Standoff suspect reportedly threw firecrackers at police, said he'd blow house up

A SWAT team sniper sets up a position inside Amazon Park during Thursday's standoff. (Courtesy photo/exclusive Rochester Voice)

ROCHESTER - Thursday's nine-hour standoff at Amazon Park brought together one of the largest contingents of law enforcement in the Northern Seacoast in recent memory, but Rochester Police press log accounts show it was also one of the most chaotic.

The standoff began a little after 3 p.m. when Ryan Cortina, 30, who was sought for questioning regarding an alleged domestic assault earlier in the day, refused to come out of his mobile home and began barricading his doors and windows with furniture and other items, Rochester Police Capt. Jason Thomas said on Friday. Thomas also said one of the responding officers saw Cortina had a weapon, which intensified the police response.

Within minutes more police arrived and ambulances and firetrucks staged nearby waiting for the go-ahead to tend to any potential victims, but it would many hours before they would get the "all clear."

Meanwhile, narratives from the police log show dispatchers were told from the person who initially called in the incident said Cortina had stated he had his house "rigged with a bomb."

Ryan Cortina (Rochester Police photo)

Later dispatch notes "he states he turned on all the propane tanks and will blow the place up," "has been using drugs" and "has lots of knives."

At that point, just minutes into the standoff, police set up a 30-foot perimeter and also called Somersworth PD to ask them to "stop and hold" the suspect if they see him on their side of the line.

Police then use a bullhorn to urge Cortina out of the house.

A standoff negotiator is then summoned from Durham and police set up a command post at the entrance to the park.

As the suspect then continues to barricade himself further, SWAT team members place the Bearcat, a heavily fortified SWAT vehicle, in front of the mobile home.

Soon after that, the suspect lights several firecrackers and threatens to throw firecrackers at responders. He also partially opens a glass door, holds a bottle of pills in his hand and tries to converse with police.

Some officers note he has blood on his arm, and soon after that, an "Immediate Action Plan" is requested to be put in place.

The Police Log narrative then indicates the subject has become more erratic and is trying to converse with officers, who can't hear him.

While narratives aren't time-stamped, the last notation referring to the subject, himself, reads, "subject hasn't been seen in a while."

The standoff officially ended around midnight when the Bearcat was used to stave in the entrance of Cortina's mobile home.

After the entrance was breached State Police used a robot from their Explosive Disposal Unit to enter the residence and scan the premises for the suspect, after which police entered and took him into custody without incident.

Cortina was never injured by officers during the standoff, but was in some medical distress when police found him, Rochester Police Capt. Jason Thomas said Friday.

Cortina was transported to Frisbie Memorial Hospital for an undisclosed medical condition and later transferred around 7 a.m. to Maine Medical Center in Portland. Today a Maine Med spokesperson said Cortina remained in serious condition.

Cortina, of 105 Whitehouse Road, Lot, 83, was charged with five counts of domestic violence simple assault, false imprisonment and criminal mischief, all misdemeanors. Due to his medical status, an arraignment date has not been set.

Law enforcement agencies involved in Thursday's standoff included Rochester and Somersworth Police, the Strafford County SWAT team, the SERT (Seacoast Emergency Response Team) team from Portsmouth and the State Police Explosive Disposal Unit.

Rochester Fire and Frisbie EMS also staged.

Park residents were allowed back to their homes early Friday.

Police say no gunshots were fired during the incident.

This wasn't Cortina's first brush with the law. In October he was indicted on a single count of second degree assault, a Class B felony.

According to court documents, Cortina "did recklessly cause serious bodily injury to (the victim) by punching him in the left eye causing an orbital floor fracture" on July 27 in Rochester.