A California man who got into a three-hour, armed confrontation with police at a South Portland shopping center surrendered peacefully Monday night and was expected to spend the night in a homeless shelter.

Lt. Frank Clark said the standoff began around 5:38 p.m., when police received a complaint from employees at the Target store off Running Hill Road about the owner of a dilapidated green bus.

Additional Images

A man surrenders to police Monday night after a three-hour standoff outside the South Portland Target store. The man was on the bus until negotiators were able to convince him to come out. Gabe Souza/Staff Photographer

Clark said Target workers asked 29-year-old Corbin Allen Pratt of Oakland, California, who had parked the school bus next to the store, to leave the property. When he refused, employees called police.

South Portland police described the bus as not being roadworthy. It was not registered, had no headlights, its tires were in poor shape and the bus “was in a general state of disrepair.” Pratt had posted a cardboard sign in a bus window that read, “STUCK HELP.” Police said Pratt lived in the bus.

“Apparently, this guy had parked his school bus at several other places, including Wal-Mart,” Clark said. “This time, when they asked him to leave, he took exception to it.”

After police arrived, they determined that the bus was unoccupied. They were then approached by another man, who said he was a passenger on the bus and that he and Pratt were planning to drive the bus to Florida.

But Target employees told police that they wanted the bus to be towed if it could not be driven. Pratt overheard that part of the conversation and ran onto the bus.

Police said that Pratt covered himself with a mattress at the rear of the bus, stating that the bus could not be towed if he were on board.

When police learned that Pratt had several knives on the bus, police officers surrounded the bus and drew their weapons. He then refused to come out.

Pratt challenged officers several times by exiting the bus and placing his hands in his pockets and pretending to draw a gun at police.

“Due to the tenseness of the situation, and the fact that it was unknown whether or not he actually had a weapon, a larger perimeter was established and negotiators were called to the scene. Pratt continued to state things such as the bus was his home and he would not let us take his home,” South Portland police said in a statement released late Monday night.

Finally, at 8:40 p.m., about three hours after the standoff began, Pratt walked off the bus and surrendered without incident.

Sgt. Christopher Todd said Pratt was summonsed for criminal trespassing. The District Attorney’s Office will have to decide whether he will be charged with creating a police standoff.

Todd said the bus was towed by a private company. Pratt was taken to the Oxford Street shelter in Portland, where he was expected to spend the night.

The shopping plaza has several other businesses, including Bed Bath and Beyond, Starbucks, Babies “R” Us, an Applebee’s restaurant, and the Men’s Wearhouse.

A manager at Target said the store remained open for business during the standoff.

Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com

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