Wanted man captured after standoff at home in rural Merrick County

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Multiple agencies surrounded a home in Merrick County on Saturday morning to arrest a wanted man.

The Merrick County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were sent to a rural home about 3 miles northeast of Grand Island.

Authorities were made aware of a fugitive inside the home who was wanted on felony charges out of Merrick County.

Merrick County deputies were assisted by St. Paul Police, the Sherman and Howard County Sheriff’s Office, and the Central Nebraska Special Response Team.

Police made their way into the home and found that the suspect was barricaded in the attic.

The suspect, 34-year-old Wyatt Barrett, had screwed the attic’s door shut to avoid capture.

Despite his effort, police entered the attic and took Barrett into custody without incident.

He was arrested on outstanding warrants of strangulation, use of a weapon to commit a felony and domestic assault.

A woman, 32-year-old Ashley Roberts of Hall County, was also arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting a fugitive.