Sword-Wielding Suspects Arrested After 7-Hour Standoff in Donelson

DONELSON, TN — It took a SWAT team, stun grenades and tear gas to end a seven-hour stand-off in Donelson early Friday morning, ending with the arrest of two people, one of whom was carrying a sword.

Metro Police responded to a home on Wellington Square near Lebanon Pike around 6 p.m. Thursday after a woman reported that she was assaulted by her adult son, whose girlfriend had damaged the victim's car.

The victim was able to exit the home once officers arrived, but the suspects — the sword-wielding John M. Gentuso, 26, and his girlfriend Ashley A. Smalling, 29 — refused to come outside. Police obtained felony warrants and called in the MNPD negotiation team.

Just after midnight, it became clear the couple was not going to come out on their own, leading negotiatiors to call for 30 SWAT officers, who entered the house just after 12:30 a.m., deploying stun grenades and tear gas and arresting Gentuso and Smalling. No one was seriously injured, police said.

Gentuso was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was being held at the Metro jail on $25,0000. Smalling was arrested on suspicion of vandalism and was being held on $5,000 bond.

Arrest records show Gentuso is facing a January trial for impersonating a police officer. Officers attempted to pull him over for speeding, according to an affidavit, and Gentuso flashed what appeared to be a police badge while leading the officers on a high-speed chase. The chase was abandoned, but police later found Gentuso at his home, they say. His so-called "police badge" was actually just a wallet with a silver medallion affixed to the front.

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