St. Cloud Standoff Suspect Charged With Assault and Weapons Violations

(KNSI) — A suspect accused of firing a gun at police and engaging them in an hours-long standoff has been charged.

According to the criminal complaint, members of the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force went to the apartment of Shawn Lawrence Jacobs on the 2700 block of 16th Street South at about 8:35 Tuesday morning to execute a search warrant. Jacobs was accused of distributing large amounts of methamphetamine and other controlled substances. A task force member knocked on the door, announced the presence of law enforcement, and that they were there to carry out a search warrant. Jacobs threatened to shoot the officers and asked, “Do you wanna die?” Officers pleaded with Jacobs to come out, saying no one needed to get hurt, and they wanted everything to end safely.

As officers began evacuating neighboring apartments, Jacobs allegedly fired one round through the wall of his apartment into the hallway where nine task force members had been standing moments before. Police did not return fire and evacuated the entire building.

Despite repeated commands to come out, the criminal complaint says Jacobs refused. For almost five hours, negotiators worked to get him to surrender. As police talked with him, he allegedly admitted shooting at police and wearing body armor. He eventually came out and was taken into custody.

Police say they entered the apartment and found a .45 caliber handgun and a bullet-resistant vest in the bathroom. They discovered a large amount of methamphetamine in the toilet, which police say Jacobs tried to flush. They also allegedly found Rock River Arms LAR 15 assault rifle, 20 rounds of .223 ammunition, numerous bags of marijuana and methamphetamine, needles for consuming controlled substances, packaging materials, scales, and other controlled substance use and distribution items.

Jacobs is charged with nine counts of first-degree assault, two counts of felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of committing a crime while possessing a bullet-resistant vest.

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