FREEHOLD –The man who set off a 10½ hour standoff in Matawan on Monday faces charges for various offenses.  The standoff tied up significant law enforcement resources and damaged a robot used to bring the incident to a peaceful conclusion, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Michael “Bean” Geran, 51, of Johnson Avenue in Matawan, is charged with second degree False Public Alarms, second degree Possession of a Firearm for an Unlawful Purpose, and third degree Criminal Mischief.

The incident began with a request from a family member for a welfare check around 11:56 a.m. on Monday at a home in the first block of Johnson Avenue in the borough. Matawan police arrived to find Geran home, but refusing to come out of the residence.  It was also determined that Geran was armed with a handgun.

Matawan police officers exhausted direct verbal communications followed by the defendant cutting off all communications with responding officers.  As a result, the Matawan Police Department sought the assistance of the Monmouth County Emergency Response Team (MOCERT) and the Monmouth County Police Chief’s Association Rapid Deployment Force (RDF). Once on scene, negotiators attempted to convince the man to surrender – but that didn’t happen until approximately 10:18 p.m. In the wake of the standoff, Geran is accused of cutting the wires on a MOCERT robot, before pushing the mechanical technology down a flight of stairs, causing in excess of $5,000 in damage.

The standoff was brought to a close with the assistance of members of the Monmouth County MOCERT, RDF, Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, officers from the Aberdeen, Brielle, Hazlet, Howell, Keyport, Long Branch, Marlboro, Middletown, Ocean Township, Oceanport, and Wall Police Departments, Matawan Fire Department and Bayshore Emergency Medical Services.

After being safely removed from the scene, Geran was sent to a hospital to be medically evaluated.

Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.

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