Hour-long standoff at Stanton gas station leads to arrest of sexual assault suspect
A sexual assault suspect from South Dakota was arrested at a gas station in Powell County after a nearly hour-long standoff with police Tuesday morning, according to a Facebook post by Stanton Police Department.
Police said they were called to Airport Market in Stanton just before 8:30 a.m. for reports of a man who was firing a gun inside the store. When police and deputies with the Powell County Sheriff’s Office arrived, they found a man with a handgun inside a vehicle.
That man was later identified as Craig Worm, 50, of South Dakota, according to police.
Worm asked to buy cigarettes before firing at the store’s ceiling and saying, “now call police,” the store owner told WAVE 3.
Worm barricaded himself inside his vehicle for approximately one hour before surrendering, police said.
“I’m proud of all my officers that responded to this incident,” Chief Arthur Lacy said in a statement. “They were patient and showed great poise while dealing with an armed and dangerous suspect. We are pleased that we were able to resolve the incident without anyone getting hurt.”
It was later discovered that Worm fled South Dakota after facing sexual assault charges; the victim was a minor, according to police. Worm committed the robbery to trigger a police response, with intentions to die via suicide by cop.
Worm was booked into the Powell County Detention Center and charged with six wanton endangerment counts and one count of first-degree robbery.
This story was originally published November 16, 2021 at 1:03 PM.
