Man in Custody After Barricading Himself in Home

A man who barricaded himself in a home on the 600 block of Grant Avenue after officers responded to a sexual assault complaint has been taken into custody.

Chandel S. Dirkans, a 33-year-old Joliet resident, will be charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated domestic battery, unlawful restraint and an Illinois Department of Corrections parole violation, Joliet Police Chief Brian Benton said.

Sign up for the Patch newsletter and never miss a moment

After a standoff that lasted more than six hours, Dirkans gave himself up at around 7:30 p.m., according to Benton. He surrendered without incident.

Dirkans has previously served time for residential burglary, burglary, felony possession and use of a firearm and robbery, according to online court records.

Benton did not want to comment on the age of the female victim, who was reported by The Herald-News to be a juvenile.

During negotiations earlier in the day, the man came outside but wasn’t willing to surrender. Police had gotten the man to come into an exposed area and officers deployed a “less lethal weapon” referred to as a sage multilauncher, which Benton described as being “basically beanbag rounds.” After the man surrendered, he was taken to a local hospital for his injuries.

“We want to take him to get checked out and make sure there are no other injuries,” Benton said.

In what could have been a tragic incident, Benton credits his officers with successfully talking down the man and taking him into custody.

“When you get a situation like this and not knowing the mental state of the individual, especially having him armed and threatening to harm himself, we’re always glad when a situation like this can be resolved through negotiations,” Benton said.

Joliet police were called to the home on the 600 block of Grant Avenue around 1 p.m. Thursday.

“Officers met the suspect in the offense and at that point he told officers that he had a gun and was going to harm himself,” Benton said. “Officers backed away from the residence and set up a perimeter around it.”

Officers then set up a critical incident response team, composed of negotiators and a swat team at around 3 p.m.

Nearby homes were evacuated and police blocked off surrounding areas.

Parents had received a phone message from schools in Joliet School District 86 telling them that a soft lockdown had been placed on nearby schools. The lockdown has since been lifted, according to a school official.

“They said that all students are on a soft lockdown due to problems in the community and that no one will be allowed in or out of the buildings until the Joliet (police) release them,” said a concerned parent, whose child goes to Woodland Elementary School.