The guard who refused to leave an Arkansas prison tower for hours Saturday has been identified as 24-year-old Devonte McCarter.
Arkansas State Police said in a statement that McCarter, a resident of Greenville, Miss., faces a charge of commercial burglary. He was booked into the Drew County jail.
The state police statement said McCarter had access to a rifle at a tower at the Delta Regional Unit when he refused orders to leave the premises.
The standoff continued for several hours before McCarter surrendered shortly before 8 p.m., police said. State police said they were initially called to the prison about 11 a.m.
No one was hurt.
Read Sunday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
8:50 p.m. UPDATE
DERMOTT — An "incident" at a prison in southeast Arkansas that lasted for hours Saturday has come to an end without anyone getting hurt, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Correction said.
The spokesman declined to elaborate about what happened at the Delta Regional Unit in Dermott, though Chicot County Sheriff Ronald Nichols said a guard armed with a rifle had barricaded himself in one of the unit's towers.
Shortly before the man was reported to have surrendered, two armored trucks and an ambulance were seen driving into the facility. A man wearing a blue uniform could be seen pacing the tower throughout the afternoon.
The surrender reportedly occurred shortly before 8 p.m.
Solomon Graves, the prisons spokesman, referred further questions to Arkansas State Police.
Nichols said the man was being transported to Drew County. It was not clear what charges he would face.
Read Sunday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
— John Moritz
6 P.M. UPDATE:
About an hour ago, an armored car with several men drove down the road toward the prison.
Prison officials have declined to release any information about the incident but said there have been no injuries.
Arkansas Department of Correction Director Wendy Kelley could be heard talking to someone in the prison over radio.
"We know you've been up there for a long time and are probably hungry. Let us help you," Kelley said.
J.R. Davis, a spokesman for Gov. Asa Hutchinson's office, said he the office was aware of the situation but declined to comment further, only saying that it could be over soon.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's John Moritz contributed information to this report.
— Austin Cannon
PREVIOUS:
State authorities are responding to “an incident” at the Arkansas Department of Correction's Delta Regional Unit in Dermott, a spokesman said.
Solomon Graves, a spokesman for the department, said his agency and Arkansas State Police are responding to the undisclosed occurrence at the prison.
Graves said the incident does not involve inmates and that’s it’s a developing situation.
When asked if a prison guard was involved in the situation, Graves said he had no other information to provide.
The Delta Regional Unit was accredited in 1990, according to its website, and has a capacity of 599. It’s located at 880 East Gaines St. in Dermott.
Check back for updates and read Sunday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for the full story.
— Austin Cannon