Standoff suspect in custody after claiming to have grenade at Daytona Beach hotel

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - Police arrested David Allen, of Atlantic City, New Jersey, after a six-hour standoff outside the Ocean Breeze Hotel on Atlantic Avenue Saturday afternoon.

Allen allegedly claimed he had a grenade and threatened to set it off in the hotel.

Hotel guest Clara Scalf heard a commotion in the morning and looked down from her balcony to see Allen standing on his balcony below. 

“He said, 'And I got a grenade!' and he held his hand out  and actually had a grenade in his hand!” Scalf said.

Around 3 a.m., people at the hotel said they heard noise coming from Allen's room. 

Later, around 7 a.m., they say they saw him throwing furniture off his balcony. 

“About 7:30-8 is when he actually started throwing furniture, balcony chairs... started throwing the little coffee table. I was like, 'What the heck are you doing?' and he looked up at me,” Scalf said.

Scalf quickly called 911. 

Daytona Beach police showed up in force, surrounding the hotel and even the beach behind it. 

They evacuated the hotel, deploying a drone and a bomb robot to diffuse the potentially explosive situation. 

The drone's camera gave cops a key piece of information.

“He did have a grenade, but it turned out to be a dummy grenade that was hollowed-out from the bottom, so realistically he was no real threat,” said Daytona Beach Police Deputy Chief Jakari Young.

Young described how they took Allen into custody. 

“What we ended up doing was we sat the Coke out in the hallway. We convinced him to come out and grab the Coke, at which time we were able to tase him and safely get him into custody,” he said.

Allen is heading to the Volusia County Jail on charges of aggravated assault and making a false bomb threat. 

He is expected to face a judge Sunday morning.