Officers storm apartment, find man passed out on couch
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona SWAT team that responded to a report of a man making threats with a shotgun stormed an apartment and found him intoxicated and passed out, police said.
Michael Laughing, 31, was taken into custody Tuesday in Casa Grande, The Casa Grande Dispatch reported.
About 50 Casa Grande police officers and Pinal County sheriff’s deputies responded after a man threatened property managers with a shotgun at the complex 47 miles (76 kilometers) south of Phoenix, police said.
“They were looking at another apartment and just walking by, and he opened the door and pointed a shotgun at the manager,” police spokesman Thomas Anderson said.
Police surrounded the apartment, but “when we made contact, he refused to exit,” Anderson said.
The Pinal Regional SWAT Team was practicing in Casa Grande when the standoff began.
“So they arrived and took over the tactical portion of this,” Anderson said.
Hours after the standoff began, SWAT members forced their way in and found him asleep on a couch, authorities said.
Laughing is accused of disorderly conduct with a weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia, misconduct involving weapons, resisting arrest, and threats and intimidation.
He was held in jail without bond. Online court records do not list an attorney for Laughing who could comment on his behalf.
The Casa Grande Elementary School District held students from the area at their schools until the standoff was over, officials said.