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Wednesday, December 31, 1997

Brother of man in day-care standoff stages a standoff of his own

By PAM EASTON Associated Press Writer

McKINNEY, Texas (AP) - Two weeks ago, James Riccardo Lipscomb charged up and down police barricades at a day-care center, complaining officers wouldn't let him talk to his brother holding 80 children hostage inside.

On Tuesday, Lipscomb was involved in a standoff of his own, holding his estranged common-law wife and two of their three children hostage at a public housing complex, police said.

Assistant police chief Ray Simmons said Lipscomb, who made no demands, indicated late Tuesday afternoon he might be ready to surrender.

"We've had real positive comments from him about bringing this to an end," Simmons said. "He's talking about which door he wants to come out ... who he'd want to be there."

Simmons said police were willing to wait as long as it takes for the standoff to end peacefully.

Police said the siege began Monday night when Lipscomb, 38, threatened the woman with a knife after finding another man in her apartment. He then holed up with the woman and their three children, ages 12, 9 and 7. He let the 9-year-old boy leave two hours later.

Police withheld the identities of the children, their mother and the boyfriend.

On-again, off-again negotiations began with police. Talks broke down at one point early Tuesday when Lipscomb threw a telephone out the window.

About 20 heavily armed officers surrounded the orange-brick duplex in this suburb north of Dallas. Some crouched on the ground. Others stood outside a propped-open screen door.

Officers evacuated the adjoining apartments and cordoned off the surrounding four blocks, including a neighboring church where the boyfriend and the 9-year-old waited sleeplessly through the night.

On Dec. 17, Lipscomb's brother, James Monroe Lipscomb Jr., 33, stormed a day-care center in the nearby suburb of Plano. He quickly released most of the 80 children and five adults and finally surrendered the following day. He remains jailed on kidnapping charges.

The brother involved in Tuesday's standoff was at the scene of the Plano siege, complaining that police would not let him negotiate to end the crisis.

"There's no connection between this and what happened in Plano," Simmons said Tuesday. "The only similarity is that they are related, and that's it."

Officers evacuated the adjoining apartments and cordoned off the surrounding four blocks, including a neighboring church where the boyfriend and the child waited sleeplessly throughout until the child fell asleep Tuesday morning, a church member said.

"It's terrible. It doesn't make sense," said Nannetta Ellis, a volunteer worker at the First Baptist Church on Drexel Street.

Police worried about keeping the boyfriend close by but incommunicado while negotiations continued with Lipscomb, Mrs. Ellis said.

"He's not even talking," she said. "They told him, 'Don't talk. Don't say anything.' "

Meanwhile, he worries, Mrs. Ellis said.

"I just wish they'd hurry up and get it over with. We're supposed to have church tomorrow night," she said.

McKinney is a city of about 27,000 about 10 miles north of Plano and 30 miles north of Dallas.Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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