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Police: Stranger barricades himself inside woman's apartment in hours-long standoff

Police say he did not know the woman whose apartment he broke into. He barricaded himself inside the pantry with a switchblade for several hours, court docs show.

WYOMING, Mich. — A man is facing charges after allegedly breaking into a woman's Wyoming apartment and barricading himself for several hours last week.

The incident happened the afternoon of Saturday, March 9, when police received a 911 call about a man who broke the window to a woman's apartment and entered. She safely left the apartment and hid in a nearby apartment building.

Police say the man and the woman don't know each other.

Wyoming police responded to the scene and attempted to contact the man, who was later identified as Brady Joe Bessemer. He allegedly held a knife to his own neck and refused to exit the apartment, according to court documents.

Despite officers using flash/bang devices, deploying a throw phone to encourage communication with police and using chemical agents, Bessemer didn't come out.

Police determined through a camera system that Bessemer was barricaded inside a pantry. Officers were then able to deploy chemical agents through the wall of the pantry and take him into custody.

Credit: Provided
Brady Bessemer

Police say a black switchblade was found in the pantry. The woman who lived at the apartment said it was not her knife.

It took police hours to take Bessemer into custody. Police say they are working to determine Bessemer's motive.

He is now charged with first-degree home invasion and resisting and obstructing a police officer. His bond has been set at $50,000, and he must not have any contact with the victim in order to bond out.

He will appear in court on Wednesday, March 20 for a probable cause conference.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Wyoming Police at 616-530-7300 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345, 1-866-774-2345, or https://www.silentobserver.org.

   

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