|
|
| Hostage-takers to be sent to a prison outside Ariz. |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 02/09/2004 |
|
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano said the two inmates involved in the longest U.S. prison hostage standoff in decades will be sent to prisons in another state. The inmates - Ricky Wassenaar, 40, and Steven Coy, 39 - climbed out of a prison officer tower last Sunday and surrendered after releasing a female prison officer. The officer, who was taken hostage with a male colleague Jan. 18, was undergoing a medical evaluation last Monday. Her condition was not released. The male officer was released Jan. 24. Wassenaar and Coy were taken into custody by the federal Bureau of Prisons as part of their agreement to surrender, said Ivan Bartos, a Department of Corrections spokesman. Wassenaar is serving 28 years for armed robbery and assault. Coy is serving a life sentence for a 1993 crime spree in Tucson that included armed robbery, aggravated assault and rape. The Maricopa County attorney's office will be handling the case. Corrections officials declined to say what led to the surrender, but in one concession, Wassenaar was allowed to give an interview Jan. 29 to Phoenix radio station KTAR-AM, which broadcast it after the standoff ended. Wassenaar characterized the standoff as an escape attempt that went bad. Napolitano's spokeswoman, Jeanine L'Ecuyer, confirmed that it was a botched escape attempt. An investigation is under way, said Cam Hunter, a corrections spokeswoman. Negotiators had regular contact with the inmates throughout the standoff. Hunter said officials did not know how the female guard was treated. After the standoff ended, officials described how the inmates took over the tower. They said Wassenaar and Coy overcame an officer in a prison kitchen, and Wassenaar shaved his beard, put on the officer's uniform and headed for the tower. There, he was taken for an officer and admitted. A lockdown in place at Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis since Jan. 18 will be gradually lifted, Hunter said. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think