AKRON, Ohio — A 35-year-old man is in custody following a standoff with Akron Police Wednesday morning at a house that caught fire.
According to the Akron Police Department, officers with the U.S. Marshals Service were serving a federal warrant for federal drug crimes in the 200 block of Kenilworth Drive around 8 a.m. when the suspect, who has been identified as Tristan Dent, barricaded himself inside a home.
Akron Police Lt. Michael Murphy told News 5's Bob Jones that authorities attempted to make entry into the home, and that's when Dent barricaded himself inside. During a second attempt to enter, a 3-year-old boy came out and was escorted away.
The U.S. Marshals deployed tear gas to force Dent to come out, but were unsuccessful. A second volley of tear gas was deployed to no avail.
A News 5 crew on scene captured photos of the house as a fire appeared to start inside about an hour after the standoff began, with smoke billowing from an upstairs window.
Akron firefighters used a ladder truck and hose to fight the fire from a distance, and a perimeter was set up to watch for any signs of Dent.
How the fire started is unclear, but police said it's possible Dent started it. Murphy said the gas police used to try to get him out was nonflammable.
"It's not capable of becoming flammable which is why we use it in this type of setting, so it's possible that the suspect may have set something on fire or there's something else in the home that caught fire," Murphy said.
Firefighters spent hours trying to knock down the flames.
Around 3 p.m., crews entered the home and found Dent alive, hiding in a false wall behind a dryer in the basement. Police said he was not injured but will be evaluated.
Dent has been charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and the use of a communications facility to facilitate a felony drug offense.
