Man Arrested After 8-Hour Standoff with Police Ends Peaceably

Updated: 10:10 p.m.

Phillip N. Robbin, 41, was arrested following an eight-hour standoff with Downers Grove police and officers from the Felony Investigative Assistance Team (FIAT) at his home in the 4100 block of Highland Avenue. The man gave himself up at 8:20 p.m., approximately 15 minutes after his girlfriend of three years had left the home of her own volition.

The multi-jurisdicational FIAT SWAT team had given both the woman and Robbin in turn 30 seconds to vacate the home, said Deputy Chief Kurt Bluder of the Downers Grove Police Dept.

There were no injuries and no apparent weapons on the premises, although police continued to search the home.

The incident began at 12:09 p.m. with Downers Grove police officers responding to a request for a well-being check at the house. The call came from the woman's daughter in Carbondale, who had received text and voice mail messages from her mother stating that Robbin allegedly beat her the night before, Bluder said. The woman said she believed she had a concussion and required a CAT scan.

Police had been called to the home seven times on domestic calls since 2007, and had arrested Robbin in July 2008 and September 2009, Bluder said.

Robbin was outside the home when police approached but fled from officers and regained entry through the rear of the home, Bluder said. He later came to the door with a pit bull, which he threatened to release unless the officers left the scene. Two more dogs were also in the house.

"As soon as he wouldn't come out, it was standard procedure to set up a perimeter," Bluder said. The FIAT Strategic Weapons and Tactics Unit responded to the call, as did the Westmont, Lisle and Hinsdale police departments, cordoning off an area from 41st and Main streets on the west and 41st and Lindley streets on the east. No residents of the 4100 block of Highland Avenue were allowed back to their homes until the situation was resolved.

Police remained in telephone contact with Robbin throughout the standoff. "He was uncooperative—he wasn't going to come out," Bluder said. After the woman exited the home dressed in what appeared to be pajama bottoms and a over-sized shirt and carrying a cordless phone, police began communicating with Robbin via bullhorn. The woman was taken to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital for treatment.

The woman also was uncooperative at certain points during the standoff, Bluder said. In the course of the day, her two sons, brother and sister arrived at the scene.

Police had obtained an arrest warrant for Robbin at 5:30 p.m., after a Downers Grove police detective contacted the DuPage County State's Attorney's office with a copy of the voice mail and text messages. Robbin was charged with domestic battery, although further charges are under review. He is being held at DuPage County Jail on $250,000 bond, Bluder said.

Downers Grove Police Chief Robert Porter commanded the police effort in concert with FIAT team leaders, Bluder said.  In total, about 30 officers from various jurisdictions were involved. Village Manager Dave Fieldman arrived at the scene in the minutes before Robbin was taken into custody.

Robbin was heard loudly addressing law enforcement officers as he was escorted to the police van.

Robbin reportedly has operated a tree, landscaping and snow removal business out of the home. Police removed a GMC pickup truck from the home's driveway. Wood appeared to be in the cargo bay.

Neighbor Jan Writer said Robbin would often plow her driveway without being asked.  She said the couple were "friendly and very quiet, extremely nice and extremely accommodating." She said she was unaware of any domestic disturbances taking place at the home.

"When I would go to work, if he was outside, he would always give me a wave," she said. "They'd just go out of their way to help people, so it's very surprising.

As the situation unfolded earlier in the afternoon, concern turned to the 2:40 p.m. dismissal of students from Highland School, 3936 Highland Ave., which is within two blocks of the home.

Police called Paul C. Zaander, superintendent of Downers Grove Grade School District 58, to arrange a safe exit for students. Parents were notified by the district's automatic calling system at about 2:15 p.m. that their children were safe and could be retrieved at the north side of the school on 39th Street. Police officers were on hand to direct traffic at the scene.

Parents who gathered on the school grounds were calm, perhaps due to the tenor of the district's message, which assured them their children were safe.

"This is a message from Highland School. The Downers Grove Police Department as a precautionary measure has closed Highland Avenue in response to a domestic situation. Highland students are in no danger and the purpose of this message is to outline dismissal information," the message said.

Parents were instructed to access the school through the 39^th Street door to retrieve their children. Bused students were escorted to their buses, then parents were allowed into the school where they picked up their children at their classrooms. Students who planned to walk home were held at the school until their parents could arrive to sign them out and escort them home.

The district also worked with its bus company to arrange alternative stops for Herrick Middle School students who live within the police cordon. North High School administrators said they were holding students who live in the area at school until arrangements could be made with police to adjust the bus stops into the neighborhood.