Man Held Family Captive For 2 Days Before Gandy Blvd. Stand-Off: SPD

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Before an Oct. 25 stand-off with law enforcement on Gandy Boulevard, a man held his family member captive for two days against their will in a St. Petersburg home, arrest records show.

Ahead of the four-hour stand-off, Matthew Perkins, 32, barricaded the windows and doors, preventing family members — including his sister, live-in girlfriend and two children — from leaving the Norfolk Street home, according to a St. Petersburg police arrest affidavit.

Perkins also had a shotgun while holding his family captive, police said.

His sister told officers that he “was paranoid and thought people were watching him,” according to the affidavit.

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Around 11:40 p.m. on Oct. 24, he took his 3-year-old son from the home, driving away with the child in a pick-up truck, the St. Petersburg Police Department said in a news release.

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. on Oct. 25, 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 four charges of false imprisonment, aggravated assault and criminal mischief, court records show.