Homewood Suites standoff lasts hours, ends in arrest

Bloomington, Indiana – After eight hours of labor by law authorities to free Samuel Baumgartner from his barricaded room at Homewood Suites in southwest Bloomington, where he allegedly held his 87-year-old mother, a rifle, and a small dog, he was taken into custody on Friday night.

At 8:32 p.m., he was arrested on five new charges and two outstanding warrants from Monroe and Owen counties, one for resisting law enforcement and the other for failing to register as a sex offender. These are the new charges:

• Criminal confinement with a deadly weapon, a level three felony

• Unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a level four felony

• Resisting law enforcement using a deadly weapon, a level six felony

• Criminal mischief, a class A misdemeanor

• Disorderly conduct, a class B misdemeanor

At 12:30 p.m., Monroe County Sheriff Deputies tried to serve the active warrants after learning that Baumgartner lived at Homewood Suites. Deputies withdrew and called for assistance from the Critical Incident Response Team after failing to fully unlock Baumgartner’s door and noticing that he was brandishing a gun. After then, the Bloomington Police Department, Indiana State Police, and the sheriff’s office evacuated the hotel and stayed there for a few hours.

At 7:19 p.m., Baumgartner’s mother and dog were safely taken out of the hotel room by CIRT negotiators, and an hour later, Baumgartner himself. There were no gunshots.

The Homewood Suites scene was crowded during the operation; dozens of policemen responded, both the hotel’s parking lot and the nearby Valvoline Instant Oil Change parking lot were packed with police cars. A number of snipers from the nearby Honda Service Center kept watch over the second-floor chamber.

According to a hotel manager who has worked there for eight years, she has never seen anything like that.