Six-hour standoff nets rape suspect

Jen Lawson

Tuesday, April 29, 2003 | 11:16 a.m.

A six-hour standoff in a Henderson neighborhood ended peacefully this morning when tear gas forced a 38-year-old accused rapist to surrender to police.

Daniel Myrick came out of his house at 119 Metropolitain St., near Ivy Street and Lake Mead Parkway, shortly before 9 a.m. He was booked into the Henderson jail on charges of felony obstruction and stalking.

It was the second time in days that Myrick had been jailed. He had been released after posting a bail amount that was tens of thousands of dollars less than it should have been. Authorities said it was a clerical error.

Henderson Justice Court set bail at $223,000, but a clerk misread the documentation and allowed Myrick to be released after posting bail of $23,000, an official said. Myrick posted bail and was released from the Clark County Detention Center on April 25, according to court records.

Bail was revoked because Myrick allegedly tried to contact his alleged victim again last week, and the arrest warrant was re-issused Monday morning, Lewis said.

His bail was upped this morning to $450,000 after his arrest, authorities said.

Henderson Police began searching for Myrick about 1 a.m. today after he was seen around a convenience store where the woman he is accused of raping works.

Officers saw lights on inside Myrick's home about 3 a.m., Officer Shane Lewis said. They knocked on the door and asked Myrick to come out. He refused.

Negotiators and officers from the department's special response team were called to the scene.

Negotiators spoke with Myrick through the door and over the telephone for about four hours. At some point, the negotiations broke off, Lewis said. Officers fired at least 10 canisters of tear gas into the house.

Gusty winds carried the tear gas through the neighborhood, irritating the eyes and throats of other police officers, neighbors and members of the media, who were gathered around the corner from the house.

Police used a bullhorn to order Myrick to come out of the house with his hands up.

"I think this is nuts," said Robert Mathewson, who lives a block away on Juniper Street. He had walked over to watch the action. He said it was a quiet neighborhood.

"There's never any commotion here, and hardly anyone even drives down the street at night," he said.

Just before 9 a.m., members of the special response team entered the house and took Myrick into custody. He had been alone in the house.

"We got it done peacefully," Lewis said. "This is what makes the negotiation training pay off."

Myrick allegedly beat and raped a woman he used to date at his home in March, and police issued a warrant for his arrest on six counts of sexual assault with a deadly weapon, first-degree kidnapping and related offenses.

He was arrested April 15 in Prescott, Ariz. on the Henderson warrants and was extradited to Henderson on April 24.