Portland man in custody after alleged stand off with police

POMEROY, Ohio. – A Portland man is in custody after allegedly breaking a protection order, entering the home of his spouse and having a stand off with law enforcement.

According to Meigs County Sheriff Keith Wood, at approximately 6:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, September 22, 2018 deputies were dispatched to a Barringer Ridge Road residence in Portland, for a domestic violence complaint. Deputies Leggett and Martin arrived on scene and spoke with the caller, a 41-year-old female, of Portland. She advised that she had come home that morning to find Randall G. Nichols II, 32, of Portland in the home. The woman currently has a protection order issued against Randall and told him to leave. Randall refused and removed her from the house by force, then shoved her off the porch and into the yard. She also advised the deputies that Randall was aware that she had called the Sheriff’s Office and that she had tried to get back into the house, but the door was locked, and she believes Randall may have screwed the door shut.

Deputies attempted to make contact with Randall and he refused to answer. The deputies established a perimeter around the home and backup was dispatched. Middleport Police Department Patrolman Spaun was sent to the scene to assist. Sgt. Mohler was contacted and dispatched to the scene and was able to make verbal contact with the suspect. Randall, who was very agitated and argumentative, refused to exit the home or allow officers to enter. After several attempts by Sgt. Mohler to resolve the situation Major Trussell was contacted and advised of the standoff situation with the suspect.Major Trussell arrived on scene and was able to speak with the suspect who still refused to cooperate and began cussing and throwing items around in the home.

Athens County Sheriff Rodney Smith was contacted, and a request was made for the Athens County Special Response Team to assist. At 11:43 a.m., Athens County Sheriff Smith and the Athens County Sheriff’s Office SRT team arrived on scene and after negotiating with Randall for about 15 minutes, Randall opened the door and surrendered without incident. Randall was taken into custody on an active domestic violence warrant from a previous incident. He also has several outstanding charges from previous events unrelated to the incident on Saturday, for an alleged Aggravated Assault, Violation a Protection Order, Weapons under Disability, and two other previous domestic violence complaints. Randall will also be charged with another Domestic Violence complaint from Saturday’s alleged assault according to a statement from law enforcement. Randall is currently being held in the Washington County Jail until he appears in court on the previous listed charges.

Also, while on scene it was noted that three dogs on the property appeared to be in poor condition. The Meigs County Dog Warden was contacted and came to the scene after Randall had been taken into custody to check the animals’ wellbeing. The Warden took custody of two of the animals that appeared to be underfed. An investigation into the animal’s condition is being conducted and charges may be pending.

The Meigs County EMS had a medic truck on standby as well as the Racine Fire Department had a truck standing by in case they were needed.

All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.