Las Vegas Sun

November 14, 2009

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Standoff ends after five hours

Keith Paul

Tuesday, May 14, 2002 | 9:54 a.m.

Two Metro Police SWAT officers were injured when an explosive charge accidentally blew up during a five-hour standoff Monday that ended without other injuries.

The standoff ended when Rufus E. Johnson Jr., 32, stripped down to his underwear and socks, came out of his apartment on East Warm Springs Road near Eastern Avenue about 5 p.m. Monday. He was quickly surrounded by officers after the standoff, which started when an officer responding to a 911 call heard a gunshot come from the apartment.

Early in the standoff an explosive charge used to open doors went off, injuring Officer Chuck Collingwood and Officer Joe Emery. Both were treated at University Medical Center and released. The explosive injured Collingwood's face and Emery's arms and legs, said Sgt. Christopher Darcy, a police spokesman.

Darcy said police will investigate why the charges, which were not about to be used, went off about 1:15 p.m.

Johnson was booked into the Clark County jail on charges of kidnapping with a firearm, shooting into an occupied structure and obstruction. He is accused of firing a shotgun inside the apartment and not allowing his wife, Cheree, to leave. She was not injured. A shotgun and a handgun were found inside the apartment, Darcy said.

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