Overnight standoff ends quietly in Pinellas County

Friday, November 30, 2007

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Police were called to a home on 89th Avenue North after a domestic dispute turned into an armed standoff.

PINELLAS COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- Residents of a Largo neighborhood were evacuated for several hours overnight due to a standoff where an armed man fired shots and ransacked a home.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, it took a SWAT team about four hours to get 32-year-old Dennis Jay Pestka to surrender to authorities.

But not before he fired gunshots, broke windows and smashed holes in the walls of his mother's home on 89th Avenue North.

He exited the house peacefully shortly before 2 a.m. Friday.

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What started as a domestic disturbance call around 9:30 p.m. Thursday quickly escalated after deputies said they arrived on the scene to hear two gunshots coming from the home.

The SWAT team was immediately called in, authorities said. Five nearby homes were evacuated while the standoff took place. Those people were allowed back in their homes around 2 a.m.

Negotiations were ongoing for about four hours until Pestka, whose birthday is today, exited the home.

"Petska eventually surrendered at about 1:45 this morning after SWAT Team deputies,' said Sergeant Jim Bordner with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. "A very large armored vehicle challenged the home."

Petska was taken to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation. There were no injuries reported.