3:20 p.m. FRIDAY UPDATE: Ronald Louis Lalk Jr., 44, of House Springs has been accused of shooting a woman and not immediately allowing her to leave his home the day before he was arrested following an hourslong standoff with Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office negotiators and SWAT members, according to court documents.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office today, March 13, charged Lalk with first-degree domestic assault, armed criminal action, second-degree kidnapping and unlawful use of a weapon. He was arrested Thursday, March 12, at a home in the 4000 block of Crest Drive in House Springs, court records and the Sheriff’s Office said.
Sheriff’s Office negotiators and SWAT members were called to the home at about 8:35 a.m. Thursday after the man barricaded himself inside, spokesman Grant Bissell said. Lalk surrendered to authorities at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
Lalk was being held without bond today at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, according to court and jail records.
“Sheriff’s Office personnel spent hours negotiating with Lalk and ultimately convinced him to exit the home,” Sheriff Dave Marshak said in a statement, announcing the charges against Lalk. “He was taken into custody without injury to himself or anyone else. This was the best possible outcome for this situation, and the Sheriff’s Office is proud of the professionalism displayed by all personnel involved.”
According to the case’s probable-cause statement, deputies were called on Thursday to an area hospital that the woman went to after being shot. The woman reportedly had gunshot wounds to her right arm and hip.
The woman told investigators she had gone to Lalk’s home, and the two started to argue. She said during the argument, Lalk went to a bedroom and continued to scream at her. She went in the bedroom and saw that Lalk had a black revolver, the report said.
The woman said she then grabbed a fire extinguisher, which she sprayed in Lalk’s face because he was allegedly swinging and pointing the gun at her face. She said Lalk threatened to kill her after she sprayed him with the fire extinguisher, according to the report.
The woman said she then went to another bedroom in the home, where she got a baseball bat. She said Lalk threatened to shoot her through the wall, and she saw him standing in the hall “aiming” the gun at her, the report said.
The woman said she sprayed Lalk again with the fire extinguisher, he fired the gun at the floor at least one time, according to the report.
The woman said after that, she confronted Lalk in his bedroom again, and he allegedly threatened to kill her. She said he told her to put down the bat she was holding, but she said she would not until he put down the gun, the report said.
Lalk then allegedly shot the woman one time. She told investigators she fell after being shot and tried to scoot across the floor to leave through a back door, according to the report.
The woman said Lalk would not let her leave and dragged her to the living room. She said he placed a board in the slots of the front door to barricade it shut, but he eventually let her leave and she went to the hospital, the report said.
Following the standoff on Thursday afternoon, investigators allegedly found blood evidence in a bedroom, the hallway and on an ottoman in the home. A white towel that appeared to have a blood stain was allegedly found on the front porch, according to the report.
Investigators found a black revolver in the home, the report said.
According to court documents, Lalk is a prior and persistent offender who was found guilty of aggravated stalking in March 2017 in Jefferson County, and felony unlawful possession of a firearm in August 2017 in St. Louis County.
3 p.m. THURSDAY UPDATE: The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man following a hourslong standoff today, March 12, at a home in the 4000 block of Crest Drive in House Springs, spokesman Grant Bissell said.
He said the man surrendered at about 2:30 p.m. Sheriff’s Office negotiators and SWAT members were called to the home at about 8:35 a.m. after the man barricaded himself inside.
Bissell said Sheriff’s Office personnel were at the home to investigate an alleged assault that happened overnight.
Bissell would not identify the man or provide additional information about the man. He also would not say if anyone besides the man was inside the home.
Bissell said the Sheriff’s Office will seek charges against the man, but he did not provide further information.
The Leader will provide more information when it becomes available.
ORIGINAL STORY: A man has barricaded himself inside a home in the 4000 block of Crest Drive in House Springs, and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office negotiators and SWAT members have been trying to get him to come out, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell said.
The standoff started at about 8:35 a.m. today, March 12. Bissell said Sheriff’s Office personnel had gone to the home to investigate an alleged assault that happened overnight.
Bissell would not identify the man in the home or provide additional information about the man. He also would not say if anyone besides the man was inside the home.
This is an ongoing situation, and the Leader will provide more information when it becomes available.