BY DARRELL HALEN

A five-and-a-half hour standoff ended peacefully after a Pelham man who had refused to come out of his house surrendered to police.

George Labonte Sr., 68, of 4 Jones Road, was charged with domestic simple assault and resisting arrest after he finally surrendered to members of a police SWAT team around 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 1.

Pelham police officers were called to the house around 11 a.m. and were met by a woman living there who claimed she was assaulted by LaBonte during an argument.

LaBonte refused the officers’ request to come out of the house to speak with them about the incident and retreated further into his house, according to police.

LaBonte was no stranger to police. He had been arrested the day before on a charge of reckless conduct with a firearm. And in February 2004, police had engaged in a standoff with him that ended peacefully. It had begun with a well-being check that escalated to the standoff, according to Pelham Police Chief Joseph Roark.

Due to those past experiences with LaBonte, and believing he may have firearms, Pelham officers and New Hampshire State Police Troopers set up a perimeter around his residence to contain the area.

After Pelham officers and LaBonte’s relatives and friends were unsuccessful in getting him to come out of his house, the Southern New Hampshire Regional Special Operations Unit, a police SWAT team, was called in.

SOU tactical officers took charge of the perimeter while negotiators began to talk with LaBonte over his home phone and cellular phone. Salem Police Lt. Fred Rheault served as lead negotiator.

After several hours of negotiations, LaBonte surrendered. Police complied with his request that he not be handcuffed when he surrendered, Roark said.

The woman, whom Roark did not identify, was at the police station during the standoff.

“She was interviewed,” said Roark, adding that investigators were looking for helpful background information. “We obviously gathered intelligence about the interior of the house, any issues going on with Mr. LaBonte.”

Roark said the previous standoff and arrest and the information from the victim led to the level of force that police brought to the house.

The atmosphere, he said, was intense.

“It was daunting to think we might have to enter that house,” Roark said. “You are clearly putting officers in harm’s way.”

Following LaBonte’s arrest, police seized a handgun, two rifles and a pair of shotguns from his home.
LaBonte was arraigned in Salem District Court the next day.