Shots fired in Cape standoff

A tense 7 1/2-hour standoff between police and a burglar armed with a high-powered rifle ended early Tuesday morning with his surrender. The 20-year-old man and Cape Girardeau police exchanged gunfire in the standoff, which concluded when police lobbed tear gas cannisters and pepper spray into the mobile home the suspect had broken into.

Under the glare of spotlights, he emerged onto the front porch asking police not to shoot him. Officers handcuffed him.

Dax Justin May allegedly fired weapons at least seven times during the siege, which began when officers arrived at the Pinewood Mobile Home Park, 1400 S. West End Boulevard, about 9:30 p.m. Monday. That included a shotgun blast fired from the trailer when officer Randy Zimmerman initially approached to investigate a reported burglary.

Tuesday morning, Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle charged May with the felonies of assault of a law enforcement officer in the first degree, assault in the second degree, property damage in the first degree, burglary in the first degree and armed criminal action.

Circuit Judge William L. Syler Jr. set bail for May at $500,000.

Early in the siege, May falsely claimed to have taken hostages. When police contacted him by phone, they said he cursed and threw the phone down and refused to respond to a police negotiator using a bullhorn.

Officers from the Special Response Team surrounded the mobile home, and at one point exchanged gunfire with the burglar.

Hours later, one of the bullets from a 7 mm Mauser rifle went over the head of patrolman Brent Steger and passed through two trailers, the second of which was beside a van where the police had set up a command post. Capt. Carl Kinnison sustained the only injury in the incident when glass from a window in the second trailer shattered. He had to have it removed at a local hospital.

Over a bullhorn, police repeatedly ordered May to walk out onto the mobile home's porch with his hands up. Officers could hear him walking around the mobile home, cursing and making threats. They said he was in a highly agitated state throughout the night.

The mobile home at Lot 40 is owned by Mitch McElroy and his brother, Ronald Barnes, who were out at the time of the break-in. McElroy told officers the Mauser, a .22 automatic rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun were inside the mobile home. He said there were 70 rounds of ammunition for the Mauser, 2,000 rounds for the .22 and 300 shells for the shotgun.

The property damage charge stems from the condition officers found the mobile home in after May's arrest. Plaster was torn from the walls, mirrors were broken, furniture and a computer were smashed.

The owners' puppy, Max, was recovered from the mobile home unharmed.

335-6611, extention 182

sblackwell@semissourian.com

[ Browse photos showing the aftermath of the standoff ]