Earlier this week, on July 15, a Fountain Springs man engaged police in Schuylkill County in an hours-long standoff. Thankfully, the situation ended peacefully.
According to Pennsylvania State Police in Frackville, they were called to a situation at about 7:30 a.m. along Fountain Street in Butler Township.
Police Standoff in Fountain Springs Ends Peacefully
Police received reports of a man throwing objects out of a second-story window onto Route 61.
When police got there, they identified 54-year-old John Miller sitting in that second-story window. Traffic in both directions on Route 61 was shut down.
Miller had a semi-automatic pistol on him. When police saw the gun, they retreated to a safe position and attempted to make contact with Miller.
As police began their retreat, Miller began hurling glass bottles at them. After getting into a safe position, State Police established a line of communication with Miller. They activated the PSP Special Emergency Response Team.
The Shenandoah Sentinel reported from the scene that much of the debris Miller scattered on the highway was actually audio cassette tapes.
A few hours of negotiating eventually led to Miller giving himself up. He came out of the house and was taken into custody. Police say they transported Miller to a nearby hospital for a mental health evaluation.
During the standoff, the Sentinel also reports that nearby North Schuylkill Junior/Senior High School was placed on lockdown. There were several sports practices ongoing at the time of the incident.
Miller finally surrendered and the highway was open again to traffic at about 2:30 that afternoon.
He’s being charged with reckless endangerment, propulsion of missiles, terroristic threats, and simple assault.
READ THE FULL SHENANDOAH SENTINEL REPORT: Fountain Springs standoff ends peacefully; man in custody
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LoisLane
July 18, 2020 at 9:48 am
Who listens to audiocassettes anymore? I appreciate the attention to detail in the police report though LOL
Canary Commenter
July 18, 2020 at 10:29 am
Credit The Sentinel on that one. She was on the scene.
Question though: Does each tape get entered into evidence? Are they back at the Frackville barracks like, “One cas-single: Angelia by Richard Marx …”?
LoisLane
July 18, 2020 at 10:53 am
Perhaps he got mad because the tape got jammed in his boom box and he just couldn’t take it anymore. I completely understand, sir. Sadly, we have all been there…our new “Patsy Cline’s Greatest Hits” cassette suddenly getting destroyed or getting stuck forever in the tape deck of our Buick Skylar, taunting us. Now, gone are the days when you see ruined and discarded cassette tapes – thrown out of car windows by some enraged music lover- fluttering in the breeze by the side of the road. But, sadly, the struggle is still real for some of us, folks.