SWAT, tear gas used to capture wanted Arizona fugitive in southern Utah

HILDALE —A man wanted in Arizona was arrested in southern Utah following a standoff with a SWAT team that ended with police using tear gas and the man falling through the ceiling.

The investigation began Saturday when police spotted 45-year-old Curtis Reef Cooke who “had a felony probation violation warrant issued for his arrest” out of Mohave County Superior Court in Arizona, according to a police booking affidavit. “The original charges were for arson of an occupied structure and aggravated assault.”

Cooke, who was in a golf cart, tried to drive through a yard in Hildale to get away and then “began running at a sprint away from me in an obvious attempt to avoid arrest,” the affidavit states.

After running into a residence and refusing to come out, the Washington County Metro SWAT team and the Washington County Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team were called.

Officers say a child notified police that a man matching Cooke’s description “was inside the residence and possessed a handgun,” according to the affidavit.

Following a standoff that lasted several hours, “the SWAT team subsequently made entry into the residence and conducted a building search. (Tear gas) was deployed into the residence’s attic. This was successful in causing Cooke to leave the attic. Officers on the SWAT team relayed that Cooke fell through the ceiling, out of the attic,” police stated in their affidavit.

Cooke again tried to run but was captured by a SWAT officer.

“At the time he was arrested, a loaded handgun was found in Cooke’s pants waistband,” the affidavit states.

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