A Bowling Green man who pleaded guilty in March to assaulting his estranged wife is accused of forcing his way into her apartment Monday morning, causing police to surround Cave Mill Apartments for several hours before discovering that he was no longer inside.

At 8:37 a.m., Bowling Green police were called to the No. 2 building at 2370 Cave Mill Station Blvd., where a woman said the father of her children pushed his way inside her apartment after she answered the door, Bowling Green Police Department spokesman Officer Ronnie Ward said. The woman and her children left the apartment unharmed, with the man still inside.

Police remained on the scene and spoke with the man on his cellphone until it either lost power or was turned off, and within about three hours the department’s Critical Response Team was called out to attempt to talk him into coming out of the apartment. By 3:30 p.m., CRT members in full tactical gear entered the woman’s apartment and an adjacent apartment, but the man police were looking for, Rondel A. Emberton, 24, of Bowling Green, was not inside either unit, Ward said.

Police declined to release the woman’s name because she is a victim of domestic violence, Ward said.

Through investigation, police learned that Emberton was at some point in the apartment and was able to leave undetected before the CRT went in, Ward said.

The scene caused a stir among residents, some of whom watched from their stoops as police maneuvered around the buildings at the apartments most of the day. A woman who identified herself as an apartment manager asked the media to remain off of the property and declined to comment.

Prior to Monday’s incident, Emberton was wanted on a Warren District Court bench warrant on a failure to appear charge after he didn’t show up for court May 12. He pleaded guilty to a March 9 fourth-degree assault on his estranged wife, according to Warren Circuit Court Clerk records. He was due to appear in court May 12 to show proof that he had met with an anger management counselor. When he didn’t show up for court, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

Emberton pleaded guilty March 29 to assaulting his estranged wife March 9 and damaging her apartment, the same apartment police were called to Monday. When police arrived March 9, Emberton’s estranged wife was outside and police saw Emberton throwing water at her from inside the apartment. She had visible red marks on her left arm and neck and said Emberton caused the injures. Emberton ran out the back door and was later located hiding in the area of Pascoe Boulevard and Kenilwood Way, according to court records. 

As a result of that incident, a Warren Family Court judge issued a domestic violence order prohibiting Emberton from any contact with his estranged wife except at visitation exchanges for his supervised visitation with their two minor children or communication via text messaging concerning their children. That order was signed March 28, 2016, and expires March 28, 2019, court records show.

Emberton was sentenced in Warren District Court to 90 days in jail probated for 24 months if he had no further violations of law, complied with the DVO, underwent an anger management assessment and followed the recommendations of that assessment, according to court records. 

Police continue to look for Emberton, who will now face additional charges as a result of the incident Monday, Ward said.

“The search is continuing,” Ward said.

Court records show that Emberton’s estranged wife previously obtained an emergency order of protection April 9, 2014. She later asked the court to dismiss it, and it was dismissed April 21, 2014.

— Follow Assistant City Editor Deborah Highland on Twitter @BGDNCrimebeat or visit bgdailynews.com.