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| Arizona Prison Standoff Over After 15 Days |
| 2004-02-02 |
| EFL A corrections officer was released Sunday from the prison guard tower where she had been held hostage by a pair of inmates for two weeks, a Corrections Department spokeswoman said. The surrender at the medium- to high-security Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis ended one of the nation’s longest prison hostage situations in decades. Negotiators had regular contact with inmates throughout the standoff, and at times had seen the guard or talked to her by telephone. The standoff at the 4,400-inmate prison west of Phoenix began Jan. 18 when an inmate attacked two guards and another worker in a kitchen area. That prisoner and another inmate then got into the observation tower, where they took the two guards hostage. One of the correctional officers — a man — was released Jan. 24. The inmates were identified by prison officials as Ricky Wassenaar, 40, and Steven Coy, 39. Wassenaar is serving 28 years for armed robbery and assault. Steven Coy, who is serving a life sentence, has spent the better part of two decades in Arizona prisons. His offenses include theft, burglary, criminal damage and drug possession. He was sentenced to life after a 1993 crime spree in Tucson that included armed robbery, aggravated assault and rape. But they were good boys. Really. Ask their mamas. Both Coy and Wassenaar have committed numerous infractions while in prison, officials said. "I think my shock meter’s broken....nothing registering at all..." FYI for the Rantburgers outside of Arizona....the local media did not release the prisoners’ names until this was all over. They did this per the request of the Department of Corrections, who thought that this might complicate their negotiations and be harmful for the hostage. Maybe there are some good guys and gals in the media after all. If any of them are reading this, thanks. |
| Posted by:Desert Blondie |