OVERBROOK –A 39-year-old Topeka man and a 32-year-old Topeka woman are in Shawnee County jail following a seven-hour standoff at an apartment complex in Overbrook Tuesday. Thomas Kent was arrested for failing to appear at his sentencing in Shawnee County for an aggravated weapons charge, Osage County Sheriff Laurie Dunn said. A task force of Osage and Shawnee county deputies, U.S. marshals and federal ATF agents were sent to arrest Kent. Dunn said Kent has history of confrontations with Shawnee and Osage county officers, and officers believed he was armed. Officers made several tries to talk the man into surrendering, she said. After a seven-hour standoff, officers stormed his apartment. Officers found guns and ammunition in the apartment, she said. He was arrested, taken to an area hospital, and then turned over to Shawnee County deputies. During the siege, other occupants of the complex were evacuated and neighbors were warned of the situation. Dunn said school children in a three- or four-block area around the apartments weren’t allowed to walk home or to be left at bus drop-offs. The woman, Linda Woods, left his apartment at the start of the standoff. Dunn said Woods was arrested because Shawnee County had three outstanding felony warrants on her.
Wednesday, Dec. 11, 11 a.m.; updated, 3:30 p.m.
