UPDATED: Man Charged Following Levittown SWAT Standoff

 UPDATED: 8:09 a.m., Sunday:

Lawrence Rouse, 58, was charged Saturday evening with terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and harassment. He was arraigned before District Justice Michael Burns and his bail was set at 10 percent of $500,000.

Acting Bristol Township Chief of Police Sgt. Ralph Johnson said detectives executed a search warrant for 12 Ice Pond Road and seized Rouse’s many firearms following the standoff.

According to police, roughly 30 loaded weapons were found in several gun safes located throughout the house Rouse shared with his 90-year-old mother.

Rouse was transported to Lower Bucks Hospital following the standoff on a 302 involuntary mental health commitment.

“The hospital provided advance notification about Rouse’s release and he was taken into custody on criminal charges,” Johnson said.

Police had an arrested warrant prepared when Rouse was released from the hospital and took him into custody.

Court papers state at least 75 emergency responders were involved in the seven-hour long standoff.

Original story:

After an hours-long standoff involving dozens of police, a 58-year-old man holed up inside a Levittown home was arrested without incident Saturday morning.

A niece of Lawrence Rouse reported on Friday that he had been making threats of violence against family and neighbors for the past several months, police said. Authorities told LevittownNow.com Rouse began making threats in recent months as his ailing 90-year-old mother edged closer to death. She has been suffering from dementia for some time.

Police in Bristol Township on Friday evening obtained an involuntary mental health commitment and went to serve it at the house Rouse lived with his mother, who is on hospice. At that time, Rouse barricaded himself inside his home at 12 Ice Pond Lane and the SWAT team was called out, Acting Bristol Township Chief of Police Sgt. Ralph Johnson said.

“Lawrence had become increasingly distanced from his siblings, limiting their ability to check on their mother,” the acting chief said.

The 58 year old was known to have a collection of guns that numbered between 20 and 30, police said.

Officers and medics that are part of the Bucks County South and Central SWAT teams rushed to the Indian Creek section of Levittown and surrounded Rouse’s home.

Johnson said Rouse did not respond to initial police attempts to speak with him. An officer at the scene said a loudspeaker was also used to try to contact Rouse.

Using an armored vehicle, police officers were able to evacuate several residents from homes on Ice Pond Road.

Rouse eventually was contacted by negotiators and spoke with them starting around 3:30 a.m. Saturday, police said.

Around the same time, SWAT officers from the central part of Bucks County were deployed to replace Lower Bucks County tactical operators working in the below-freezing weather, police.

SWAT operators broke a front window of the Ice Pond Road home and made face-to-face contact with Rouse. The 58 year old allegedly gave the officers the finger and pulled the curtains shut.

Johnson said police then seized the opportunity and pulled Rouse through the window. He did not resist and was not injured.

Rouse was transported to Lower Bucks County Hospital for his mental health commitment; his mother was treated by SWAT team trauma medics and then taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

A temporary shelter for those displaced by the standoff opened overnight at the Bristol Township Senior Center.

As of 6:30 a.m., detectives and SWAT team members milled about the Ice Pond Road home where the standoff occurred. A front window was broken out and investigators were seen inside.

Neighbors said Rouse did not have the warmest relationship with them in recent years.

A rehabilitation truck with warm beverages and food was brought in from the Trevose Fire Company to assist police, medics and fire police.

Johnson said the investigation into the standoff would continue and Rouse would likely be charged in connection with the alleged threats.

Related:

• UPDATED: Standoff Ends Without Incident