All charges against an Eldred man who allegedly shot at police in a standoff in January were bound over to court Wednesday.
Christopher Eaton, 34, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault — fear of serious bodily injury to designated individuals, second-degree felonies; two counts of recklessly endangering another person and one of fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, second-degree misdemeanors.
According to the criminal complaint, at 8:47 a.m. Jan. 30, state police were dispatched to 1262 Prentisvale Road in Eldred Township to check on the welfare of Eaton. Police described the area as being moderately populated with houses in close proximity on both sides of the road.
Troopers arrived on the scene and pulled into the driveway. They exited their vehicle and heard Eaton yelling from inside the residence to get back in their truck and leave, the complaint stated.
A distraught female was on the front porch of the residence, crying. She said everything was not OK, and that she was on the phone with 911.
Eaton continued yelling and fired a shot out the second-story window in the direction of the troopers. The troopers got back in their vehicle and left the driveway. Eaton began barricading himself inside the residence as more state troopers began to arrive.
At 9:43 a.m., troopers established a perimeter around the residence “for what was now a barricaded gunman incident,” the complaint stated.
Police placed the female into a patrol vehicle, and found that she was a relative of Eaton’s who was communicating with him through a messenger app on her phone. He told her that he was going to “have a shootout with the police,” the complaint read. He sent a similar message to his wife.
Troopers were able to contact him and try working toward a peaceful resolution. During the negotiation, Eaton opened the door and placed two long guns on the front porch. However, police determined it was too dangerous to attempt to retrieve them. Eaton took both guns back inside the house and discharged a second shot from inside, the complaint stated.
At 10:34 a.m., a trooper saw Eaton come out of the house, put two guns in the back of his mother’s vehicle, then get in while holding another firearm, and drove east on Prentisvale Road, with troopers in pursuit. The pursuit ended at 625 West Eldred Road in Eldred Township, where Eaton ultimately surrendered peacefully, the complaint stated.
When troopers entered Eaton’s home, they discovered he had put a dresser in front of an open window, “creating a shooting perch in which to shoot at the troopers in the driveway,” the complaint stated.
Along with recovering two boxes of birdshot and a spent cartridge of bird shot, troopers found a single live .44 Magnum round “with the letters ML written in black marker on the shell casing,” according to the complaint.
Eaton remains jailed on $200,000 monetary bail. He is represented by Warren attorney Alan Conn.
