Times staff
Thursday, September 9, 2010
SEMINOLE — A short standoff ended safely Thursday after authorities took into custody a man who had barricaded himself inside his home.
Michael W. Rogers, 34, was arrested on a charge of uttering a forged instrument and burglary to a business.
Pinellas deputies got an anonymous call about 12:30 p.m. that Rogers, whom they'd been looking for earlier, was at 10981 70th Ave. N, Apt. 1.
Preliminary reports said the man may have had an explosive device inside the home. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office bomb squad did not find anything.
Deputies evacuated several homes nearby, and Seminole Elementary was locked down.
It was unclear what prompted Rogers to barricade himself. Police took him into custody about 3:20 p.m. after he exited the house with a cell phone in his hand. The charges on which he was arrested are not related to Thursday's incident, officials said.