More information is known about the overnight standoff in Cherryvale.
Monday evening, Cherryvale Police attempted to make contact with Aaron Whittley of Cherryvale, concerning an alleged theft at a convenience store. During the theft investigation, several social media posts Whittley made throughout the day were found, threatening multiple people, and making homicidal and suicidal statements. Considering Cherryvale's prior history with Whittley, and the homicidal comments, assistance was requested from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department.
Before the sheriff’s office arrived, Cherryvale police attempted to make contact with Whittley at his home in the 400 block of East 4th. Whittley fired two shots in the air with a handgun then ran into his residence. The Montgomery County Emergency Response Team was activated and responded to the scene. After evaluating the situation, it was determined the MGSO SWAT team would need further assistance. The Coffeyville Police Department SWAT team was requested to respond to the scene while the Kansas Bureau of Investigations SWAT team was placed on standby. The school district was also made aware of the situation to plan accordingly.
When Whittley did not comply with repeated requests to exit the residence, SWAT teams used less lethal gas munitions, robots, and drones to assist in receiving a response and locating Whittley’s whereabouts inside the residence.
Just before 8:00am yesterday morning, KBI SWAT entered and located Whittley inside of a bedroom. Whitley was responsive but appeared to be lethargic. Whittley was transported to Labette Health ER in Independence, then was released and transported to the Montgomery County Department of Corrections.
During a search of the residence, Montgomery County Detectives located what appeared to be explosives inside of the room where Whittley was located. The Kansas Highway Patrol Bomb Squad was contacted and determined that the explosives were Improvised Explosive Device’s. KHP Bomb squad took custody of the IED’s and started the procedure to disarm them.
Whittley was booked on two counts of criminal threat, with additional charges expected.
