SWAT team breaches Newcastle home to end four-hour standoff with wanted man

NEWCASTLE — It took about four hours and a SWAT team from Campbell County to capture a reportedly armed Newcastle man from a home Monday while trying to arrest him on a warrant for a parole violation.

The man, identified by Weston County Circuit Court records as Brandon Suess, born in 1985, barricaded himself in a home on West Railroad Street after police responded to a tip that he was there, the Newcastle Police Department reported.

“Upon arrival at the residence, law enforcement confirmed the subject was in the residence and discovered he was barricaded in a storage space on the top floor,” the report said.

That was at about 9:45 a.m., Newcastle Police Chief Derek Thompson told Cowboy State Daily. Once the house had been checked to ensure no other people or animals were inside, officers made contact with Suess, who said he wouldn’t comply with orders to come out. He reportedly stated he had a firearm.

During the roughly four-hour standoff, police maintained intermittent contact with Suess. “We tried to negotiate with him, and I use that term lightly. None of us are trained negotiators, but we tried to talk him out of there,” Thompson said. At different times, Suess asked for cigarettes and chewing tobacco, but police declined because he wouldn’t willingly come out.

As the situation escalated, Newcastle police called the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office for assistance from its SWAT team, along with an ambulance from Campbell County Health. “Given the dangerous nature of the situation at hand and the threat of a firearm being involved, the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team was called to assist,” the department’s report stated.

The SWAT team brought bullet-proof shields and other equipment Newcastle police lack. “It really is reassuring,” Thompson said. “It’s a favor they do for us that we’re really blessed for. It’s hard to say how that situation would’ve turned out or how long it could’ve taken without them.”

Campbell County SWAT personnel eventually breached the door to the storage area using shields and took Suess into custody. While Suess had claimed he had a gun, no firearm was found in the room after his arrest. Thompson noted the outcome was ideal: “He didn’t get hurt, and they didn’t get hurt, everybody’s safe, and we didn’t tear things up.”

Campbell County Tactical Commander Dan Maul said seven SWAT members responded, along with the agency’s military MRAP vehicle. “We took over more equipment than we used, because it’s always better to have it and not need it than the other way around,” he said. “Primarily, we used handheld shields and our personal sidearms and a couple of rifles. We did not have to use any force beyond presence, essentially.”

In addition to the original warrant for a parole violation, Suess now faces two charges of interference with a peace officer—one felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, and one misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. He is scheduled for an initial court appearance Wednesday.