Child Rescued After 4-Hour Gandy Bridge Stand-Off: St. Pete Police

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — After a four-hour stand-off on Gandy Boulevard, a man who kidnapped a toddler following a domestic dispute was taken into custody early Tuesday morning, according to a news release from St. Petersburg police.

Around 11:40 p.m. on Monday night, Matthew Perkins, 32, took a 3-year-old boy from a home in the 1900 block of Norfolk Street N. in St. Petersburg following a domestic argument, driving away with the child in a pick-up truck, police said.

With the help of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office helicopter, officers were able to find him on Gandy Boulevard. He crashed the truck and became lodged under the I-275 overpass, SPD said.

Police closed all lanes of Gandy Boulevard in both directions for several hours during a stand-off with Perkins.

For four hours, he refused to negotiate with police. The SWAT team was called and deployed SPOT, the robotic dog, to try to communicate with him, SPD said.

Around 4:30 a.m., with heightened concern for the child’s safety, officers moved in to get the boy and arrest Perkins. There were no injuries, police said.

Perkins faces a number of charges including false imprisonment, aggravated child abuse and aggravated assault.