Endwell Man Charged After Standoff Report

An Endwell resident was arrested after police surrounded a home following a report that an armed man had taken a baby inside the house.

Police were sent to 319 Marion Avenue around noon Friday when a man called 911 to report that a man with a gun was holding an infant.

State police and Broome County sheriff's deputies swarmed the neighborhood minutes after the call was received.

Sergeant Jason Cawley, station commander for state police at Binghamton, said nearby houses were checked to determine whether an armed man had entered them. No problems were found at those homes.

Police used a public address system to try to make contact with someone inside the residence at 319 Marion Avenue but there was no movement. They then entered the house through an unlocked front door and found no one inside. The house search concluded at 1:18 p.m.

Cawley said the man who made the 911 call, 41-year-old Belven Fajardo, who lives at the home, was arrested.

Cawley said Fajardo apparently had been hallucinating after using crack cocaine. An item Fajardo had possessed tested positive for cocaine.

Fajardo was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child. The child endangerment charge was filed because the man's 12-year-old son was inside the house at the time of the 911 call.

After the call was placed, Fajardo, his son and his girlfriend left the house and went to a neighbor's residence.

Cawley said Fajardo apparently actually believed he had seen an armed man with a baby shortly after using crack cocaine. He was taken to Binghamton General Hospital for a mental health evaluation.

Cawley said about 18 law enforcement personnel were deployed to the scene as a result of the report of an armed man.

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