MORAINE — A man and woman were jailed after an hours long standoff at the South Dixie Drive Relax Inn after the man told police he had a bomb and gun inside a hotel room, according to a Moraine Police report.
Gene Blatchford Jr., 24, of Dayton, and Shawna Blanton, 22, of Xenia were both taken into custody Sunday afternoon. They are both booked on suspicion of inducing panic and outstanding warrants.
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Officers spotted a stolen car near two rooms at the Relax Inn around 8 a.m. The car had been reported stolen out of Dayton and the suspect had been identified as Blatchford, according to records.
Police had reason to believe Blatchford could be armed with a handgun and after talking to him at the door of the hotel investigators ended up calling in a SWAT team.
“The male stated the he would not come out of the room and advised us not to go inside either,” an officer wrote in the report. “He advised that he was armed and had ‘a bomb and a gun with him.’”
As a result, the Dayton Bomb Squad and a SWAT team were called to assist at the scene, police said.
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“The officers to me did a good job. They were patient and they talked to him and they didn’t kick the door in or mace him, so they did what they could to resolve this issue peacefully,” Feaster, who was the victim who had his car stolen, said.
Sgt. Andrew Parish with the Moraine Police Department says they got what they wanted in the end, which was a surrender and a peaceful resolution..
Blatchford and Blanton are both currently being held in the Montgomery County Jail.
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