Photos by Tegan Johnston/The Herald
A 33-year-old suspect from Evansville was taken into custody late Thursday night following a near six-hour standoff at a home at Fourth and Clay streets in Jasper. The man was reported unresponsive in his cell early this morning and was later pronounced dead.

From Local Sources

JASPER — A man taken into custody after a six-hour standoff Thursday in Jasper died while in custody today.

Armando Gutierrez, 33, Evansville, was reported unresponsive in his cell at the Dubois County Security Center at 5:53 a.m. by a jail officer doing routine rounds, according to the Dubois County Sheriff’s Department. The jail officer called for assistance and a second jail officer called 911.

Police said a deputy arrived and started CPR until Memorial Hospital Emergency Medical Services and Jasper Volunteer Fire Department first responders arrived.

He was pronounced dead at Memorial Hospital at 8:08 a.m., according to authorities.

Gutierrez had been named in a felony warrant through Vanderburgh County on multiple charges that included domestic battery with a deadly weapon, according to Indiana State Police.

Around 4:45 p.m. Thursday, a U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force arrived at 401 Clay Street in Jasper attempting to serve the warrant.

Police said seven people, including Gutierrez, were at the residence when they arrived. Officers who detained six people in the house said Gutierrez barricaded himself in the basement crawlspace.

Officers also learned Gutierrez was allegedly armed with a handgun.

At that point, the marshals called the Indiana State Police for backup and coordinated with the Jasper Police Department and the Dubois County Sheriff’s Department to set up a perimeter around the home.

Police placed a SWAT team and hostage negotiators at the home to talk to Gutierrez to try to find a peaceful resolution.

While speaking with Gutierrez, police said he fired a round from his firearm. Officers did not believe he was firing at police, according to a state police news release.

Sgt. Philip Hensley, a trooper with the Jasper Post, said officers ultimately fired less-lethal rounds, similar to rubber bullets, to take Gutierrez into custody.

“Knowing that he had a firearm in there, knowing that he had already discharged a round and fired the gun, we still wanted to make sure that we found some sort of peaceful resolution,” said Hensley. “We had the opportunity to take him into custody and fire the less-lethal rounds to do so, so we did.”

Gutierrez was able to walk from the scene. He was transported to Memorial Hospital for evaluation and was then brought to the Dubois County Security Center around 2 a.m.

Investigators remained at the scene to collect additional evidence.

The investigation into Gutierrez’s death has the sheriff’s department and the coroner’s office awaiting an autopsy and toxicology results.

The U.S. Marshal's Fugitive Task Force worked with the Indiana State Police, Jasper Police Department and the Dubois County Sheriff's Department to resolve the situtation.