A Cape Coral man who allegedly battered a woman Thursday morning, then would not exit his home and surrender to police has been taken into custody.
Dustin Tyler Bunting, 22, of 432 Avalon Drive, was arrested and charged Friday with battery touch or strike and kidnap false imprisonment of adult.
At 6:30 a.m. Thursday, Cape police responded to a disturbance at his home. An investigation revealed that a woman was visiting Bunting the night before.
According to police, an argument ensued and a physical altercation occurred.
The woman, who was out of the home and with police, allegedly stated that she had tried to exit the home overnight but Bunting had prevented her from doing so. He had also taken a phone from her so she could not call the police.
It was determined that the woman was a victim of a misdemeanor battery and false imprisonment, officials reported. Police surrounded the home and and attempted to negotiate with Bunting, who refused the leave his home.
His grandmother, the homeowner, reportedly refused to let police enter.
After a couple hours, officers decided to pull back and clear the scene.
Lt. Tony Sizemore, spokesman for the Cape police, reported that Bunting’s refusal to exit and the homeowner’s refusal to let police enter played a part. Other factors included that there was only one victim and she was safe, and Bunting was alone in the home and he had made no threats to hurt himself.
“Bunting was determined not to be a threat to the community as a whole,” he wrote in a prepared statement.
There were also no reports of weapons being involved.
“When all of the factors were weighed, we felt that this was the best course of action both in terms of safety and fiscal responsibility,” Sizemore wrote. “We have to be cognizant of the allocation of our resources when evaluated against the circumstances surrounding particular crimes/incidents.”
On Friday morning, police received information that Bunting was home. Officers responded and made contact with his grandmother, who let them inside. He was taken into custody and transferred to the Lee County Jail.
Denied bond, Bunting will remain in jail until his July 5 court date.
A man who answered the phone Friday at the home declined to comment.
According to court documents, Bunting was arrested and charged by the Cape police with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill in October. The state did not file official charges because the material witness was unavailable.