The story behind Newtown Township, PA standoff and arrest

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The standoff that sent a neighborhood into shelter-in-place mode Sunday morning did not happen after all.

The affidavit of probable cause obtained by PALivingNews.com shows that John William Spiropoulos, 34, of Newtown Township, was taken into custody while walking around the Headley Trace development. He was not barricaded inside his home on Independence Way as police thought.

According to the affidavit, Newtown Township police were called by a woman to a home on Independence Way in the Headley Trace development around 7 a.m. The woman, who was not present at the residence, said her daughter had been assaulted by Spiropoulos, who is her daughter's boyfriend.

The younger woman escaped and had a scratch below her left eye and a bruise on her lower leg when she met police at the entrance to the development. She told police that Spiropoulos had grabbed her by the hair, struck her in the face multiple times and pointed a gun at the back of her head.

When Spiropoulos went to his office where he keeps his "numerous weapons," the woman told police she was able to escape the unit.

The South-Central Emergency Response Team was activated for a possible barricaded person and a shelter-in-place was implemented around 8 a.m. The residents of several adjacent homes were also evacuated.

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Tensions running high after Saturday shooting

After trying to make contact for two hours with Spiropoulos, who was believed to be inside the unit, he was arrested when he walked outside.

Spiropoulos was charged with terroristic threats with intent to terrorize another, simple assault and harassment. He was freed on $50,000 bail Monday after spending the night at the Bucks County Jail.

Tensions were running high as the incident happened a day after a man went on a shooting rampage in nearby Falls Township. Andre Gordon Jr. went to a home on Viewpoint Drive with a rifle and shot his stepmother, Karen Gordon, 52, and sister Kera Gordon, 13. He then went to the home of Taylor Daniel, 25, and shot her dead as their two young daughters watched.

Gordon then carjacked a vehicle and drove to Trenton where he was arrested after a standoff with police.

NewtownPANow.com was first to report on the affidavit.

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