WATERVILLE — The Troy man who sparked an eight-hour standoff with authorities on Dec. 7 has been cited by Waterville police on the civil violation of creating a police standoff.

The summons issued to Gary Cross would carry a $250 fine and no jail time, Police Chief Joseph Massey said Thursday. But the court can also consider restitution costs, which Massey said total about $12,000 for all the agencies involved.

Cross, 58, of Troy, was served the summons last week by the Waldo County Sheriff’s Department, Massey said. Cross is due in Waterville District Court on Feb. 2.

The last time Waterville police charged someone with the same violation was in 2009, when Todd McLaughlin drew a massive police response to his North Street apartment in a seven-hour standoff. The charge was dismissed after McLaughlin successfully argued that he was not a threat.

Distraught over financial trouble, Cross told police negotiators he came to Waterville because he wanted to get away from his home so that his family would not have to pass by the area where he intended to commit suicide. He parked his pickup truck in the police parking lot, armed with a .357-caliber revolver.

Maine State Police said at the time that there would be no criminal charges against Cross, but Massey said the Waterville department would consider the civil violation.

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Massey said Thursday the intent of the civil charge is that it allows agencies to ask for restitution. He said the $12,000 figure is the actual cost to agencies in manpower and equipment. Massey said it is up to the court to consider restitution costs.

The command center at the American Legion hall parking lot the night of the standoff contained 30 or 40 response vehicles. “The resources were immense,” Massey said at the time.

Massey said the summons came more than two weeks after the standoff because it took that long to get a cost estimate.

Besides state police and the Waterville department, agencies involved included Oakland, Fairfield and Winslow police, as well as the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office and the Waterville and Fairfield fire departments.

Cross was taken into custody after the standoff, which shut down part of Waterville for more than eight hours.

The standoff began at 6:15 p.m., and it took more than five hours before Cross would respond to calls from negotiators. State police negotiators talked with him by cellphone for nearly two hours before he surrendered. State police later took him to MaineGeneral Medical Center, where he underwent a physical and mental health evaluation.


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