Police nab wanted man after standoff at Beech Grove motel

BEECH GROVE, Ind. (WISH) – Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley said the city cited the local Motel 6 for being a public nuisance after a drug-dealing suspect was arrested there following a police standoff.

Mayor Buckley said drugs and prostitution have been rampant at the motel, and he said police were called to the location hundreds of times last year.

Police said 21-year-old Devan Coffman barricaded himself in a motel room Thursday and did not come out even when police fired gas inside. Officials went in the room and found him under a mattress.

He was wanted for selling methamphetamine in Morgan County, and officials said he fled on foot from police Monday of this week. According to police, he then carjacked a woman at knifepoint and eventually drove her truck to the Motel 6.

Buckley said employees now have 20 days to “take corrective action.” He said if there is still a crime problem there in 20 days, they will be issued a final warning and a 10-day grace period. If the problem persists after that, Buckley said, police can begin issuing fines every time they’re called to the property.

Motel guest Kathleen Blake and her family left the motel and saw the crime scene when they returned Thursday. She said she’s been staying there all week and it’s not the first time she’s seen police. Beech Grove police confirmed that they responded to a report of a suicidal person there on Wednesday.

“We’re just trying to get away and go swimming and stuff but all this crazy stuff I’ve seen the last four or five days, I’m just ready to go back home,” Blake said.

Some other guests stayed in their rooms throughout the standoff, because that’s what police told them to do.

“We have tactical weapons being utilized, we have techniques being utilized. We didn’t want to put anyone in a position where they would injure themselves or possibly injure any of the operators,” IMPD Officer Chris Wilburn said.

No one was hurt during the incident Thursday.