Utica City Police: Overnight Standoff in Utica Ends After 13 Hours

Utica Police, with assistance from the Oneida County Sheriff's Office, used everything at their disposal to make sure a 13-hour standoff on the 1000 block of West Street in the city ended without injury.

Utica Police say at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16th, units were dispatched to 1013 West Street regarding a menacing with a long gun complaint.  Upon arrival, officers spoke to the victim, who is contracted through the apartment complex, who said he went to an apartment to request the tenant turn his music down after a complaint, when the tenant exited the apartment and began shouting racial slurs at the victim and then returned inside his apartment.

Police say, within moments the same male exited the apartment holding what appeared to be long gun across his chest and turned toward the victim.  At that point the victim told police he became afraid for his life and left the immediate area and called 911.

Upon their arrival, Utica patrol units took positions around the apartment and attempted to make contact with the suspect.  The suspect refused to speak or acknowledge the presence of the officers, but did walk in front of an exterior window visibly still holding the weapon.

Based on the totality of factors, according to police, assistance was requested from METRO SWAT, and the team arrived shortly thereafter.  Additional negotiations were attempted, but again the suspect refused to speak with the officers throughout the overnight.  After several hours the determination was made to utilize CS gas and other less lethal options in an effort to coax the individual out.  Each of these options were not immediately successful and police say they continued verbal negotiations.

According to a Utica Police release, "Furthermore, with the assistance of the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office drone operators, we were able to maintain near constant surveillance of the individual’s movements within the apartment to ensure maximal officer and civilian safety precautions were being taken during the entirety of the event."

Police say the incident came to a conclusion at around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 17th, the suspect exited his apartment and was taken into custody without issue. Police say they took 21-year-old Michael Fratangelo of Utica into custody.

A search warrant was obtained in the early morning hours and upon his arrest that was executed locating two dark in color BB guns inside the apartment.  

Fratangelo was transported to Wynn Hospital for evaluation as required after less lethal utilizations, and upon his release he will be charged with:

Menacing in the second degree

Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the third degree (previous conviction)

[AUTHOR'S NOTE:   This post is for informational purposes and is based largely on information received from the Utica Police Department. Regardless of any statements or photographs regarding potential evidence presented or accusations alleged, the reader is reminded that all suspects and/or arrested persons are innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. At the time of this posting no additional information is available.]