Police Standoff Shuts Down Fairhope

Downtown Fairhope shopping district was shut down and held hostage Tuesday morning. Police officers, EMT's, and firefighters took control of the normally quiet downtown streets when a man barricaded himself inside the Ravenite Pizza Restaurant on Section Street.

"Trained negotiators did get him on the phone, and they spoke to him and tried to get him to come out peacefully, but he refused," says Fairhope Police Sgt. Craig Sawyer.

Detectives say the owner of the Ravenite, Richard Gambino, was intoxicated, extremely unstable and threatened to shoot anyone that came inside the restaurant. Investigators say Gambino also threatened to turn on the building's natural gas and blow up an entire city block. The tense moments turned into agonizing hours...and finally, police negotiators had to make a tough decision. The city's SWAT team boarded an armored vehicle and stormed the back of the building. Officers used a flash grenade as a diversion and were able to arrest Gambino without anyone getting hurt.

Gambino was charged with reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor. After booking, he was transported to a psychiatric hospital. The Baldwin County District Attorney's Office could file more charges against Gambino.