The man who drew dozens of police to the Waterville police station Dec. 7 when he threatened to commit suicide will not be charged if he provides proof to Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney that he is getting counseling.

Gary Cross, 58, of Troy, spoke with Maloney on Friday and she told him of her decision.

Gary Cross, seen here in a photo from his Facebook page, said he is trying to get his life back on track after his threats of suicide led to an eight-hour standoff in Waterville Dec. 7.

Contacted by phone early Tuesday evening, Maloney confirmed that Cross will not be charged with creating a police standoff if she receives proof, in writing, by the end of this week, that he is receiving counseling.

Cross parked in the Waterville Police Department parking lot at about 6:15 p.m. Dec. 7, eventually surrendering at about 2:45 a.m. Dec. 8. The standoff forced the city to shut down streets, evacuate or lock down buildings, cut off access to police cruisers, and also spurred a huge law enforcement response from half a dozen agencies.

After the standoff, Waterville police Chief Joseph Massey said the standoff was costly and the city eventually charged Cross with the civil violation creating a standoff. At that time, he was asked to pay about $12,000 restitution for the police and emergency workers’ hours.

Cross told the Morning Sentinel earlier this month that he was despondent and overwhelmed by financial problems when he drove to the police parking lot with a gun.

“When I spoke with him, he told me he would be going to counseling today and he would be able to give me proof of that by the end of this week,” Maloney said Tuesday, adding that she told Cross that she needed the letter by Feb. 1.

She said that in speaking with law enforcement about the case, they discussed the fact that they wanted to make sure to get the message out that, if someone needs help, law enforcement is first and foremost there to help the person.

“We wanted to make sure people are aware that when they’re speaking with a law enforcement negotiator who is telling a person not to go ahead with the threat to commit suicide, that that person’s being genuine and looking out for their interest and they’re not being charged,” Maloney said.

Cross said he had a counseling session Tuesday. He said that on Friday, Maloney called him and they had a long talk. Maloney took the time to listen and spent a lot of time discussing the case with him, he said. He said he attended a counseling at 1 p.m. Tuesday and told the people there about Maloney’s request for confirmation.

“They said they were very happy to put together the paper document and thought they could do it either today or tomorrow,” Cross said.

He said he is doing well.

“I certainly am doing much better,” he said. “The family’s been incredible, my wife is a rock, the kids are incredible. I’m working hard to see what I can do to get good, strong employment for the future and move on.”

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