Michael L. Jackson

A Philadelphia man was released from county detention for time served on Thursday in Butler County Court, after being charged alongside three others with breaking into a home which caused a seven-hour standoff with police.

Michael L. Jackson, 25, was sentenced to time served to 23½ months in the Butler County Prison and released immediately on parole by Judge William Shaffer.

He was also sentenced to 60 months of probation and to pay court costs and $27,328.51 in restitution and to have no contact with the victim in the case.

Jackson's attorney, Public Defender Joseph Smith, said his client plans to return to Philadelphia upon release, as he has pending court proceedings there.

Jackson previously pleaded guilty to felony criminal trespass on Oct. 6.

He was initially charged with felony burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm prohibited, misdemeanor simple assault and recklessly endangering another person after an incident on Dec. 18 at a home in the 400 block of Franklin Street.

He was charged alongside Joseph J. Bell, 23, of Pittsburgh and Kenneth T. Henry, 40, of Philadelphia. A fourth man, Janeal Armstrong, 32, of Philadelphia, was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of a small amount of marijuana after the incident.

Jackson, Bell and Henry are accused of breaking into the home of Lisa Bishop and holding a gun under her chin while demanding to know where “Ginger” was.

Bishop was eventually able to call 911 to report several men with guns and drugs broke into her home, and when police arrived she was found in the living room and directed officers to the men upstairs.

Police report in the affidavit of probable cause that Bishop was taken outside before a commotion was heard upstairs and the men were told to surrender.

Another officer reported seeing a black man holding what appeared to be a gun trying to climb out of a window on the south side of the home before retreating inside.

Butler Township police and state police assisted Butler police in surrounding the building. Authorities tried to speak to the suspects holed up, but they got no response.

A Special Weapons and Tactics team from Allegheny County was called to the scene and later found Armstrong hiding in an alcove behind the home. Police said he was carrying 31 stamp bags of suspected heroin, two plastic bags containing suspected crack cocaine, three bags of suspected marijuana and $700 in cash.

The SWAT team eventually launched tear gas into the building and located the three other men hiding in an attic above 430 Franklin St., which shares the space with Bishop's home at 428 Franklin St., ending the seven-hour standoff. They found no drugs on those three suspects, police said.

No guns were found either, after police searched all four men and the house. However a neighbor later called to report finding a 9 mm pistol near the home. Near the gun, which was found with its serial number filed off, also seized by police was a 9 mm magazine, one 9 mm bullet and a loaded .380-caliber magazine.

Later, while being detained, police said Armstrong complained of not feeling well, and eventually vomited packaged rocks of crack cocaine and glassine bags of heroin into a garbage can.

Suspicious that the others could have swallowed drugs, police decided to have X-rays taken of all four defendants.

The examinations, authorities said, turned up several unidentified objects in the stomach of one suspect and one unknown object inside another one of the men.

The four men — all convicted drug felons — were held in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail each. Bell, Armstrong and Henry continue to be held awaiting further court proceedings.