Rochester man charged with two felonies following hotel standoff
Aug. 5—The Rochester man who was allegedly involved in a five-hour standoff with law enforcement at a Southeast Rochester hotel earlier this week made his first appearance in court Wednesday morning on five charges in connection to the incident.
Nathan Joel Titus, 39, is charged in Olmsted County with felony counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon as well as terroristic threats. He also has been charged with a gross misdemeanor domestic assault-firearms and two misdemeanor domestic assault charges. At his first appearance, Judge Carmaine Sturino set conditional bail at $150,000 and unconditional bail at $300,000.
Titus' next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 18.
Titus was arrested Monday, Aug. 2, following a five-hour standoff with law enforcement at the Extended Stay America on Woodlake Drive Southeast.
Police were called shortly before 3 p.m. that day after receiving numerous 911 calls. One of the calls appeared to come from within one of the units and dispatchers could only hear a woman screaming "stop" and "get off me" while music played in the background, according to the criminal complaint. The hotel manager reported hearing a woman inside one the hotel rooms, where a disturbance had been reported, saying "you don't need to point the gun in my face."
Officers arrived and surrounded the room. While outside the room, officers reportedly heard a male voice talking about setting "booby traps," the criminal complaint states.
"Law enforcement decided not to enter the unit for safety purposes, but instead negotiate with the male occupant to have him exit," the complaint reads. "The surrounding units in the hotel were subsequently evacuated, as law enforcement was treating the scene as an active hostage situation."
Titus was taken into custody about 8:15 p.m.
A 35-year-old woman who was in the hotel room had large marks on her legs and scratch marks on a shin and her left wrist. The woman reportedly told police the pair had gotten into an argument earlier that day over concert tickets and it turned physical when Titus allegedly struck her with a broken broom stick.
"Titus also hit her multiple times with his closed fist and pointed a gun at (the woman's) head," the complaint reads. "While the gun was pointed at her head, Titus asked (the woman) if she wanted to die."
Officers located a broom stick and a 9 mm handgun in the room.
