SWAT standoff outside W.S. ends in arrest

Howell County Sherriff’s deputies attempting to arrest a Willow Springs man on warrants called in the SWAT team for a Sunday night stand-off that ended in a peaceful arrest. 

 

Dayton Terrill-Austin, 29, had active arrest warrants for possession and absconding from parole. The absconder warrant had no bond, according to Howell County Sheriff Matt Roberts.  

 

As deputies approached the Post Oak Rd. residence, a female subject exited the house and locked the door behind her after yelling something inside, presumably to Terrill-Austin, Roberts said in a Monday morning interview. The sheriff’s department had reliable information the suspect was inside and that he had access to a firearm, so when accused did not respond to initial commands to exit, deputies set up a perimeter and called in the SWAT team. 

 

The SWAT team made initial entry into the house with a drone, but could not located the suspect, “due to the conditions of the house,” Roberts said. The drone searched the attic, and K9 Flash was deployed to search the crawl space. 

Efforts with a noise-flash diversion device and gas did not produce a subject exit.

 

Law enforcement then entered the residence and began to clear the area room by room. K9 Flash alerted on the subject hidden in a sleeping bag in a bedroom, nudging Terrill-Austin with his nose. 

 

“No one was hurt, and Austin is lucky he didn’t get bit,” commented Sheriff Roberts. 

 

Once the K9 made contact, the suspect surrendered with hands in the air. 

 

As of press time, probable cause statements were not prepared, but the subject is being held without bond, according to the Sheriff. 

 

Roberts anticipates charges of resisting arrest, and potentially narcotics charges. Drugs were found in the home after the stand-off. 

 

This is a developing story that will be updated as soon as charges are filed.