Orrington Man with Outstanding Warrants Arrested After Standoff

An Orrington man is facing charges after a standoff that began when a deputy learned he had outstanding warrants.

The Penobscot County Sheriff's Department reports the incident began at around 9:30 Sunday morning, when a Deputy came across a van that was off the roadway on the Johnson Mill Road. He identified the driver as Stephen Nason, 36 of Orrington. When the deputy was made aware that Nason had two active felony warrants for domestic assault, the man locked himself inside his van. When he refused to come out, the deputy called for backup.

A supervisor and one of Nason's family members arrived to see if they could convince him to get out of the van and turn himself in. However, when Nason eventually did exit the van after a short period of time, it was with a large knife which he placed against his own throat. He was eventually able to get into the family member's vehicle and drove himself to that person's home, where he barricaded himself in a room.

Sheriff's Office Crisis Negotiators tried to communicate with Nason, who officials say has demonstrated this type of behavior on several previous occasions. While Nason was locked in a room, inside the home, police from other agencies arrived to assist and blocked off a portion of Johnson Mill Road, to protect the public. Negotiations went on for hours before the Maine State Police Tactical Team assisted in extricating Nason from the residence.

He was finally placed under arrest at approximately 8:20 Sunday evening, about 11 hours after the first deputy encountered him in the disabled van. Nason was transported to a Northern Light Healthcare facility with minor injuries before being taken to the Penobscot County Jail.