Man arrested following police standoff in Marengo overnight

The McHenry County SWAT team was among the law enforcement agencies called early Wednesday morning after an argument, apparently between neighbors, escalated into an armed standoff with officers in Marengo, authorities said.

The suspect, identified as Jason W. Petty, 46, of the 1000 block of Briden Drive, Marengo, was charged with felony counts of threatening a public official and aggravated assault on a police officer, and misdemeanor counts of obstructing a police officer, according to a release Wednesday from the Marengo Police Department.

According to the release, officers were called about 12:05 a.m. Wednesday to an apartment at the Briden Drive address for a disorderly subject yelling at his neighbor and that, when they arrived and attempted to make contact, the suspect began threatening the original caller and officers with bodily harm. At an unspecified point, he is accused of appearing in an apartment doorway with a knife while continuing to make threats, police said.

That is when a multi-jurisdictional SWAT team was called. A short time after that, police said, Petty appeared again in the doorway, now with a gun and continuing to make threats.

Surrounding apartments were evacuated, police said, before Petty eventually came to the door unarmed. He was arrested without incident at 3:30 a.m., police said.

He was transported to the McHenry County Jail, according to the release, and the incident remains under investigation.

In addition to the SWAT team, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and the Harvard Police Department assisted Marengo police during the incident.