Man Firing Shots

A man who holed up in a Delta Junction gas station shot at state troopers to keep them at bay during an hours-long standoff that ended with the suspect safely taken into custody.

Francis White, 62, is accused of assault and other charges in the standoff that shut down the Richardson Highway and caused about $2,000 in damage, troopers said. No one was injured.A friend called troopers about White at about 9 a.m., saying he had gone to court and was acting irrationally. The friend was concerned White would hurt someone, troopers said. Troopers found White at the Texaco gas station and he ran inside carrying a shotgun and pistol, they said. The man ran into an occupied upstairs office and, troopers said, threatened to shoot the officer standing outside. The two people in the room ran out, leaving White to begin fortifying his position with file cabinets and furniture, troopers said.

Officers called for backup, and White began firing the shotgun out the window, troopers said. They counted nine blasts, though they weren't sure if they were aimed at particular targets.Meanwhile, more troopers -- including a Special Emergency Reaction Team, similar to SWAT -- were flown into the town of 1,000 about 95 miles southeast of Fairbanks.

Negotiators talked White out for food, and when he came out, shotgun slung on his back and pistol holstered, troopers saw a chance to Taser him and end the standoff. He was cuffed and booked at the Fairbanks Correctional Center on charges of assault, misconduct involving weapons and criminal mischief. According to court records, White's only prior criminal charge in Alaska was for taking caribou in a closed season.

Source: Anchorage Daily News - 8/3/2008
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