Credit: Bristol Twp. Police
A man who engaged police in an hours-long standoff in Levittown was sentenced to jail time and five years probation.
Lawrence Rouse, 58, recently entered a negotiated guilty plea on charges of terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and harassment. Judge Rea Boylan ordered Rouse not to drink alcohol or own weapons and to undergo mental health evaluations during sentencing, which included immediate parole from jail for time served.
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The standoff began Friday, January 2 when Bristol Township officers went to serve a mental health commitment for Rouse at 12 Ice Pond Road in Levittown after a family member had notified them he had “become increasingly distanced from his siblings, limiting their ability to check on their mother,” police said. His mother was 90 years old and on hospice for dementia.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Rouse barricaded himself inside the Ice Pond Road home and SWAT operators from across Bucks County responded to the scene. Police were concerned because they knew Rouse had firearms inside the house.
After a period of no communication and numerous attempts to hail Rouse with a loudspeaker, Rouse eventually was contacted by negotiators and spoke with them starting around 3:30 a.m. Saturday, January 3.
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Around daybreak, SWAT officers entered the home and arrested Rouse.
Several homes were evacuated and their residents displaced during the standoff.
