Negotiations end Enid Shores standoff

By John Howell
A Tuesday night standoff in the Enid Shores community ended when law enforcement negotiators and a neighbor persuaded a man with mental problems to surrender, Panola County Sheriff Dennis Darby said.
The man had barricaded himself in his home and refused to leave or allow officers to enter, Darby said, resulting in the three-to-four hour standoff.
“They did a real, good job of negotiating,” the sheriff said. Batesville Police Department Detective Sergeant Jeremiah Brown, whose common bond with the man was having had active service in the Marine Corps, “talked him down,” Darby said.
The sheriff said that the negotiations were also facilitated by the neighbor who had befriended the man during domestic disputes. Officers had previous encounters with the situation prior to the March 28 standoff.
“You go to something like this, and you never know what’s inside,” the sheriff continued. “You don’t know how many guns are inside; how many people are inside.”
“He needs some help,” Darby said. On Thursday, Panola County Jail Administrator Bobby Meek and a local attorney were working to get state mental treatment for the man.