CASSOPOLIS — A Union man who engaged in a five and a half-hour standoff with police is headed to prison.
Larry Tanner, 39, was sentenced Friday in Cass County Circuit Court to prison for two to four years with credit for 115 days already served.
Judge Michael Dodge said the offense occurred at Tanner’s Union residence in May after a Cass County Sheriff’s deputy stopped by to look into a disturbance reported between Tanner and another man at Union Market. There was also a warrant for Tanner’s arrest out of Elkhart.
The man claimed Tanner had threatened him with a gun. Tanner refused to exit his home and threatened the officer, leading to a standoff involving 20 police officers at the scene.
“It wasn’t the brightest thing I’ve ever done,” Tanner admitted.
Chief Assistant Prosecutor Frank Machnik pointed to Tanner’s four felony and 15 misdemeanor convictions as a reason to send Tanner to prison rather than jail.
“I have seen worse records unfortunately, but this is one of the worst,” Machnik said.
Defense attorney David Moore said Tanner wasn’t on his medication that treats his mental health problems at the time of the incident.
“If you would have cooperated with police, none of this would have happened,” Dodge told Tanner. “This situation was highly explosive.”