Tree-Climber Arrested After 11-Hour Standoff

A Land O’ Lakes man is behind bars this morning after Pasco County Sheriff’s Office deputies say he climbed a tree and refused to come down to avoid capture on robbery charges.

The standoff lasted about 11 hours. It started around 2 p.m. Nov. 16 after deputies were notified of a man who pushed another person off a bike, stole the bike and put it into his truck.

When a deputy approached the suspect, the man fought the deputy, according to a sheriff’s office media release. The deputy then called for backup.

The man, however, ran to the area near Lake Padgett Road and Bell Lake Road and climbed a 30-foot tree to avoid capture. And that’s where he stayed for 11 hours.

Deputies say Ray Allen Charron, 37, of 3819 Forest Park Place came down around 1 a.m. today, Nov. 17. Charron was being booked into the Land O’ Lakes Jail on strong arm robbery, battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence charges.

According to jail records, Charron was arrested in 2011 on assault charges.