Man Arrested On 32 Warrants After Standoff With SWAT Team

CHARLOTTE, NC — A man wanted on 32 felony warrants and in possession of a stolen handgun fled from officers in a stolen car and then refused to surrender for hours in southeast Charlotte Thursday.

The dramatic chain of events began shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday when officers from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Targeted Response and Apprehension Unit moved in on an apartment complex to arrest Todde O’Brien Houston, 30, on the laundry list of outstanding warrants.

Houston, however, was able to evade arrest by fleeing in a stolen vehicle. A police helicopter tracked his movement to another apartment complex, located in the 7700 block of Krefeld Glen Drive, where Houston ran into a stairwell armed with a gun, according to a CMPD report.

Houston refused to surrender, and officers set up a perimeter and moved residents out of the area out of precaution. CMPD’s SWAT team and negotiators were sent to the scene, creating a tense standoff for several hours. Late in the afternoon, Houston surrendered to police and was taken into custody.

According to WSOC, Houston was wanted on charges related to a scheme at area dealerships where he allegedly took cars out for a test drive, kept the keys and returned fake keys to the salesman. The station reported that the Dodge Charger he ditched Thursday was driven off a car lot Wednesday night.

This story has been updated.

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Photo via Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office