Rindge man arrested after hours-long standoff

Rindge police arrested a Birch Road man Wednesday afternoon after a more than four-hour standoff during which the man refused police orders to leave his house.

Joshua Whitcomb, 39, finally exited after four and a half hours and was arrested on a warrant, Police Chief Dan Anair said Wednesday.

There were no injuries and no shots fired, Anair said.

Police had been on the scene since 11:30 a.m. when they had arrived to execute the arrest warrant, which charged Whitcomb with two felonies – criminal threatening with a weapon and a domestic violence-related assault.

Anair said the weapon alleged in the assault charge is a firearm.

“Because the initial incident involved a weapon, based on that, we took additional precautions,” Anair said.

Whitcomb did not respond to police when they initially asked him to exit 14 Birch Road, Anair said. However, police were in contact with his cell phone provider, who confirmed his phone was in the residence.

After half an hour of attempting to get Whitcomb to cooperate, police called for assistance from the Monadnock Regional Special Response Team.

Birch Road was barricaded off around noon on Wednesday. Police officers from Rindge, Jaffrey and New Ipswich were on the scene, as well as state police, some of whom appeared heavily armored with helmets and bulletproof vests.

Police kept a wide perimeter cordoned off around the home; police could be heard officers speaking over a loudspeaker, saying at intervals, “Josh, we want to talk to you to make sure you’re OK. Pick up the phone or come to a window.”

During this, Birch Road residents were told to stay in their homes for their own safety, and the road was closed from Cathedral Road to the intersection of Birch Drive with Foliage Way and Emerson Drive.

At around 3:30 p.m., state police arrived with a BearCat, an armored truck, and used its loudspeaker system to again call for Whitcomb to exit, saying police had a warrant for his arrest and a warrant to search his property. Shortly after, Whitcomb surrendered to police.

In a press release Wednesday night, police said, Whitcomb refused bail and was taken to the Cheshire County House of Corrections in Keene to await his arraignment in court.

Members from the Monadnock Regional SRT and members of the Rindge police remained to secure the scene until a search warrant for the residence was obtained. Once the search warrant for the residence was obtained the scene was turned over to the Rindge police and NH Fish and Game. All units cleared the scene and reopened the roads at about 5:53 p.m.

In the press release, police thanked the Rindge fire and highway departments, Jaffrey-Rindge Ambulance, Jaffrey, New Ipswich, Dublin and Mount Vernon police, the Cheshire County Sherriff’s Office, NH Fish and Game and NH State Police for their involvement in this situation to ensure that no injuries were sustained in the event.

Editor Ben Conant contributed to this report.