Late last night, a Nelsonville man was arrested and peacefully taken into custody after a day-long standoff with the Athens County Sheriff's Department.
Dan L. Simms Sr., 60, barricaded himself in a gravel hop off State Route 278 after refusing to unblock a culvert he had blocked about six months ago, said Athens County Sheriff Vern Castle. The standoff ended without any injuries after a tense day of negotiations that began at about 9 a.m.
I am just tickled to death that we were able to come to a peaceful resolution
Castle said.
Simms Sr. and his son Dan L. Simms Jr. were taken into custody at 11:15 last night. Simms Sr. was arrested in the gravel hop while Simms Jr. was found in a nearby trailer on the property.
The sheriff's department moved in yesterday after several months of dispute about a culvert -a pipe Simms Jr. alleged had been flooding his land and causing damage. Both had warrants out for their arrest for contempt of court.
The men had been given until Friday to open the culvert themselves. Refusing to do so and anticipating police action, the men took shelter, Simms Sr. in the nearby gravel hop -a funnel-shaped building that stores gravel -and Simms Jr. in the trailer.
Both men are being held in the Southeast Ohio Regional Jail, Castle said. There will be no court appearance today; both men face 30 days in jail for being in contempt of court.
The Athens County Sheriff's Department confirmed that Simms Sr. entered the gravel hop yesterday morning. Simms Sr. supposedly had food, water, weapons and ammunition, a friend of his, who had been assisting in negotiations, told the department. Castle could not confirm the presence of weapons or ammunition.
The sheriff's department had been negotiating with Simms Sr. by cell phone yesterday and had help from some of Simms' friends, Castle said. He would not name the friends because he said it might interfere with the negotiations.
The sheriff's department and Athens County Prosecutor C. David Warren have to discuss any additional charges the Simmses might face, Castle said.
At one point last night, tensions flared when two of Simms' nephews went to the Nelsonville police station and told officials they were angry that the sheriff's department would not allow them to be a part of the negotiations.
All (the sheriff's department) want is one big gun battle said Mike Simms, Dan Simms' Sr. nephew. If someone gets killed tonight it is the county's fault.
Castle did not release all details of the arrest and did not specify whether the family was involved in the final negotiations.
Earlier in the day, Simms Sr. had said he didn't want to hurt anyone. While some family members discussed the possibility of violence, Castle had said the department would exhaust all peaceful means before using force.
Several neighbors, living as close as 150 yards to the gravel hop, were evacuated by 6:30 p.m. yesterday, Castle said.
Simms Sr. had no previous criminal record but has been involved with more than 20 cases in the Athens County Court of Common Pleas, according to court records.
Most of the cases involve disputes with neighbors and the county about the culvert's blockage. Simms Jr. owns the land that the culvert opens onto, Warren said.
-Jordan Robinson contributed to this story.
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