Two fugitives who announced their intention to avoid capture ended up surrendering peacefully Wednesday afternoon after as many as 20 law enforcement officers surrounded the hotel the men had holed up in.

Dustin Krouse and Zachary Potter, both of Lakeview and both 27, were taken to the Logan County Jail after the standoff at the Western Inn & Suites, 413 Apollo Drive, which lasted three-and-a-half hours, ended at about 6:30 p.m. Wapakoneta Police Chief Russel Hunlock said.

The situation began at about 3 p.m. when the Logan County Sheriff’s Office called Wapakoneta police to report that there was strong indication that two men wanted for arrest were at the hotel in Auglaize County, Hunlock said.

Logan County law enforcement was sure about the location because Krouse and Potter had called the authorities at the sheriff’s office to say they weren’t going to go peacefully to jail.

Krouse was wanted on a burglary charge, Potter on a domestic violence charge.

Once the location of the two was confirmed, Hunlock said a special response team and a negotiations team from the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the hotel. Officers were deployed — some on the rooftop, witnesses said — and a fire/rescue crew was dispatched to the scene also and placed on stand by.

Krouse and Potter were in Room 214. About a half-dozen people in rooms nearby were evacuated as a precaution, Hunlock said.

Negotiations were conducted via cell phone, and the two surrendered at about 6:30 p.m. Krouse and Potter had no weapons in their possession, and officers found nothing suspicious in the room, Hunlock said.

“In 23 years, I’d like to say I’ve seen it all. But this is something new,” the chief told News Center 7’s Kate Bartley. He said it’s probably been a year since the last SWAT situation occurred in Wapakoneta.

The Logan County charges Krouse and Potter are facing are serious, but the charges they’ll likely face in Auglaize County will be more serious because of how the situation played out, he said.

Hunlock said he would meet with the county prosecutor on Thursday to sort out what new charges will be pursued.