Scene: Police surround a man following the five-hour stand-off in Black Hill. PICTURE: LACHLAN BENCE
A BLACK HILL man will front court on multiple charges later this month after a five-hour stand-off with police on Saturday.
The 25-year-old faces charges including handling stolen goods, being a prohibited person possessing a firearm and cultivating cannabis.
The man was arrested about 12.50pm Saturday after he had locked himself in his Napier Street unit for five hours, police said.
More than 30 police officers, including eight members from Melbourne’s Critical Incident Response Team, attended the scene in an attempt to coax the man out.
Victoria Police Senior Sergeant John Gibson said the man voluntarily came out and handed himself to police.
“He was fully compliant with police instructions once he came out,” Senior Sergeant Gibson said.
He said police were called to the unit around 8am Saturday following reports from neighbours that four to five males were involved in an altercation outside a Napier Street unit in which one male had head injuries and was armed with a “long-arm firearm with a scope”.
“When police arrived the male had reportedly gone inside the unit,” Senior Sergeant Gibson said.
“We spent considerable time trying to establish contact with this male, we took some avenues of inquiry and we were finally able to make contact with him.”
CIRT officers spent more than four hours circling the property, while police members used a loud speaker to talk to the man.
He said after clearing the property police located weapons including two long-arm firearms, a tomahawk “and a number of other edged weapons”.
Residents surrounding the scene were evacuated from their homes for safety reasons.
“Due to the fact that firearms were involved we did have to move some residents away from their homes,” Senior Sergeant Gibson said.
At one stage tactical units left Napier Street and descended on a residence in Hickman Street where they believed the man may have been located.
“We did believe the other address was associated with this man, but as you can see he was arrested at this location,” Senior Sergeant Gibson said.
The man has been bailed to appear at Ballarat Magistrates Court on March 26.
patrick.byrne@fairfaxmedia.com.au