Jennings SWAT standoff ends without injuries

Jennings County authorities say a standoff with a wanted man ended without anyone getting hurt.

The incident started at about 11 p.m. on Tuesday night when Jennings County Sheriffs Department deputies tried to serve arrest warrants on 46-year-old Larry Nantz of North Vernon at home in Country Squire Lakes.

Deputies learned that Nantz had barricaded himself inside a back bedroom in the home saying he would not go back to jail. He said he had a gun and threatened to kill the deputies if they tried to take him into custody, according to police reports

Deputies cleared residents from the home and called in the department’s Special Response Team along with the Indiana State Police SWAT team. Authorities negotiated with Nantz for about an hour, before he surrendered to Sheriff Kenny Freeman. Police recovered an air gun that closely resembled a firearm.

While in the driveway, Nantz allegedly spit in the face of a 15-year-old girl while she attempted to secure dogs at the home.

He is facing new charges of battery by bodily waste, intimidation with a deadly weapon and resisting law enforcement, along with the original outstanding warrants for charges including resisting law enforcement and arson.