Man in custody after domestic dispute

Suffolk County police used a vehicle-mounted ram to enter a home on Stark Drive early Saturday in Center Moriches and took a man into custody who had locked himself inside his house with his two young children after a domestic dispute.

The man's wife told authorities she feared he might harm himself, police said.

The man, whose identity was not immediately released by police, was taken to Stony Brook University Medical Center for psychiatric evaluation, police said. No one was injured, police said.

Police had not charged the man with a crime as of early Saturday.

The children, ages 8 and 5, were put in the custody of their mother.

The incident began about 7:45 p.m. Friday and ended about 4 a.m. Saturday.

Police also sent a robot into the home before a team of officers entered. There were at least three long rifles in the home, police said.

Inwood Road, which leads into Stark Drive at Union Avenue, was closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic for many hours by yellow-and-black police tape.

Police said a "domestic dispute" sparked the incident.

During those hours, from more than a block away people in the street could hear periodic, amplified calls by police into the house asking the resident to answer the telephone.

The calls were often followed by a loud shrilling electronic sound over the loud speaker.

Police said they were only able to establish "intermittent communication" with him over the hours, police later said.

No information was immediately available after the incident from police as to whether the man was armed.

With Keith Herbert