Tapes: Hostage taker warned of ‘bad things’
Feb 6, 2014, 4:29 AM
ARVADA, Colo. (AP) – A parolee who held a 13-year-old boy hostage for 18 hours in suburban Denver threatened to harm the teen several times, at one point telling a dispatcher, “you’re going to see bad things” unless police backed off.
Police identified the caller as parolee Don Pooley, who was shot and killed Tuesday as police rescued the unharmed boy.
On 911 calls released Wednesday, the caller repeatedly demanded that police get away from the Arvada home where he had taken the boy hostage after fleeing a domestic dispute nearby.
On one call, the boy says in a high-pitched voice, “Help me, please!” Later, he can be heard saying “please” in the background as Pooley, 34, talks to a dispatcher.
“You’re going to see bad things,” Pooley said, breathing heavily. “Get them away from the house. Now! I’m losing my (expletive) temper. I’m about to flip out.”
During the calls, Pooley said: “Get the (expletive) away from the house, now! If I see any more (police) out here, that’s it, your hostage is through. … I’m not playing with you, lady.”
During the calls, the dispatcher remained calm, disclosing her first name and repeatedly asking Pooley for his name, which he refused to give. Pooley referred to his hostage as a girl and, when he again threatens to hurt the hostage, the dispatcher firmly warns him: “Listen to me, do not hurt that little girl.”
Pooley was shot by police after he went to retrieve some items left by authorities. The boy was carried away by a SWAT officer.
The boy’s family released a statement Wednesday saying he was in good spirits and asking for privacy.
“His strength and bravery through this ordeal is truly amazing and we continue to shower him with hugs and kisses as we all begin to heal,” it said.
Pooley had been sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2008 for possession of a controlled substance, and he was released on parole in October.
He was listed as “absconded” on Jan. 10 after missing a parole meeting, but the Colorado Department of Corrections has refused to release further details of efforts to find him or when an arrest warrant was issued, citing the pending police investigation into the standoff.
Pooley did not have an ankle monitor because he had been convicted of nonviolent crimes, corrections department spokesman Roger Hudson said.
State prison officials revamped procedures for monitoring parolees after Evan Ebel, a white supremacist gang member on parole, slipped out of an ankle monitor last year. Ebel was later tied to two slayings, including the March 19 death of Tom Clements, executive director of the Corrections Department.
It took authorities six days to issue an arrest warrant for Ebel, who died in a shootout with authorities in Texas.
Pooley’s record also included convictions for criminal trespass, escape and unreasonable noise.
Arvada Police Chief Don Wick said the standoff began Monday in the residential neighborhood north of Denver after police responded to a domestic dispute call.
A man later identified as Pooley fled then forced his way into a nearby home where the 13-year-old was home alone.
Police said Pooley and the boy didn’t know each other.
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