Abston Jr. was indicted in Clark County Common Pleas Courts in late May after a nearly eight-hour standoff with the Springfield Police Division, according to court documents.
More from Riley Newton: Springfield man charged after allegedly ramming pregnant woman's car after chasing her
The standoff cost taxpayers an estimated $6,000. It began after a hospital employee called dispatchers from Springfield Regional Medical Center and said Abston had attacked a woman at their home, but she and her child escaped and made it to the hospital.
“He’s got a gun, and it’s loaded,” the hospital worker told dispatchers. “He’s already fired it once in the house.”
Court documents say Abston choked the woman and put a gun to the woman’s head, threatening to kill her before shooting at the bedroom wall, the affidavit says.
No one in the home was injured, but a child was sleeping in the room where a bullet came through the wall.
More from Riley Newton: Mystery donor strikes again, drops $1,200 coin in Springfield Salvation Army kettle
The employee’s call from the hospital sent police to the home in the 100 block of Roosevelt Drive.
Police said when they got to the home, Abston was yelling and cursing out of the second-story window, breaking some of the windows. He refused to come out of the home, court documents say.
Several police and SWAT units blocked off Roosevelt Drive while they tried to negotiate with Abston to surrender. Many neighbors were evacuated as negotiations continued on.
Court documents say Abston threatened to kill himself several times, and even yelled for SWAT team members to kill him.
Canisters of pepper spray and tear gas were used to get him to leave the house, and he surrendered after almost eight hours.
About the Author