A man from Franklin County, Andre Jordan II, is facing federal charges for shooting at law enforcement officers in a Springfield hotel, after they arrived to serve an arrest warrant related to murder charges against him. This incident unfolded last Thursday at the Quality Inn, where the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST), a coalition of U.S. Marshals, FBI agents, and task force officers, located Jordan, according to a press release from the United States Attorney's office for the Southern District of Ohio.
Law enforcement officers, having tracked Jordan to the hotel room, announced their presence; Jordan, who is 34 and hails from Reynoldsburg, peered out the room window and, ignoring further announcements, discharged a firearm through the window toward the officers near the pool and subsequently shot through the room's front door where officers were positioned, causing officers to seek cover in stairwells at the corridor's end as they faced gunfire, after which several hotel room occupants, including children, exited, followed by more gunshots from Jordan.
The response by the Springfield Police Division SWAT Team led to hostage negotiators initiating communication with the barricaded Jordan. The standoff, which extended for hours, concluded with Jordan surrendering to the authorities and his subsequent arrest. As detailed by an affidavit, Jordan is now detained at the Clark County jail and will face a federal court hearing in U.S. District Court in Dayton.
Charges leveled against Jordan include assault of a federal officer with a deadly weapon, attempted murder of a federal agent, discharging of a firearm during a crime of violence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, these allegations being part of a criminal complaint which must not be interpreted as proof of guilt as defendants are entitled to a presumption of innocence unless and until proven guilty, affirmed the U.S. Attorney's office; United States Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II, FBI Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola, U.S. Marshal Michael D. Black, Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott, and Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant are all involved in announcing the charges with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth McCormick and Rob Painter representing the United States in the proceedings.
