Woman held after standoff
June 6, 2009 - 9:00 pm
A woman fired shots at police during a six-hour standoff Friday on Gowan Road in North Las Vegas, but police were able to resolve the situation peacefully and take her into custody.
North Las Vegas police were called to the home around 6:15 a.m. following reports of an armed woman, identified by police as Carla Eagleton, and a possible hostage situation involving her 10-year-old grandson, police spokeswoman Chrissie Coon said.
Coon said the initial call was in reference to a domestic disturbance, but would not reveal who else was in the home.
The shots were fired early on in the confrontation, shortly after police responded to the scene. The boy was released unharmed about 7:30 a.m., police said.
Police and SWAT officers for several hours tried to coerce the woman out of the home. At times police detonated flash grenades, meant to stun the person inside.
Crisis negotiators kept communicating with the woman throughout the standoff, Coon said. SWAT officers finally removed the garage door, broke down the front door and rammed a vehicle into the front of the modest two-story home, removing the woman around 12:20 p.m.
Eagleton was treated for minor injuries and booked into the North Las Vegas Detention Center on two counts of attempted murder and one count of felony domestic battery with a deadly weapon.
A man at the scene, who didn't want his name used, said Eagleton was his stepmother. He said she had emotional problems but had never been diagnosed with a mental illness. He and other family members watched events unfold about a block away from the home Friday.
"It was a domestic disturbance that sparked everything," Coon said. "Women can be as emotionally affected by a domestic dispute as a man can."
Several blocks in the neighborhood were closed down during the incident.
Contact reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.