I’m sure you’ve all seen the news, Wednesday February 4th started out like any other day, but things changed quckly at 8:30am as I looked down my street to see US Marshals and Akron Police in force at the end of my block. Grabbed my coat and went out to find there was suspect barricaded in a home on Kenilworth just north of DartmouthAve.
After talking with US Marshals, I found out the suspect had barricaded himself alone in the house, and was wanted by the DEA on Federal Drug Crimes from 2023. In talking with APD Officer in charge, I found out they were calling the SWAT team in to try to negotiate with the man to surrender. I mentioned to the officer that I’ve never seen anything like this on our street, he responded “ we’re hardly ever in this neighborhood and never for anything like this”.
Long story short, negotiations did not work, the second level of the house caught fire, and Akron Fire Department responded to the area. As they worked to put the fire out, I updated social media and took a lot lot of calls from concerned neighbors. After a number of hours, Akron Fire controlled the fire enough for officers to enter the home. Officers found the suspect, Tristen Dent hiding in the basement and took him into custody without further incident.
I commend and thank our Akron Police and Fire Departments and the US Marshals, who were working in freezing temperatures and collectively controlled the situation without firing one shot. They made it a priority to keep everyone in this Ward 8 neighborhood safe. Thank you all for keeping Akron safe!