By MATT HOPF and DON O'BRIEN
Herald-Whig Staff Writers
Quincy Police Chief Rob Copley says the man who had barricaded himself inside his home in the Granview subdivision near Johnson Park on the city's south side has been taken into custody.
Copley identified the man as 52-year-old Donald Rick Pruett. Copley said officers saw a handgun Monday night and worried about Pruett having suicidal tendencies, but negotiators inside the home continued to talk with Pruett.
He was taken into custody just before 11 a.m., ending a standoff that lasted nearly 21 hours.
"Our main goal is that nobody gets hurt, including the subject," Copley said earlier Tuesday morning. "He has to be tired. He has to be hungry and thirsty. I think we will see some movement today."
The negotiator on the scene this morning was the fourth since the standoff began. About 2:30 p.m. Monday, officers arrived after receiving a report that Pruett had barricaded himself inside his house at 1718 Center Granview.
"It's a flowing conversation. (Pruett) is not having any trouble communicating," Copley said.
Copley said Monday night he thought the standoff could be lengthy.
"He's got no hostages," Copley said. "We have no reason to want to force anything, and in these situations, you don't want to force anything, because time is on our side. We have no reason to rush."
Sgt. Duane Long said two Quincy police investigators went to the house Monday to interview Pruett as part of an ongoing investigation involving an allegation of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving a minor child.
Copley said a warrant is on file for Pruett related to the investigation, but he would say no more about the case.
Pruett was lodged in the Adams County Jail in 2002 on a charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
When the officers arrived, Pruett let them into the house, then went into a back room that police believe is his bedroom and barricaded the door, Long said.
Pruett lives alone, Long said, and no one else was in the home at the time.
Long, on the scene this morning, said the suspect hadn't made any demands for food, water or to use a bathroom. Long said the man was talking to police.
"He's talking (with negotiators), but he gets upset at different times and talks rationally at other times," Copley said.
Residents of nearby homes were evacuated. Police blocked off roads in the area for "everyone's safety," Long said, and have asked people to stay away.
When asked Monday night if power to the home had been shut off, Copley said, "(Police officers) are in the house, so there's no reason to want to change that at this point."
The department has several patrol officers and its Emergency Response Team on the scene in addition to the initial investigators.
—dobrien@whig.com/221-3370
—mhopf@whig.com/221-3391
Quincy police escort Donald Rick Pruett from his home on Center Granview after a nearly 21-hour standoff. (H-W Photo/Steve Bohnstedt)
Quincy police escort Donald Rick Pruett from his home Tuesday morning after a 21-hour standoff. (H-W Photo/Steve Bohnstedt)
Quincy police officer P.D. Hummel stands watch Tuesday morning across from 1718 Center Granview, in the background at right, where Donald Pruett barricaded himself Monday. (H-W Photo/Steve Bohnstedt)
Donald Rick Pruett, as shown in this 2002 photo from the Adams County Jail
Quincy police officers arrive at a house at 1718 Center Granview Drive where an man barricaded himself Monday afternoon after police arrived to question him in a case. (H-W Photo/Phil Carlson)
