Curly
04-25-2007, 02:29 PM
Man charged in Northeast Austin standoff threatened to make Virginia Tech killings "look like a walk in the park"
Officials release new details about exchange of gunfire between police and suspect.
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By Joshunda Sanders
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
A 23-year-old man who shot at a police officer, then kept officials at bay during a 15-hour standoff in Northeast Austin, on Sunday had told his brother that he was going to go "on a killing spree that . . . would make the recent mass murder at Virginia Tech look like a walk in the park," according to an arrest affidavit released today.
His brother, JA Andre Lamar, also told police that Jerel Artease Lamar said he wanted to die and planned a shootout with police, the affidavit said.
"Jerel said that he was just going to shoot innocent people including kids," JA Andre Lamar told police, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit said Jerel Lamar had a fight with his girlfriend early Sunday, and when his brother drove to his house in the 6200 block of Hyside Drive Sunday evening, he saw Jerel Lamar loading guns into the trunk of a car, the affidavit said.
Police received a 911 call from a resident at 6:50 p.m. about a disturbance involving a gun, and when Cpl. Michael Barger arrived, the two brothers were involved in a struggle, the affidavit said.
JA Andre Lamar later told police that he took a rifle out of the car, but had to fight with his brother as he tried to reach a shotgun in the car, the affidavit said.
"Jerel was struggling with me and told me to let him go," JA Andre Lamar said, according to the affidavit. "I told him that I would rather him go to jail than hurt someone."
JA Andre Lamar obeyed Barger's command to get down on the ground, the affidavit said, but Jerel Lamar walked toward the house, got a shotgun and walked back toward the car. When Barger asked him to get on the ground again, Jerel Lamar said, "Who, me?" then shot at the officer, who shot back and hit him two times in the leg, the affidavit said.
After the shootout, Jerel Lamar jumped in a car and sped off. Later, he barricaded himself and an unidentified woman in a duplex in the 3100 block of Edgedale Drive, police said. The affidavit said he made threats that "police would not take him alive."
During the standoff with police, officers evacuated residents from nearby houses and advised residents in the area to stay inside.
At about 10 a.m. Monday, police escorted the woman, whose relationship with Lamar was unclear, away from the home. She was not harmed, spokeswoman Toni Chovanetz said. An hour later, Lamar set fire to the duplex, Carter said, spurring officers to use tear gas.
When Jerel Lamar walked out of the home at 11:27, he was shocked with a Taser stun gun before he was arrested. He was charged Tuesday with attempted capital murder and is being held at the Travis County Jail with bail set at $400,000.
Jerel Lamar has a criminal history that includes arrests for violating a protective order, family violence, aggravated assault and resisting arrest, the affidavit said. He was released from prison in January after serving two years for a 2004 robbery, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.
Following standard procedure when an officer uses deadly force, Barger, a 14-year veteran, is on restricted duty pending an internal investigation and presentation of the case to a grand jury.
Officials release new details about exchange of gunfire between police and suspect.
Click-2-Listen
By Joshunda Sanders
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
A 23-year-old man who shot at a police officer, then kept officials at bay during a 15-hour standoff in Northeast Austin, on Sunday had told his brother that he was going to go "on a killing spree that . . . would make the recent mass murder at Virginia Tech look like a walk in the park," according to an arrest affidavit released today.
His brother, JA Andre Lamar, also told police that Jerel Artease Lamar said he wanted to die and planned a shootout with police, the affidavit said.
"Jerel said that he was just going to shoot innocent people including kids," JA Andre Lamar told police, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit said Jerel Lamar had a fight with his girlfriend early Sunday, and when his brother drove to his house in the 6200 block of Hyside Drive Sunday evening, he saw Jerel Lamar loading guns into the trunk of a car, the affidavit said.
Police received a 911 call from a resident at 6:50 p.m. about a disturbance involving a gun, and when Cpl. Michael Barger arrived, the two brothers were involved in a struggle, the affidavit said.
JA Andre Lamar later told police that he took a rifle out of the car, but had to fight with his brother as he tried to reach a shotgun in the car, the affidavit said.
"Jerel was struggling with me and told me to let him go," JA Andre Lamar said, according to the affidavit. "I told him that I would rather him go to jail than hurt someone."
JA Andre Lamar obeyed Barger's command to get down on the ground, the affidavit said, but Jerel Lamar walked toward the house, got a shotgun and walked back toward the car. When Barger asked him to get on the ground again, Jerel Lamar said, "Who, me?" then shot at the officer, who shot back and hit him two times in the leg, the affidavit said.
After the shootout, Jerel Lamar jumped in a car and sped off. Later, he barricaded himself and an unidentified woman in a duplex in the 3100 block of Edgedale Drive, police said. The affidavit said he made threats that "police would not take him alive."
During the standoff with police, officers evacuated residents from nearby houses and advised residents in the area to stay inside.
At about 10 a.m. Monday, police escorted the woman, whose relationship with Lamar was unclear, away from the home. She was not harmed, spokeswoman Toni Chovanetz said. An hour later, Lamar set fire to the duplex, Carter said, spurring officers to use tear gas.
When Jerel Lamar walked out of the home at 11:27, he was shocked with a Taser stun gun before he was arrested. He was charged Tuesday with attempted capital murder and is being held at the Travis County Jail with bail set at $400,000.
Jerel Lamar has a criminal history that includes arrests for violating a protective order, family violence, aggravated assault and resisting arrest, the affidavit said. He was released from prison in January after serving two years for a 2004 robbery, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.
Following standard procedure when an officer uses deadly force, Barger, a 14-year veteran, is on restricted duty pending an internal investigation and presentation of the case to a grand jury.