Serious assault probe ends in rooftop standoff with officers, London man charged: police

A 50-year-old London, Ont., man is facing multiple charges in connection with a police investigation Tuesday that began with a report of a woman being assaulted with a baseball bat, and ended with a suspect falling off the roof of an east London home following a standoff with officers.

It all began around 6 p.m. July 27 at an unspecified address in the downtown core, when police allege a male suspect forcibly entered a residence, threatened a female occupant who was known to him, and assaulted her with a closed fist as well as a baseball bat.

The victim sustained minor physical injuries, and the man fled in a vehicle, at which point police were contacted, according to investigators.

Officers later located the suspect at a home along Beattie Avenue in east London, a home which he then climbed on top of while possessing a knife, police said.

Police say they negotiated with the man to come down for several hours. It was only after the suspect fell from the roof around 11:15 p.m., suffering minor injuries, that he was taken into custody. He was later taken to the hospital.

The identity of the accused is not being released to avoid potentially identifying the victim, police said.

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The 50-year-old man faces several charges including break enter and commit assault, assault, assault by suffocation, assault with a weapon, criminal harassment by watching and besetting, harassing telecommunication, and uttering threats of death or bodily harm.

The accused also faces two counts of failure to comply with a release order and six counts of failure to comply with an undertaking, police said.

He remains in custody and was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.