SKOWHEGAN — Police arrested five people, including three minors, following an hourslong standoff at a residence Wednesday night that drew heavily armed officers in tactical gear and prompted some residents to be evacuated.

The incident began around 3:30 p.m. when Officer Alex Burns of the Skowhegan Police Department was on Beech Street searching for Janathian Viles, 21, of Fairfield, Chief David Bucknam said in a statement issued Thursday. Viles had pending charges for Class D assault, Class D reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, Class C theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and Class E violation of conditions of release.

Burns saw Viles outside a Beech Street residence and then go back inside, Bucknam said. Police surrounded the home and attempts to contact those inside were unsuccessful. Based on an investigation with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, they believed Viles had a stolen rifle.

The Maine State Police tactical team, which was in the area for training, responded to the scene, Bucknam said, and a negotiation continued for several hours. An officer could be heard in the area instructing people apparently inside the residence to follow their instructions and that they didn’t want anyone to get hurt.

While the tactical team was on scene, more than a dozen police cars were parked on a lawn on Beech Street, and police in tactical gear were walking along sidewalks and through people’s yards. The Skowhegan Fire Department had blocked off the street to traffic, although traffic on other nearby streets was flowing as usual.

Bucknam said that around 8:30 p.m., those inside the home came outside on their own. 

Skowhegan police, led by Cpl. Tyler Lafreniere, arrested Viles on the charges for which he was being sought initially, as well as one additional Class E count of violation of conditions of release and one Class E count of causing a police standoff. 

Police also took Thor Getchell, 18, of Skowhegan, into custody on one Class E count of creating a police standoff, Bucknam said.

Three minors were also taken into custody and charged with the same misdemeanor-level offense, he said.

Viles was being held at the Somerset County Jail in Madison with no bail, jail records showed on Thursday. Getchell was issued a summons and released, Bucknam said. The three minors were released to their respective parents, Bucknam said.

Bucknam said he was aware of videos circulating on the social media platform Snapchat that appeared to show those inside the residence “laughing, smoking, and not taking the situation they had placed themselves in with any seriousness.” Recording of those videos were also circulating on local Facebook groups.

The chief also said he was grateful for the safe conclusion of the standoff.

“The safety of not only the residents whose evening had been disrupted but (of) the personnel inside the Beech Street residence was (my) highest priority,” Bucknam said.

While it wasn’t immediately clear what was happening at about 5 p.m., about an hour into the incident, a Beech Street resident said he and his wife were home when an officer knocked on the door and told them they had to leave their home immediately. He said officers went door to door, telling people to evacuate.

“It was like in the movies,” said Vern Homer, 80. “The cops were very organized, and there was no fussing around. Just like clockwork, and everybody did exactly what they were supposed to do.”

Homer said when the officer knocked on his door, he heard police in the background say they were getting ready to go into the residence, a trailer.

“Apparently they asked for a person to come out and he wouldn’t come out so the cops were going in,” he said.

A woman lives in the trailer but the vehicle she drives wasn’t parked there, so Homer said he didn’t think she was home.

Homer said it was like a mass exodus as neighbors got into their vehicles and drove away from Beech Street.

The street stretches from Madison Avenue to Russell Road, where the back gate to the fairgrounds is located.

On nearby streets, dozens of neighbors were out and about talking about what was going on as the sun began to set. 

“This is more than the town parade,” Logan Bennett, who lives on Hanover Street around the corner from where police were working, said of the crowd.

Bennett said he had not heard anything from police but saw several heavily armed officers come through his yard.

Many in the area were discussing the apparent social media posts from those inside the residence police surrounded.

Viles, one of the five arrested, has a previous record with Skowhegan police. In March 2023, he was charged with terrorizing after a social media post containing what police deemed a threat closed Skowhegan area schools for a day.

Viles, who at the time told the Morning Sentinel that he participated in a Skowhegan adult education program, said the post was not intended to cause any harm.

Last year, he and a teenager faced several charges stemming from a string of TikTok-inspired car break-ins in Skowhegan.