A 39-year-old man is now in custody on various charges, including false imprisonment, following a nearly 4-hour standoff with police at a Daytona Beach apartment complex.
The Special Weapons & Tactics (SWAT) Unit of the Daytona Beach Police Department (DBPD) arrested Stephen C. Shank within minutes of making forced entry into a residence last night (February 2, 2022) at the Cape Morris Cove Apartments on the corner of Big Tree Road and Clyde Morris Boulevard.
It all started when Volusia County emergency dispatchers received a call at 7:39 p.m. from a woman claiming that Shank was having a mental episode inside the apartment, accusing her of controlling his television and cell phone.
While she was on the phone with 911, she told dispatchers that Shank got very agitated after he spotted first responders waiting outside the apartment building, saying that he was going to gun them down and set off a bomb.
When dispatchers asked her to leave the apartment, the woman said that Shank threatened to harm her if she attempted to leave. She did confirm that there was no bomb in the apartment and that there was a firearm inside the apartment, but that Shank did not have possession of that weapon.
DBPD’s Hostage Negotiation Team arrived on scene shortly after the call for help came in and spoke to Shank for several hours. The decision to have SWAT force entry into the apartment around 11:30 p.m. and take Shank into custody came after he repeatedly refused to surrender peacefully.
No injuries were reported during this incident.
Shank is now in custody at Volusia County Jail, charged with a felony count of false imprisonment and misdemeanor charges of assault on a person 65 years of age or older and resisting an officer. He will be held without bond until his first appearance in front of a Volusia County judge.