A 26-year-old Newton Man involved in an eight hour standoff with Newton Police last month has been sentenced on serious and simple misdemeanor charges of 2nd degree harassment and interference with official acts. Jacob Corey Showalter had been facing a class D felony charge of interference with official acts while displaying a dangerous weapon, and an aggravated misdemeanor charge of 1st degree harassment. District Court Judge David Faith accepted negotiated guilty pleas to the reduced charges this week, and sentenced Showalter to a Behavioral Healthcare residential facility until maximum benefits are received. Showalter was also given a suspended 90 day jail term, a year of probation, and fines totaling $680.

On March 26th of this year, deputies with the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office attempted to serve a court committal order for Showalter. But court papers say he armed himself with a knife, threatened others in the home, and barricaded himself in an upstairs bedroom where firearms were accessible. Crisis negotiators and mental health professionals attempted to communicate with the Newton man for hours, but officers said he refused to cooperate. Eventually tactical teams deployed non-lethal gas into the house, prompting Showalter to surrender without further incident.