Responding to a call from dispatch of a boyfriend stealing and breaking her phone, Chief Deputy Marty Hart headed to Eastside Park for what he assumed would be a domestic call. It turned out to be a 10-hour standoff that involved multiple law enforcement agencies but ended peacefully with the arrest of Mark Sanders on Wanton Endangerment charges.
While Hart was in transit to the location, Sanders had barricaded himself in the trailer located in Eastside Park holding his teenage son and armed with a 9mm handgun. His girlfriend had escaped to a neighbor's home and called dispatch.
According to police reports, Sanders had been upset earlier and walked away. He returned and that is when he threatened himself by putting a gun to his own head.
Since the trailer is directly across from Northern Elementary, the school was placed on locked down. Eventually, the students were evacuated out of the building and onto their buses through the back of the building on Lock Road. Parent pickup also was diverted to the back of the building.
Throughout the evening, Pendleton County Sheriff's Office and KSP tried to communicate with Sanders via their pa system but Sanders would give no indication that he heard them or that he was in the trailer.
Butler Chief of Police Kenny Hale worked with County Attorney Stacey Sanning to obtain an arrest warrant for Sanders.
KSP called in their Special Response Team which tore down a wall at approximately 1 a.m.
Hart said, "They literally knocked downs the walls down and he walked out."
Sanders is housed in Campbell County Detention Center on charges of Wanton Endangerment 1st degree and a probation violation for felony offense of stalking 1st, FOEP 1st and PFO. Police also indicated he had outstanding warrants out of Rowan County.