Hours-long standoff in Jackson County ends with SWAT deployment and man’s arrest

JACKSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A man faces several charges following a standoff involving multiple Middle Tennessee law enforcement agencies.

Jackson County dispatch received an emergency call Thursday from a woman who said she was being assaulted by her boyfriend. Though she was able to get away with her child and take shelter in a nearby camper, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department said she warned responding deputies that the suspect, Robert Kail of Washington state, was in possession of “a high-powered rifle, shotgun a handgun [sic]” and that he was “extremely irate.”

Kail reportedly refused to exit the residence, turning off all lights in the house. Eventually, officers were able to get the woman and her child to safety where they relocated for the night. Throughout the night, Kail allegedly threatened law enforcement officers with firearms. Officers with the Gainesboro City Police Department and the Tennessee Highway Patrol were called to assist, as was the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and Putnam County SWAT.

Friday morning, Putnam County SWAT executed a search warrant for the residence and deployed special weapons and tactics that led to Kail’s removal from the residence.

Kail faces six counts of aggravated assault on law enforcement officers and resisting arrest, according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. As of publication, Kail is in custody on a $165,000 bond.