By Jim Hagerty
Contributor

ROCKFORD — A Rockford man is behind bars after a more than two-hour standoff with police early Thursday.

Rockford Police Lt. Kurt Whisenand said shortly before 2 a.m., patrol officers responded to a residence in the 1400 block of West Jefferson Street in reference to a subject armed with a gun. A woman said a male relative with a was attempting to break into her apartment.

Police later located 52-year-old Allen Clay in a second-floor hallway. Clay made repeated threats to shoot officers and another man he was holding hostage if he was approached by police.

Officers secured the perimeter of the building and evacuated surrounding residences. Rockford Police S.W.A.T. and Hostage Negotiation teams were also activated. Clay surrendered without incident at 4:25 a.m. A handgun was recovered. No injuries were reported.

Police say during a follow-up investigation, they learned that Clay was allegedly responsible for a shots-fired incident shortly after midnight at another relative’s residence in the 1800 block of Elm Street.

Clay is charged with unlawful restraint, two counts of aggravated assault with a handgun, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, reckless discharge of a firearm and no FOID. He’s lodged in the Winnebago County Jail without bond. R.