SWAT Responds To Barricade At Home In Plymouth Twp

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, PA — A barricade situation was ongoing for more than five hours in Montgomery County on Wednesday as authorities attempted to arrest suspects wanted for armed robberies at gas stations in multiple states. One man, who was also wanted for murder in Philadelphia, refused to leave.

The incident took place at around 9 a.m. at a home on the 1900 block of Johnson Road, near Germantown Pike, in Plymouth Township.

When members from the Montgomery County SWAT-Central team arrived on the scene, four individuals exited the home and surrendered, the Plymouth Township Police Department said. Those individuals included a man and three women, and one of the women was carrying a small child.

One of the men was Willie Singletary, 20, who was arrested and charged. But his older brother, Willie Floyd Singletary III, 29, did not come out, police said.

SWAT negotiators attempted to get Singletary surrender peacefully, even as he yelled out threats to law enforcement and also threatened to light the house on fire, according to police.

6ABC reports that Singletary's younger brother was on the phone with him during the standoff trying to encourage him to surrender. Singletary was reportedly afraid of being shot by police.

Throughout the standoff, residents on Johnson Road were evacuated or told to shelter in place in safe parts of their homes, authorities said.

At one point, Singletary came out with his hands up, but then went back inside.

At no point was the scene a hostage situation.

Finally, at around 2:45 p.m., he finally came out and surrendered and was peacefully taken into custody, police said.

The investigation into the armed robberies and thefts covered Montgomery and Chester counties, as well as parts of New York state, police said. It is still ongoing.

The younger Singletary was charged in connection to a Christmas Day armed robbery at the In and Out Food Mart on Dekalb Street in Bridgeport, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said. About $3,000, several lottery tickets, and an iPhone were stolen, officials said.

No suspects or members of law enforcement were injured during the incident.

Bail was set for the younger Singletary at $300,000, which he failed to post, and he was booked at Montgomery County Correctional Facility. A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 27.

His older brother also failed to post $500,000 and was booked at the facility. In addition to the Philadelphia homicide charge and armed robbery, he faces charged of aggravated assault, simple assault, and endangering other persons. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 19.