Des Plaines standoff ends peacefully

It took police nearly eight hours to talk a Des Plaines man into surrendering during a standoff at his home following a domestic dispute Tuesday afternoon.

Police responded to the scene at approximately 8 a.m. Tuesday after a domestic battery complaint and found 22-year-old Raul Mendez locked inside his home on the 1700 block of Whitcomb Avenue in Des Plaines. Mendez was armed with a few knives and a samurai sword, Commander Paul Burger said.

Des Plaines police, along with the Rosemont Police Department and a SWAT team surrounded the house and closed off a section of the block, Burger said. The woman involved in the dispute left the house safely, but Mendez would not cooperate with police until approximately 4 p.m, police said.

"He just didn't want to turn himself over," Burger said.

Negotiators on the scene were able to communicate with Mendez over a telephone during the standoff, Burger said.

The woman was not injured in the incident, but Mendez pulled out a knife and made a few self-inflicted wounds, Burger said.

Police got close enough to the home to speak directly with Burger just before 4 p.m. and were able to convince him to surrender peacefully, Burger said.

Mendez was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge to be treated for his wounds, but police said they expect to charge him with domestic battery.

Police said Mendez could also be charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of justice, but had not made that decision as of Tuesday evening.