A standoff that lasted much of the day Thursday at a Mansfield apartment has ended with the suspect's arrest just after 7 p.m., police say.[[290220601,L]]
Deputies with the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department and police officers from Arlington and Mansfield were involved in the standoff with the wanted man, identified as 49-year-old Mark Mercer.
NBC 5 first learned of the standoff just after 10 a.m. Thursday after several residents of The Landing at Mansfield apartments said they were being evacuated and not allowed to return to their homes. The residents said someone pulled a gun on deputies serving a warrant and that the man refused to come out of his apartment near the 1700 block of Towne Crossing Boulevard.
An armored SWAT vehicle was called to the scene before noon and firefighters were dispatched to the area should there be any injuries.
Juan Valdez, a bounty hunter with the EJR Agency, told NBC 5 he was also looking for Mercer after he said he missed a court date and jumped a $46,000 bail posted by a bondsman on a pending domestic violence charge. Valdez said Mercer has a prior conviction out of Waco and has served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Mercer was arrested by SWAT officers with the assistance of a police K-9 team.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Residents of the community told NBC 5 they were content to wait out the standoff outside of their apartments until their homes were made safe.
"The extent of our information is he's barricaded in there with guns and they're trying to get him out. That's it," said Darin Morgan, resident.
The entrance to the apartments was being guarded, but what appear to be civilian vehicles were seen leaving the property.
Due to the police activity, the Mansfield Independent School District said afternoon bus service to three apartment complexes, The Landing, Cedar Point and Towne Crossing, was suspended and that parents who live in those communities needed to make other arrangements to pick up their children.
No injuries were reported in the standoff or the suspect's arrest.
