Spring Hill standoff ends; armed suspect arrested

SPRING HILL — After more than five hours of negotiations, the suspect who had barricaded himself in his home in the Berkeley Manor subdivision walked out and was arrested Wednesday night. No one was injured in the confrontation.

Mark Anthony Rattenni, 41, was taken into custody by the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team at around 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Members of the sheriff’s office Crisis Response Team were on scene and worked on negotiating with Rattenni for more than five hours while he was barricaded in the home, the sheriff’s office said.

The standoff began when deputies attempting to serve a felony warrant were met by Rattenni at his home, 8108 Tedburn Park. He confronted the deputies with a handgun, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies quickly called for back-up and retreated, and Rattenni went inside his house, sheriff’s office said. The sheriff’s Crisis Response Team and SWAT team responded to the residence around 2:25 p.m., records said.

“Residents in the area were told to immediately evacuate or take shelter in place,” said Denise Moloney, a sheriff’s office spokeswoman.

Rattenni’s father and mother were in the home with Rattenni, the sheriff’s office said. The father left the home after deputies spoke to him. The mother stayed in the home several hours, but she later left the residence, the sheriff’s office said.

Lazarus Delarosa was in the neighborhood working with his boss, a resident on Berkeley Manor.

“I pulled in and five minutes later, three or four cop cars zoomed by,” Delarosa said. “Five minutes later, the emergency response went by, them more sheriff’s (deputies), then the SWAT team, and I’m like, ‘Oh, OK.’

“One cop had a shotgun on his hip.”

Neighbor Jim Sausser said that although the presence of a SWAT team on the street is uncommon, he felt safe inside his house.

“I think they’re doing a good job,” he said of the sheriff’s office. “They’re keeping people out of the way and got him surrounded pretty good. I’m sure its just a matter of time. There ain’t no way out.”

–