Man Involved In Standoff Appears In Court

Antonio Iaconianni -- -- was arraigned Monday morning in .

Iaconianni, 24, of Mentor, was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, inducing panic, aggravated menacing and obstructing official business.

He made no plea Monday morning and Judge John Trebets set his bond at $100,000.

Iaconianni does not have a lengthy criminal record. However, he did plead no contest to charges of assault and disorderly conduct in 2007 in Euclid Municipal Court.

Iaconianni surrendered to Mentor Police peacefully at about midnight after hiding for more than 6 hours beneath a front porch of a home on Mansion Boulevard on Mentor.

The standoff began at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday with an argument at the nearby Mentor Square Apartments.

A bystander who lives in the apartment complex, Orlando Figueroa, said two men -- one of who was Iaconianni -- were arguing and management called police to break it up. When officers arrived, Iaconianni ran away.

In fact, he jumped off a balcony to get away, Mentor Police Capt. Ken Gunsch said.

He then hid beneath a porch on a Mansion Street home near the Center Street intersection, said Gunsch.

Iaconianni had a handgun with him when he hid beneath the porch, Gunsch said. However, he had no gun when he surrendered.

Police found his suspected weapon, a .357, soon thereafter.

At no time during the standoff did the man have any hostages, Gunsch said.

Dawn Argie lives nearby the home where the man his. Police evacuated her and her family from their home. Officers told her the man was threatening to "kill everyone."

However, the standoff was resolved peaceably.

"He realized there was nowhere for him to go," Mentor Police Capt. Ken Gunsch said.

Gunsch said police opted to coax the armed man from beneath the porch with negotiation as opposed to forcing him out with gas or a water hose because they wanted the standoff to end safely for everyone.

"Our best option was to keep talking to him and for it to end peacefully," he said.