Burglary suspect arraigned in store standoff
Mooers faces felony burglary, trespass counts in incident
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A Charleroi man was taken into custody Sunday morning after he allegedly broke into an Altoona convenience store and refused to leave, causing an hourslong standoff with police.
David Allen Mooers, 40, was arraigned Sunday by Magisterial District Judge Daniel C. DeAntonio on single felony counts of burglary, criminal trespass, aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and theft. He also faces two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and single misdemeanor counts of obstructing law enforcement, criminal mischief and making false identification to a law enforcement officer.
Altoona police responded to FeFi's Convenience Store at 604 Seventh St. about 4 a.m. Sunday for a burglary in progress.
At the scene, officers found the lower part of the store's glass front door was broken and pushed in, with a tall sunglass stand barricading the door closed. A man, later identified as Mooers, was seen inside the store.
When officers identified themselves and ordered Mooers to show his hands, he refused, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Officers established a perimeter and noted that Mooers had retreated to the store's back corner.
Officers were eventually able to open the door, but Mooers told them he had a bag with a gun inside, forcing them to retreat to their perimeter. Officers noted Mooers' behavior as being agitated, sporadic and unpredictable, the police report states.
Officers contacted the APD Tactical Response Team and continued to instruct Mooers to exit the store through their public announcement system. They also attempted to establish contact by calling the store's phone, but received no answer. Officers noted that Mooers would sporadically raise his hand at the officers and pretend to shoot them with a "finger-gun," the report states.
After these failed attempts, the tactical team forcefully entered the store and took Mooers into custody. He gave officers the name "Ezekiel" but refused to give any additional information. They were able to positively identify Mooers due to his being involved in a previous police incident, according to the affidavit.
Mooers was remanded to the Blair County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Sept. 2 in front of DeAntonio.