Man yanked from furnace duct after 2-hour standoff on South Side

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN

Police yanked a man wanted on drug warrants out of a furnace duct Thursday after a standoff of more than two hours at a South Side home.

Phillip Johnson, no age given, of Youngstown, was taken into custody by U.S. marshals after the standoff at the 147 E. Marion Ave. home.

Members of the Mahoning Valley Crisis Response Team, along with marshals and Youngstown police, were serving a search warrant at the home as part of a drug investigation and were at the home about 4 p.m., said Youngstown police Detective Sgt. John

Elberty, who heads up the CRT unit.

When officers arrived, five other people inside the home came outside, but Johnson would not come out, Elberty said. CRT members took positions outside and also parked their armored vehicle on the front lawn in front of the porch.

A negotiator on a loudspeaker implored Johnson for most of the standoff to come out, but he did not. About 90 minutes after they arrived, police shot several tear-gas canisters into the home and waited several minutes before heading inside.

For the complete story, read Friday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.