Police standoff ends after suspect found folded up in sleeper

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- It wasn't much of a standoff, but Greene County sheriff's deputies got their man Friday after finding him folded up in a pullout sleeper sofa.

Corey Freeman, 21, who had been released from the Missouri Department of Corrections last month, was arrested on several charges of felony stealing after deputies forced their way into his home Friday afternoon.

He probably also will be charged with resisting arrest, said Lt. Randy Gibson.

Shortly before 3 p.m., several deputies wearing bulletproof vests approached Freeman's house in Springfield. Equipped with pistols, semiautomatic rifles and shotguns, the squad assembled on the doorstep.

Neighbors stood outside and watched as the raid began.

When repeated attempts to kick in Freeman's door failed, officers moved to the back yard, where one climbed through a window.

Seconds later, the back door was unlocked and the rest of the raid team stepped inside with weapons leveled ahead of them.

The anticlimactic end came when Freeman was found rolled up inside the hide-a-bed.

"He's always run from us," Gibson said. "He's always been uncooperative. This wasn't the outcome he wanted. He was less than happy."