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(Mail Tribune / Jim Craven) SWAT ends standoff Demanding political asylum, 'angry' man snarls traffic, frays nerves on Rossanley Drive More stories, photos, video By MEG LANDERS, MARK FREEMAN and bill kettler Mail Tribune A man who held police in a standoff for nearly five hours at a Medford television station Wednesday morning had visited the station before, workers said. Mark Allen Dickey, 49, of Cave Junction, parked a van scrawled with messages at the front door of KTVL-Channel 10 shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday and told local sales manager Bruce Workman, "Get the hell out of here. It's real." The van had a red container on the roof with wires leading from it to the cab, prompting workers to believe explosives were inside and to call police. The staff evacuated the building at 1440 Rossanley Drive and police from several agencies responded, including a bomb squad. The adjacent Radio Medford offices also were evacuated as police surrounded the area and closed off Rossanley between Ross Lane and Hanley Road. They also closed nearby Hampton Place subdivision but reopened it following pleas from parents taking children to school. Dickey spent the next five hours in a standoff with police. Twice he lit road flares and threw them from the van. He started the engine and drove a short distance back and forth. He took off his shirt, opened the door, yelled and brandished a propane torch and gasoline can, said police and witnesses. Advertisement He was "very angry and wasn't going to be taken alive and (was) willing to die for his cause," said Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters. Winters said Dickey also had a machete and a wooden staff. The bomb squad's robot delivered a mobile phone to Dickey which he used for negotiations with police. Shortly after noon, Dickey left the vehicle and was rushed by SWAT team members. He was arrested on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, menacing and possession of a hoax destructive device. He was taken to Rogue Valley Medical Center on a mental hold for evaluation. KTVL General Manager Kingsley Kelly said Dickey had visited the station on Monday and talked to news director Gordon Godfrey about doing a story about someone who was in danger. Godfrey told Dickey that he should contact the police rather than a television station, Kelly said. During negotiations with Dickey, sheriff's detectives learned he was upset with the Jackson County district attorney's handling of a case involving a woman he knew. She and her boyfriend had been involved in a domestic dispute and the charges against the boyfriend apparently had been dropped, said sheriff's Detective Sgt. Colin Fagan. "He was on a mission to get the world to understand that this system had wronged him and this woman and he wanted to make the world listen," Fagan said. The van was covered with messages such as "I (heart shape) Napalm-Morning," police said. A banner hanging across the windshield read, "I have classified information" and "I demand political asylum," as well as a demand to speak with his daughter, said KTVL meteorologist Kevin Lollis, who worked the morning broadcast. Dickey also had written "Matthew 25:31-46" on a piece of paper taped to his window, a passage in the Bible about the end times when Jesus judges the nations depending on how they took care of their poor, hungry and sick. A search of his van revealed several gasoline containers, road flares and simulated explosive devices, sheriff's deputies said. Dickey was convicted in 2001 of reckless endangerment and driving under the influence of intoxicants, court records show. Other agencies responding to the standoff included Medford police, Medford fire, Mercy Flights, Central Point police, Oregon State Police, the Medford office of the FBI and the Eugene office of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Casinos Canada Cord Blood Banking Entertainment Guide Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Trunks, Footlocker Men's Clothing Debt Help