A Fairfield man will head to court in April after engaging in a several-hour standoff with police Tuesday at a single-family home at the intersection of Montcalm and West streets in Fairfield.
Kenneth J. Ruggiero, 33, left the house just after 5:30 p.m. and was arrested without incident and charged with domestic violence assault, domestic violence terrorizing and refusing to submit to arrest, Fairfield police Chief Tom Gould said Wednesday morning.
Ruggiero was taken to the Somerset County Jail in Madison where a jail spokesman said Wednesday he had been released on bail.
Gould said Fairfield police officers went to the West Street home around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday and tried to contact Ruggiero, who was inside. Officers established a perimeter around the scene while a Waterville Police Department negotiator and the State Police Tactical Team were called in.
State and local police converged on the area of Montcalm and West streets, where they worked Tuesday afternoon and into early evening, blocking motorists from entering Montcalm while they dealt with the situation.
A State Police Crisis Negotiation Team van and about a dozen other state police, Fairfield and Waterville police vehicles were parked in the former Maurice & Son Auto Body Shop on West Street, where they appeared to set up a command center. That shop is just south of Lawrence High School.
State police donned fatigues, backpacks and helmets and, carrying long rifles, walked in pairs from the command center on West Street south toward Montcalm, making their way between houses and toward the house Ruggiero was in. A police dog also was at the scene.
Earlier in the afternoon, a School Administrative District 49 school bus trying to enter Montcalm Street was turned back by a Fairfield officer stationed near that street.
As the afternoon turned to early evening, motorists were trying to get in and out of winding, narrow streets and homes that are close together in the area.
Gould said Wednesday that no family members of Ruggiero were hurt in the incident. He said this was the first time police had dealt with Ruggiero.
“It was the first contact that we had ever had with him,” he said.
Asked if Ruggiero had a weapon during the incident, Gould said: “There were weapons involved, but not a firearm. There were no firearms involved.”
He said he could not discuss what precipitated the standoff.
Officials worked well together during the incident, according to Gould.
“It worked seamlessly between Waterville, the PD (Fairfield) and state police,” he said.
Ruggiero is scheduled to appear at 1 p.m. April 11 in Unified Court in Skowhegan, according to Gould.
Amy Calder — 861-9247
Twitter: @AmyCalder17
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