PC man pleads guilty for May police standoff

PORT CLINTON — A Port Clinton man recently pleaded guilty to two felony charges stemming from an 11-hour standoff with police in May 2024. At a court hearing on April 14, Kevin J. Witucki, 40, 200 block Fulton St., pleaded guilty to two counts of intimidation, each a third-degree felony. In exchange for his plea, two additional counts of intimidation and one count of obstructing official business, a fifth-degree felony, along with one count of inducing panic, a fifth-degree felony, and a first-degree misdemeanor count of aggravated menacing were dismissed. Witucki is scheduled to be sentenced at 11:30 a.m. on June 9. Background On May 30, Port Clinton police officers responded to a call at approximately 2:30 p.m. about a report of an individual acting erratically and possibly damaging vehicles in the 200 block of Fulton Street in Port Clinton, according to a joint press release from the Port Clinton Police Department and the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office. When law enforcement officials arrived at the scene, they encountered a man later identified as Witucki, who fled into his home on the same block of Fulton Street. "Witucki made multiple threats that he would kill anyone, including law enforcement, that approached his home," the press release states. "He also barricaded himself in his home." Officers then began establishing a perimeter around his residence, cleared the area of bystanders and requested assistance from the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office SWAT team, which attempted to make contact with Witucki in the hopes of persuading him to exit the home. Once the SWAT team made contact, Witucki continued to state that he would kill any law enforcement who approached his house. "It was reported to law enforcement that Witucki had been and was actively using drugs and or alcohol and was highly intoxicated," the press release states. The SWAT team was assisted by the Erie County Sheriff's Office SWAT team as well as officers from the Port Clinton police department in an attempt to get Witucki out of his home. Witucki continuously refused and still threatened to kill law enforcement, the release states. At 1:18 a.m. on Friday, law enforcement set off tear gas inside Witucki's residence, where he was still barricaded. About 30 minutes later, law enforcement located Witucki inside a bathroom, where he appeared to be unconscious. He was removed from the home to receive medical care from Port Clinton Fire and EMS, the release states.