A Mason City man is in jail after a weekend standoff with police. Fifty-four-year-old Phillip Gellenfeld was charged with felony domestic assault strangulation. Police were called to the city’s southwest side at about 5 o’clock Saturday evening after a report of an assault taking place, that someone was injured and firearms were involved.
Police were able to get the female out of the residence a few minutes later and get her to the hospital, while the man refused to leave the house and would not communicate with officers. An emergency notification was sent to resident in the neighborhood advising them to go to their basements until the situation was resolved.
After several hours of attempted negotiations, members of the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force’s Special Operations Group approached the house and breached several windows, locating Gellenfeld in the basement.
An all-clear notification was given to residents at about 9:30 P.M.
(Reporting by Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City)