By Robert Blankenship
The Leeds News
LEEDS/ST. CLAIR COUNTY — A manhunt that led to an eight-hour standoff ended peacefully early Tuesday morning when a man with a gun surrendered to authorities.
Law enforcement officials from several agencies were involved in the situation, which ended at the Leeds Veterans/Historic Park at 2:15 a.m. Tuesday.
According to officials with the Leeds Police Department, the standoff was the conclusion of a manhunt for a suspect in a kidnapping case from the Pell City area. James Lewis Bice, Jr., from Pell City, was taken into custody without further incident at the conclusion of the standoff. The incident began around 2 p.m. on Monday when Leeds officers spotted a vehicle close to that described in a warning issued out of St. Clair County.
Local officers had received information that the suspect may be in the Leeds area.
The suspect’s vehicle eluded officers when first spotted, but was found a short time later abandoned on the property of the Jefferson County water treatment plant at the end of Veterans Park.
Officers from Leeds, Moody, Pell City, and St. Clair County Sheriff's Department quickly converged on the area in search of the suspect. Also called in to assist in the search were K-9 tracking teams from both Birmingham Police Department and the St. Clair County Correctional Facility. After hours of searching the hunt was called off.
A short time later Pell City officers obtained information that the suspect was still in the area of the park awaiting a ride. At approximately 6:30 p.m. Officers from several agencies again converged on the park, this time finding the suspect. When officers confronted the suspect he held a gun to his head threatening to shoot himself. Officers worked to contain the suspect, which was eventually accomplished near the pedestrian bridge from the Historical Park to the Veterans Park. St. Clair County Sheriff's Office negotiators worked to get the suspect to surrender. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office SWAT team was called in to assist a short time later.
After hours of negotiating by both St. Clair County and Jefferson County Deputies the suspect eventually put down his weapon and surrendered. The suspect was turned over to Pell City detectives after being taken into custody.
“The peaceful conclusion to a very dangerous situation was the result of the dedication and teamwork of all the Agencies and Law Enforcement Officers involved,” said Leeds Police Chief Ted Cook.
At this time, charges against Bice have not been released. The Leeds News will work to get more details for Thursday’s edition.
