Standoff in Alberton ends peacefully

An Alberton man was arrested on Friday without incident after a night-long standoff involving a Missoula SWAT team. Leonard Upton, 33, shot out his neighbor’s window with a bb gun and brandished a .38 revolver, according to Mineral County Sheriff, Tom Bauer.

Law enforcement was called to the man’s home located at the 100 block on Railroad Avenue, around 11:30 p.m. Upton allegedly got into an argument with his wife, who went to her sister’s house next door. It was then, his sister-in-law reported, that he shot out her window with the bb gun. Upton also had a revolver that he reportedly pointed at people, according to Bauer.

Upton barricaded himself inside his trailer and refused to come out. Sheriff’s deputies set up a perimeter around the house and turned off the power. They tried to negotiate with the man and Bauer said Upton peered out of the door a few times, but refused to surrender. The last time he appeared was around 3:30 a.m.

Around 5 a.m. they called out the Missoula SWAT team which included Detective Sgt. T. J. McDermott and Undersheriff Jason Johnson. They arrived around 8 a.m. and evacuated nearby residences. Upton finally surrendered at 9:30 a.m. without incident. He was charged with felony endangerment and assault. The officers received a search warrant for Upton’s home and retrieved a bb gun and handgun. Upton used to live in St. Regis and had some previous incidents with law officials.