Wounded mom facing multiple felonies in Vegas case
Aug 28, 2013, 11:31 PM
LAS VEGAS (AP) – A Las Vegas mother of three who was wounded by police after holding her young sons hostage at home during a 22-hour standoff will face multiple felony charges, authorities said Wednesday.
Sara Jones, 29, remained hospitalized with a face wound but is expected to survive after being shot by a SWAT officer as she retreated into a bathroom and fired shots through the door in a home in southeast Las Vegas, according to police. The toddlers were rescued.
One SWAT officer was shot in the lower leg but was protected by a ballistic shin guard, police Sgt. John Sheahan said. One officer fired one shot, wounding Jones. The officer who was allegedly shot by Jones was treated at the scene and didn’t require hospitalization.
Court and jail records show Jones faces first-degree kidnapping, child endangerment with a weapon, resisting a police officer and assault with a deadly weapon charges.
She allegedly threatened her husband with a shotgun before he and their 10-year-old daughter got out of the house late Monday as police arrived to a domestic disturbance call, police said.
Jones also allegedly made verbal threats to harm the boys, ages 2 and 3.
Police had prepared for a long standoff before hearing a shot inside the house late Tuesday. After officers blasted through the front door, the toddlers were whisked out of the house in the arms of SWAT officers, checked at a local hospital and placed in county Child Protective Services custody pending an investigation, Sheahan said.
The officer who shot the woman was placed on paid leave pending district attorney and departmental reviews of the shooting. His name is expected to be made public by Friday.
Sheahan said Jones’ husband gave police the shotgun and the daughter brought a handgun out of the house when police arrived.
With law enforcement outside the house, Jones brandished a .45-caliber handgun and held one of the boys in her arms in the doorway, police said.
Talks went on for hours, with more than 100 police officers, firefighters and FBI agents at the scene, adjacent homes evacuated, school officials busing students from nearby campuses to another school for release at the end of the class day and a busy southeast crossroads closed.
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