NEW PALESTINE — Prosecutors spent Tuesday deciding what charges a New Palestine man would face after a woman called 911 saying he forced her to have sex with him while armed with a knife, according to dispatch records.
The Hancock County SWAT team surrounded a home on the south side of the county late Monday to arrest 41-year-old Dustin Hunt of New Palestine, whose preliminary charges include criminal confinement and sexual battery, records show.
A woman told police she’d gotten in an argument with Hunt at his home, which is located near the intersection of county roads 600W and 600S in New Palestine.
The woman told police she tried to leave Hunt’s home during the argument, but he kept her there, officials said.
At one point during the exchange, Hunt pulled out a kitchen knife and threatened to harm himself. He then forced himself on her, the woman told investigators, according to sheriff’s deputies.
The woman got away around 5:30 p.m. Monday and called 911 to report the incident, officials said.
Local law enforcement went to Hunt’s home, hoping to speak to the man about the allegations and investigate the incident further.
Members of the county’s SWAT team were called when the man refused to come outside to talk with police, said Sheriff’s Maj. Brad Burkhart. Officers were worried Hunt was still armed and that he’d try to hurt himself or others, he said.
SWAT team members and the county’s K-9 team surrounded the home around 7 p.m. and stayed on scene until after 10 p.m. when Hunt surrendered, record shows.
Officers used a PA throughout the night to call into Hunt’s home, asking him to come outside, Burkhart said. They also called the man’s cellphone several times, but there was no answer, he said.
An Indiana State Police Department drone flew over the property to ensure the area surrounding Hunt’s home was safe, records show.
No one was injured in the incident, officials said.
Hunt came out of the house around 9 p.m. Monday after SWAT officers shot two rounds of tear gas into the home, records show.
He was taken into custody and transported to Community North Hospital in Indianapolis for a precautionary psychiatric evaluation, Burkhart said.
Hunt was released from the hospital and booked into the Hancock County Jail around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The incident remains under investigation by detectives from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, who were working with prosecutors Tuesday to finalize what criminal charges Hunt will face.
At press time, he was being held in jail without bond, records show.
Hunt was expected to make his first court appearance today.