Bloomfield man accused in standoff to get mental evaluation

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Bloomfield man charged in connection with a standoff the day after Thanksgiving 2008 requested and was granted a pretrial psychiatric evaluation Wednesday in a Bloomfield courtroom.

Danny W. Pullum, 50 of Bloomfield, was not in court Wednesday, but his attorney, Robin Phelan Northern, appeared and made the formal request.

Pullum faces four counts of the Class A felony of armed criminal action, two counts of the Class C felony assault of a law enforcement officer, one count each of the Class D felony of making a terrorist threat, the Class D felony of unlawful use of a weapon and the Class D felony of resisting felony arrest.

He is currently housed in the Stoddard County Jail with no bond.

The exam, scheduled for April 28 at Farmington, will delay the trial originally scheduled for May 1.

The standoff at his residence reportedly began with a call to the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department reporting Pullum in his yard firing rifles over houses and trees.

Pullum reportedly aimed a rifle at the first officer on the scene and threatened him to "leave now and don't die".

Deputies and the Missouri State Highway Patrol responded immediately and Pullum locked himself inside his home on Route AB in rural Bloomfield.

Stoddard County Sheriff Carl Hefner said that immediately after arriving on the scene, officers began evacuating neighbors and telling them to stay away until the situation was under control.

The standoff lasted for several hours and resulted in the Sikeston DPS SWAT team firing tear gas into the home to flush Pullum out.

In addition to the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Sikeston DPS SWAT Team, Bloomfield Police Department, Bloomfield Fire Department and Stoddard County EMS all worked together and got the situation under control within a time frame of about five hours.

Officers seized four assault rifles, two pistols and numerous rounds of ammunition from the residence.