refused to surrender, Peaslee said.

Horton was checked over at a local hospital after he surrendered, and then taken to the Linn County Jail in Albany pending charges, Peaslee said. The case remained under investigation.

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