Father arrested in Starke County AMBER alert, 2-year-old son found safe
Dwayne Clemons NORTH JUDSON, Ind. -- The Starke County Sheriff's Department reports the suspect in the Friday morning statewide AMBER alert for a North Judson boy is in custody after a morning standoff with the FBI and several other local police departments.
Officials say on Thursday, a woman was dropped off at the Northwest Starke Emergency Room suffering from head trauma.
According to the release, an investigation determined that the victim had been confided and assaulted by her husband, Dwayne Clemons.
Clemons took the victim to the hospital before with their 2-year-old son, who was also in the vehicle.
Officials said the victim told investigators that Clemons was armed with a .45 caliber pistol and threatened her with it. The report also said Clemons made threats to harm both the victim and himself.
The sheriff's office obtained a search warrant for Clemons' residence in North Judson but couldn't locate Clemons or the child.
Authorities say at around 7:35 a.m., while deputies were enroute to conduct a welfare check at a home in the 5200 block of South A Street in North Judson, dispatch was informed by an individual at the home that the missing boy was there.
Deputies arrived and positively identified the child before turning him over to the Indiana Department of Child Services.
While on scene, deputies learned Clemons was inside a home in the 2600 block of Donna Street.
The Starke County Sheriff’s Office Strategic Response Team, alongside the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, FBI, FBI GRIT Task Force, Marshall County Sheriff’s Department, and the North Judson Police Department, then responded to the address and established a perimeter.
The report states a negotiator from the sheriff’s office attempted to contact Clemons by phone and loudspeaker multiple times without success.
Authorities say chemical agents were then deployed into the residence by the U.S. Marshals Service after announcements were made on the loudspeaker for Clemons to exit.
Clemons subsequently exit the back door of the residence before being taken into custody without incident.
Clemons was taken in on a nationwide parole warrant with other possible charges pending.
