Members of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team prepare to breech a door to a residence at 312 Lawton Road, Devola, where Nathaniel Becker barricaded himself inside Monday morning. (Photo by Janelle Patterson)

MARIETTA  — A traffic stop in Marietta led to a three-hour standoff Monday morning in a Devola home.

Deputies ultimately used an explosive device to breech the home at 312 Lawton Road, where Nathaniel Blayn Becker, 40, who gives his address as 312 Lawton Road, refused to come out after allegedly fleeing there from a traffic stop during which he threatened a deputy.

No one was injured during the standoff and Becker’s arrest. Becker has been charged with aggravated menacing, failure to comply with the signal or order of a police officer and inducing panic.

According to an affidavit of facts, the incident began around 9 a.m. when Washington County Sheriff’s Det. Stephen Roe was traveling north on Muskingum Drive in his patrol vehicle. As he approached Davis Avenue, he saw the overhead traffic light showing green for traffic on Muskingum Drive, he reported.

A Jeep SUV came speeding through the intersection against the light from Davis Avenue. Roe reported he braked to avoid a collision with the vehicle, which went northbound on Muskingum Drive. The driver was allegedly weaving back and forth in the lane, with his hands moving as if he were agitated.

The Special Response Team and the sheriff’s office BearCat were on hand during the standoff Monday morning at 312 Lawton Road, Devola. (Photo by Janelle Patterson)

Becker was pulled over in a traffic stop at the corner of Muskingum and Colegate drives.

Roe reported that as he was preparing to leave his patrol car, Becker came out of the Jeep with a buck knife in one hand and a screwdriver in the other hand, walking aggressively toward Roe. Roe exited the vehicle, unholstering his firearm, according to the affidavit. Becker allegedly stopped at the front of the patrol car, screaming for Roe to shoot him. He then turned, ran back to his vehicle, and fled the area, heading northbound on Ohio 60.

“He was emotionally disturbed, I think,” said Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks.

The sheriff’s deputy followed Becker to 312 Lawton Road, where he locked himself inside.

Mincks said hostage negotiator Deputy Jeremiah McConnell addressed Becker in an attempt to to get him to leave the home. During the negotiations, the 300 block of Lawton Road was closed as deputies from the sheriff’s office and the Special Response Team, made up of members of the sheriff’s office, Belpre Police Department and Marietta Police Department, monitored the situation.

Washington County Sheriff’s deputies were dressed in tactical gear for their safety during the standoff Monday morning in Devola. (Photo by Janelle Patterson)

“We want to get you out of there safe,” said McConnell. “We need to know you are OK.”

Becker was repeatedly asked to pick up the telephone in the garage, but he remained relatively quiet, never answering the phone.

While the negotiation was underway, members of Becker’s family waited anxiously a few houses down.

“We want to get you out of there to see your kids,” McConnell told him. “You’ve got some young kids that need their father.”

Around 11:30 a.m. officers used a wooden baton to break the glass out of a door and soon after, a loud bang was heard as an explosive device was used to open the door. Shortly after, Becker exited the home.

Deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office patrolled the area around 312 Lawton Road, Devola, during the standoff Monday morning. (Photo by Janelle Patterson)

“He is now in custody and on his way to jail,” Mincks said afterward.

He said the negotiators “spent quite a bit of time in negotiations, but he didn’t respond. We made more than 90 calls, which he refused to answer.”

Becker was ultimately charged with aggravated menacing, a fifth-degree felony; failure to comply with the signal or order of a police officer, a third-degree felony; and inducing panic, a first-degree misdemeanor.

He remains incarcerated at the Washington County jail pending his appearance in Marietta Municipal Court.

“He was emotionally distraught,” Mincks said. “We had to handle him with kid gloves as much as we could, while making sure nothing happened to our guys.”

Members of the Special Response Team discuss the negotiations during the standoff Monday morning in Devola. (Photo by Janelle Patterson)

This isn’t the only police contact Becker has had in the last month or so.

According to sheriff’s reports, a deputy responded on Dec. 31 to the same residence for a report that Becker was missing. His mother reported that he had left a note, stating he was forced to drive someone somewhere in her vehicle. Several attempts were made to reach Becker via phone with negative results.

He was later reported to be home with the vehicle and had been at a hospital in Elkins, W.Va., visiting a friend. Becker further advised that he did not remember writing any note, or being threatened by anyone to leave by force.

In mid-January, he was arrested for having fictitious plates and expired plates, both misdemeanors.