Police surrounded Lawrence Memorial Hospital on Monday evening hoping to catch a man wanted for federal gun and cocaine-dealing violations.

Officers went to the hospital about 6:15 p.m. after getting a tip that Terry J. McIntyre Jr. – known as “T-Mac” or “Florida” – was visiting someone there.

After nearly 45 minutes of waiting for McIntyre to finish visiting his girlfriend and newborn baby, Lawrence Police and Douglas County Sheriff’s officers arrested him outside of the hospital without incident.

“We tried specifically to alleviate the hospital from the situation,” Police Sgt. Susan Hadl said of the outdoor arrest.

He was believed to be armed and dangerous, but officials said that McIntyre had no weapons on him when officers took him back to the Law Enforcement Center for an interview.

McIntyre is one of five Lawrence residents charged by a federal grand jury on Friday with dealing crack cocaine out of a home at 1409 W. 22nd Terrace, charges that resulted from a nearly yearlong investigation by the joint city-county Drug Enforcement Unit.

Prosecutors allege McIntyre and his co-defendants – Johnnie K. Williams III, Michael L. Beal, Zachary L. K. Williams and Amanda Webb – distributed crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of Schwegler School starting in May 2005.

Monday’s stakeout at the hospital was the second public spectacle related to the case since Friday, when a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., issued its indictment.

About 6 a.m. Saturday, police kicked in the door of the home, looking to serve arrest warrants and to recover evidence. Sheena Shippee, who lives two houses down, said she saw a plume of smoke rising from the home’s backyard – something police said was the result of a firecracker-like “distraction device” that they set off before entering the home.

Moments later, she saw officers walking a man out in handcuffs. She said police also removed a microwave oven and five paper grocery bags of evidence.

Police arrested Johnnie K. Williams III at the home. Webb was arrested Saturday at a different location.

As of Monday, police were still looking for Zachary L. K. Williams, and Beal was believed to be in custody in another county in Kansas.

Officers also searched two other addresses on Saturday in relation to the case: 2538 Ousdahl Road and 1607 Kenwood Drive. Sgt. Tarik Khatib, supervisor of the joint city-county Drug Enforcement Unit, said police recovered eight guns from the three search warrants.

In recent months, police had taken handguns during traffic stops from McIntyre and Johnnie K. Williams III, each of whom was barred from having a gun because of past criminal convictions.

Khatib said police believed the defendants to be “street-level” dealers who sold directly to users.

“It doesn’t mean that they necessarily hang out on the corner – it could be ‘meet me in a car in the parking lot,’ or selling out of the house,” he said. “Because of the fact that they’ve been stopped with guns, our mission is just to get these people off the street.”

Randi Pounds, who lives across the street from the home, said that she’d noticed activity there for some time.

“They’re always having parties. It’s kind of crazy,” she said.

Nothing unusual for Lawrence, but Pounds said that she’s also noticed police circling the neighborhood, watching the house closely for weeks.

Sheena Shippee said she noticed some unusual activity in the neighborhood months ago. She awoke on a Thursday morning to find her trash missing, while her neighbor’s trash was still waiting on the curb.

She called Lawrence Police, and when an officer arrived, he told her about the probe into the possible drug house nearby. Shippee said the officer told her police may have taken her trash as part of the investigation.

Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms assisted with Saturday’s search warrants.