Sunday, March 23, 2025
34.0°F

Polson standoff ends peacefully

Lake County Leader | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 years, 5 months AGO
by Lake County Leader
| October 4, 2018 2:34 PM

One man was taken into custody following a five-hour standoff in Polson last week.

Eli Stops, also known as “Sleepy Loko,” was hiding from law enforcement at 608 Second St. W. on Friday, Sept. 28.

According to a press release from Polson Police Sgt. George Simpson, Stops was wanted by the United States Marshal Service for an outstanding federal warrant.

Police received an anonymous tip that Stops was staying at the Polson address on Friday.

In an effort to locate Stops, officers from PPD went to the address, where Stops was seen inside by law enforcement.

Stops concealed and barricaded himself inside the attic once officers entered the residence, Simpson said.

Once Stops was confirmed to be in the attic, law enforcement established a perimeter around the vicinity of the house.

Negotiations, Simpson said, “went on for a couple of hours with no success,” leaving officers to spray oleoresin capsicum (OC) into the attic.

“Negotiations resumed after the OC deployment,” and Stops surrended without incident, Simpson said.

Stops was transferred into the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service.

Assisting PPD were: Flathead Tribal Police Department, Ronan Police Department, Montana Highway Patrol, Polson City Fire Department, Polson Ambulance, Lake County Emergency Communications and “the patient residents of the neighborhood.”

Polson Police Chief Wade Nash expressed his appreciation to those who helped to ensure the incident went as smooth as possible. “The level of commitment and courage your law enforcement team showed today is nothing short of extraordinary. I am very happy of our department and the assisting agencies,” he said.

Simpson confirmed Monday afternoon that two search warrants have been carried out at the residence in 2018.NEED

MORE FRONT-PAGE-SLIDER STORIES

Polson house busted for third time this year
Lake County Leader | Updated 6 years, 5 months ago
Friday afternoon high-speed chase, standoff ends peacfully
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 6 years, 7 months ago
Multi-agency investigation yields 10 drug arrests in Polson
Lake County Leader | Updated 4 years ago

ARTICLES BY LAKE COUNTY LEADER

July 26, 2019 3:26 p.m.

Wildfire near Ronan burns 450 acres

A large burnout operation was planned Friday in an attempt to contain the lightning-caused Moss Ranch Fire burning 14 miles southwest of Ronan, on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

January 27, 2019 1:53 p.m.

Polson officer saves boy from drowning

The day began like most other days for Polson Police Officer Aaron Sutton.

April 17, 2019 2 a.m.

Polson woman pleads not guilty to homicide

Danielle Jeanette Wood pleaded not guilty to deliberate homicide during a video arraignment Tuesday before Lake County District Court Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher at the Sanders County Courthouse in Thompson Falls. Wood is charged with deliberate homicide in connection with the death of Thompson Falls resident Matthew LaFriniere in May 2018.