Trenton, NJ hostages
Trenton, NJ hostages, TRENTON -- The lives of two young girls and three women were spared
Tuesday morning after being held captive for 14 hours by the father of
one of the girls, a convicted felon awaiting sentencing in federal
court.
Police said Enrique Aviles snatched his daughter from her home Monday night and held her and the others at gunpoint overnight as authorities negotiated with him. The ordeal ended for the mother of the 8-year-old girl with screams of joy and relief as she embraced her daughter behind the cover of police vans.
Police said Aviles had a gun and a history of violence, but the teamwork of law enforcement officers led to the end of the standoff without injuries.
"This had the potential for really going wrong," Capt. Joseph Juniak said.
Police say the hostage situation began around 7:45 p.m. Monday when Aviles, 32, seized his daughter Pricilla Sevilla from the home she shared with her mother on Brunswick Avenue.
Aviles then fled to the 100 block of Pennington Avenue, where he barricaded himself inside the home of his girlfriend. There the girlfriend, the girlfriend's sister, her 6-year-old daughter, and another woman were held hostage along with Sevilla until telephone negotiations successfully persuaded Aviles to give himself up at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday.
Sevilla's mother, 31-year-old Beatriz Gonzalez, immediately alerted police when her daughter was taken, and an army of officers camped out on Pennington Avenue and Calhoun Street as a tense dialogue continued through the night. City Police Director Irving Bradley Jr. and Juniak were in the nearby Command Operations Center as Aviles spoke with the city police negotiator, then FBI Agent Shannon Clark, who knew Aviles from earlier cases.
"There were peaks and valleys all night," Bradley said.
Juniak said Aviles was motivated by a desire not to return to jail, and became especially irate when speaking about his daughter. Just as there were points in the conversation where they believed Aviles was about to surrender, there also were times when they feared he would begin killing people inside the home or harm himself.
Aviles apparently sent a text message to Gonzalez threatening to do so.
By the morning, State Police and Division of Family Services had joined police, firefighters, and EMS crews. Nearby Monument Elementary School was closed for the day as a precaution and public transportation was directed around the area.
Gonzalez watched from a cocoon of relatives standing nearby. She was beside herself, cupping her hands over her nose and mouth, vainly straining to hold back tears.
"We're just waiting 'til the child gets out safe," a male relative said.
Court records show that Aviles was convicted of a shooting and heroin dealing in the past. A year ago, Aviles was sent back into custody for allegedly threatening Gonzalez with a knife.
"They let him out and she told them he's not stable," the relative said.
He said the harassment went on for the past two months, with Aviles continually calling and sending text messages to Gonzalez.
Court records say that refraining from contact with Gonzalez was a condition of Aviles' being allowed out of jail.
The family was praying for the child's safety as they waited.
"That's the best thing he's ever done in his life," the relative said, referring to the daughter.
As everyone watched and waited, sudden movement of police tactical squads armed with automatic weapons indicated something was up. Heads craned behind the crime scene tape as a line of women and children marched across the pavement and Aviles was taken into custody.
Source : http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2008/10/trenton_hostage_standoff_ends.html
Police said Enrique Aviles snatched his daughter from her home Monday night and held her and the others at gunpoint overnight as authorities negotiated with him. The ordeal ended for the mother of the 8-year-old girl with screams of joy and relief as she embraced her daughter behind the cover of police vans.
Police said Aviles had a gun and a history of violence, but the teamwork of law enforcement officers led to the end of the standoff without injuries.
"This had the potential for really going wrong," Capt. Joseph Juniak said.
Police say the hostage situation began around 7:45 p.m. Monday when Aviles, 32, seized his daughter Pricilla Sevilla from the home she shared with her mother on Brunswick Avenue.
Aviles then fled to the 100 block of Pennington Avenue, where he barricaded himself inside the home of his girlfriend. There the girlfriend, the girlfriend's sister, her 6-year-old daughter, and another woman were held hostage along with Sevilla until telephone negotiations successfully persuaded Aviles to give himself up at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday.
Sevilla's mother, 31-year-old Beatriz Gonzalez, immediately alerted police when her daughter was taken, and an army of officers camped out on Pennington Avenue and Calhoun Street as a tense dialogue continued through the night. City Police Director Irving Bradley Jr. and Juniak were in the nearby Command Operations Center as Aviles spoke with the city police negotiator, then FBI Agent Shannon Clark, who knew Aviles from earlier cases.
"There were peaks and valleys all night," Bradley said.
Juniak said Aviles was motivated by a desire not to return to jail, and became especially irate when speaking about his daughter. Just as there were points in the conversation where they believed Aviles was about to surrender, there also were times when they feared he would begin killing people inside the home or harm himself.
Aviles apparently sent a text message to Gonzalez threatening to do so.
By the morning, State Police and Division of Family Services had joined police, firefighters, and EMS crews. Nearby Monument Elementary School was closed for the day as a precaution and public transportation was directed around the area.
Gonzalez watched from a cocoon of relatives standing nearby. She was beside herself, cupping her hands over her nose and mouth, vainly straining to hold back tears.
"We're just waiting 'til the child gets out safe," a male relative said.
Court records show that Aviles was convicted of a shooting and heroin dealing in the past. A year ago, Aviles was sent back into custody for allegedly threatening Gonzalez with a knife.
"They let him out and she told them he's not stable," the relative said.
He said the harassment went on for the past two months, with Aviles continually calling and sending text messages to Gonzalez.
Court records say that refraining from contact with Gonzalez was a condition of Aviles' being allowed out of jail.
The family was praying for the child's safety as they waited.
"That's the best thing he's ever done in his life," the relative said, referring to the daughter.
As everyone watched and waited, sudden movement of police tactical squads armed with automatic weapons indicated something was up. Heads craned behind the crime scene tape as a line of women and children marched across the pavement and Aviles was taken into custody.
Source : http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2008/10/trenton_hostage_standoff_ends.html
posted by Unknown @ 04:55
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