A local man has been arrested after barricading himself in his home with a hostage and three kids allegedly locked in a vehicle, the Rock Springs Police Department reports.
Cody Birdwell, 49, was taken into custody Monday evening on suspicion of one count of aggravated assault, another of kidnapping and two charges of domestic battery, according to information filed in the Sweetwater County Detention Center's booking log.
He was arrested after willingly surrendering to authorities and after a hostage negotiation team convinced him to let his hostage go, according to statements the Rock Springs Police Department dispatched Monday evening and Tuesday morning.
Rock Springs police responded to an address on Dewar Drive at about 8 p.m. to a call of a domestic situation involving weapons. The suspect had barricaded himself inside his home with a hostage and had three kids locked in a vehicle in the parking lot, the statements say.
Officers arrived on scene and immediately found the three kids that had been locked in the vehicle and moved them to safety, reportedly.
Then the Sweetwater County Tactical Operations Group negotiations team was able to also get Birdwell to free the hostage.
Birdwell willingly surrendered to the authorities at about 9:30 p.m., the statement says. Medical personnel attended to the victim, who was removed from the scene.
"The peaceful resolution of this incident is what all law enforcement agencies hope to achieve when a situation like this unfolds," says RSPD's Tuesday statement. The agency thanked the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Department, Green River Police Department, Rock Springs Fire Department, Castle Rock Medical Services and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for their help in the incident.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
