MANSFIELD — The Mansfield Police Department took a man into custody late Thursday morning after a hours-long standoff on Clairmont Avenue.
The capture and arrest of Kenneth Lamar Black II, 33, put an end to a four-day search by police. Black was arrested and taken to the Richland County Jail after attempting to flee the scene.
The search began on Sunday when officers were dispatched to 500 Wood St. after receiving reports of a burglary.
Black was charged with abduction and aggravated burglary after entering the home of his ex-girlfriend, armed with a knife, police said.
The ex-girlfriend managed to get away and alert a patrol officer outside after Black fled through the back door. Black was gone by the time additional officers arrived, so felony warrants were issued for his arrest.
“Patrol officers have been combing the streets and houses since (Sunday), attempting to locate him,” Mansfield police Chief Keith Porch told reporters Thursday afternoon.
Around 4 a.m. on Thursday, night shift police officers confirmed Black was staying with friends at 236 Clairmont Ave. The other residents of the house were evacuated without incident and a standoff began.
According to Porch, there were numerous times during negotiations where it seemed Black was going to surrender and then changed his mind. At other times, he threatened self-harm.
“During the time that he barricaded himself, he made every indication that he was not going to surrender, either he was going to harm himself or force officers to take such action,” Porch said.
Around 11:30 a.m., Black indicated that he was going to surrender and left the house.
“(Black) bolted from the rear of the residence where a foot chase ensued,” Porch said. “He was tackled by patrol officers, at which time he had to be tased to be placed into custody.”
Black was then treated at the scene and transported to the Richland County Jail.
Porch said resisting arrest will likely be added to Sunday’s charges.
Black is also a person of interest in two investigations from Wednesday night — a house fire on Wood Street in Mansfield and the firing of a gun into a house on Truxell Drive in Madison Township.
According to Porch, Black has been incarcerated twice. Police department records list him as a transient.
Black was released from Ross Correctional Institution this summer after serving time for five felony counts, including kidnapping, aggravated burglary, assault and having weapons while under disability in 2012.
In 2008, Black was charged with five felony counts. He pled guilty to two — one count of abduction and one count of felonious assault.
