A Schuylkill County man was arrested following an armed standoff at his home last week.
According to court documents, multiple State Police officers along with the State Police’s Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) were called to a home on Willow Rd. in Deer Lake at about 3 p.m. on June 17. They surrounded the perimeter of the residence.
A caller stated that Joel Wakefield, 44, had fired a round from a gun while in the second-floor bathroom. The caller said that Wakefield had been using meth and making comments that he was going to harm himself or commit suicide-by-cop.
Police say they were able to get Wakefield on the phone and during that call, he reportedly said he was going to harm himself. Wakefield was reportedly “screaming and very irate” at the situation and refused to come outside to speak with police.
Multiple more attempts to contact Wakefield by phone were made but he hung up every time, police say.
As the standoff continued, police say they obtained an involuntary mental health commitment order.
Wakefield’s wife then attempted to contact him in an attempt to get him to surrender peacefully. However, Wakefield allegedly continued to say that he was going to harm himself.
A little more than 90 minutes later, Wakefield did surrender to police and he was taken to a nearby hospital on the mental health order.
During their investigation of this incident, police say they obtained surveillance footage from the home which reportedly shows Wakefield walking around his residence starting on the night of June 16 carrying an AR-style rifle, police say.
Wakefield’s wife also reportedly told police that her husband had a .40-caliber handgun and that’s what he used to fire a round from the bathroom window into the woods behind their home.
Following the standoff, police walked through Wakefield’s home and say that numerous items inside were broken. They reportedly found the .40-caliber handgun and the AR-style rifle inside. Several items that contained suspected meth residue were also found, Police say.
A criminal background check on Wakefield reportedly showed Police that he had several convictions out of Philadelphia County in the last 25 years – including for burglary, aggravated assault, and drugs – and that he was not permitted to own a gun because of convictions in those cases.
As a result of last week’s alleged incident, Wakefield is now facing two felony counts on gun possession and misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Subscribe to Coal Region Canary
Get email updates from Coal Region Canary by becoming a subscriber today. Just enter your email address below to get started!Support Coal Region Canary
Like our reporting and want to support truly local news in Schuylkill County? Your small donations help. For as little as $5, your contribution will allow us to cover more news that directly affects you. Consider donating today by hitting the big yellow button below ...