By Robert Blankenship
The Leeds News
LEEDS — 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 Memorial/Historical 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., of Pell City, was taken into custody without further incident at the conclusion of the standoff. Leeds police became involved in the incident around 2 p.m. on Monday when local officers spotted a vehicle close to that described in a warning issued out of St. Clair County earlier in the day.
Leeds Police Chief Ted Cook said the unidentified kidnap victim was released by Bice at some point prior to the standoff.
Leeds officials were keeping a close eye out for Bice after receiving information that he may be in the 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 Historical 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 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 Memorial 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. According to a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department report, snipers were placed in position around the walking bridge where Bice was cornered.
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,” Cook said.
Bice is currently being held on a charge of second degree kidnapping
Bice is being held in Pell City on a charge of second-degree kidnapping and a warrant stemming from another incident. Other charges are expected in the case, according to officials.
Cook said the Leeds Police Department would not file charges related to the standoff, but added that there was already a pending warrant against Bice in an unrelated misdemeanor drug case.
