Cops: Dispute Over 'Paid Escort's' Fee Led Standoff, Arrest

A dispute with a paid escort over fees is what ultimately led to a Tuesday SWAT standoff in St. Petersburg, police officials say.

That dispute also enabled police to uncover what they describe as “an arsenal and trafficking amounts of narcotics” inside the 5913 13th St. N. home where the incident unfolded around 5:30 a.m.

According to police, they received a call from a man who told them a female acquaintance of his was being held at gunpoint inside the home. After talking with the man, police, and later SWAT team members, responded to and surrounded the home. Inside, they learned, was the woman the caller described, an armed man, his mother and his 15-year-old sister.

The woman, police learned, was a paid escort who had gone to the home voluntarily at the request of the man inside.

“Apparently there was a disagreement between Lowe and the escort over the fees for services rendered,” an email to media from the department stated. “During this disagreement Lowe produced a handgun and pointed it at the victim who was able to text her male companion who was waiting in a car down the street as to what was going on.”

After a brief standoff, the woman was released and the man surrendered, police said.

Once inside the home, however, police discovered an AK47, two AR15 assault rifles and 5,000 rounds of ammunition. They also spotted a locked safe.

Vice and narcotics detectives obtained a warrant to search that safe and found more than they bargained for inside.

“When it was opened investigators discovered 10 handguns, 10.3 grams of hydromorphone, approximately 3 pounds of high-grade marijuana, 34.6 grams of Xanax and approximately $7,000 cash,” the department wrote.

Casey Lowe was initially charged with aggravated assault and false imprisonment. Once the safe was opened, however, potential charges expanded. Police say he now faces a variety of drug-related charges, including armed trafficking. Additional charges had not been filed as of Thursday morning.

Photos courtesy of the St. Petersburg Police Department

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