Armed suspect in custody after hourslong standoff in Chester
An armed suspect who was in a standoff with police and a SWAT team in Chester for about two hours Wednesday has been arrested, police said.
Scott Lewis Buckner was taken into custody late Wednesday at a home on West Elliott Street, where police say he had kept a woman in the house “against her will,” Chester County Sheriff Max Dorsey said in a written statement.
The arrest capped off a series of events that began at 11:50 a.m., when Chester County Sheriff’s deputies said they arrived at a home on Pinckney Road and found a man fatally shot inside.
Less than three hours later, police found the man’s truck in the backyard of a residence on West Elliott Street, according to a release. Buckner and an unidentified woman were inside the residence, police said.
Buckner has not been identified as a suspect in the homicide.
The woman “managed to get outside” and told deputies that Buckner was armed with a pistol and rifle inside the residence, according to a release.
“Due to the potential volatility of the situation, as it was related to a murder investigation, sheriff’s deputies set up a perimeter around the house as a precaution,” Dorsey said in the statement.
The area is one block north of Pinckney Road, west of downtown. Officers blocked off several area streets during the incident and asked nearby residents to stay inside.
From S.C. 9, also called Pinckney Road, a public address system could be heard while police spoke with the person inside the residence.
State Law Enforcement Division agents used “non-lethal” gas and a robot to enter the residence around 6:30 p.m. after trying to negotiate with Buckner to surrender, Dorsey said. Buckner was found unconscious but breathing and was taken to a hospital for treatment, Dorsey said.
Upon release from the hospital, Buckner will be charged with kidnapping, possession of a stolen vehicle, and possession of stolen property, Dorsey said. Other charges may be pending, Dorsey said in the statement.
Dorsey said the investigation into the homicide and the standoff are ongoing. The homicide is being investigated by the sheriff’s office and SLED. The homicide victim has not been identified.
The standoff, described as an “emergency situation,” prompted a response from a SWAT team as well as officers from the Chester County Sheriff’s Office, the Chester Police Department and State Law Enforcement Division.
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 4:58 PM.
