Angel Santana
Police approach a man prior to arresting him after a standoff in the first block of North Queen Street on Thursday.
North Queen Street is clear of pedestrians as officers handle an incident Thursday afternoon.
An officer runs at the scene of Thursday's standoff in Lancaster city.
Police vehicles block the first block of North Queen Street at the start of the standoff on Thursday.
Police vehicles block the first block of North Queen Street on Thursday.
A former starting McCaskey quarterback has been charged in the long standoff with police at a Lancaster city store Thursday afternoon.
Angel Santana III, 27, of Lancaster, was charged with aggravated assault, stalking and defiant trespass, city police said.
He was arraigned and committed to Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail, a spokeswoman at District Judge Janice Jimenez's office said.
Santana was McCaskey's starting quarterback in 2002 and an alternate pick for the Big 33 Classic all-star game.
No one was injured in the standoff.
City police Lt. Chris Laser characterized it as a "domestic situation."
Santana confronted an acquaintance at Sneaker Villa, 45 N. Queen St., shortly before 3:30 p.m.
Police believe he was armed with a handheld drill, which was found after the incident. It was concealed under a clothing display table in the area of the store where Santana was seen by officers, police said.
The drill had its identifying labels and cord removed and had been painted black. It looked like a semiautomatic pistol.
More than two dozen city police officers responded after a woman in the store called for help, Laser said.
There were four people in the store when the incident began, but officers were able to get them through a back door without Santana's knowledge, Laser said.
Traffic was closed in the first block of North Queen Street for more than an hour during the standoff. Other main downtown traffic arteries also were closed.
Police secured nearby buildings. No one was forced to leave, Laser said, but people were asked to move to the back of nearby stores and stay away from windows.
Pedestrians were barred from the street.
During the incident, investigators determined that Santana was the suspect in the store and that he'd been going to the store frequently to speak to a female employee he knew, police said.
Santana had been told in the past that he was no longer welcome in the store and that the employee no longer wanted to have anything to do with him, police said.
Negotiators made several attempts to contact Santana by phone and by a PA system to have him surrender, but got no response.
At least one officer maintained a post behind a white van parked near the front of the store, firearm leveled at the door.
Officers could see Santana level what looked like a handgun and point it at them at least twice during the incident, police said.
The officers had adequate protection and showed considerable restraint in not shooting Santana, police said.
The Lancaster County Special Emergency Response Team assisted city police during the standoff.
Santana finally answered the phone inside the store and agreed to surrender, police said. He walked out of the store at 4:28 p.m. with his hands up and was taken into custody.
Laser said the incident was a dangerous situation, although "there were no immediate or direct threats made" against the acquaintance or other people in the store.
Santana earned second-team defense honors on the Lancaster-Lebanon League Football Coaches All-Star Team as a defensive back in 2002.
The previous season, Santana was a backup quarterback who was thrust into a starting role for the Red Tornado's District 3 Class AAAA championship game against Cumberland Valley when star QB Perry Patterson suffered a knee injury in the semifinals. McCaskey lost the championship game, 28-18.
Santana also played for the McCaskey basketball team in 2002. After high school, he went to West Chester and played defensive back there for at least two seasons.