Las Vegas police: Babysitter, child held hostage during parts of 29-hour barricade

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas police say a child and a babysitter were held hostage for moments during a 29-hour barricade situation in the south part of the valley which ended without any injuries.

“We took this very slowly and methodically negotiating with him throughout the entire night,“ explained Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Chief Sasha Larkin during an update Thursday.

The barricade began the morning before, on Wednesday shortly before 10:30 a.m.

Larkin says a man, identified as 24-year-old Antonio Barryedwards, suspected of stealing a motorcycle got into a fight with an officer in the area of Dean Martin Drive, near Blue Diamond Road and Interstate 15.

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That man then tried to pull out a gun from his vest, police say, so the officer stepped back to de-escalate the situation.

“The officer immediately saw the firearm, feared for his safety and disengaged, creating space, at that point the subject backed up and retreated into his apartment that was directly behind him," said Deputy Chief Larkin.

Watch the full police update below:

While the barricade was underway, police say the man used a hammer and a saw to make a hole in the wall and escape to a neighboring room in the building. There, police say he took a 4-year-old boy and the child's babysitter hostage.

“SWAT immediately began to set up and figure out the quickest and safest way to get the child and babysitter out of the apartment,“ said Larkin.

SWAT team negotiators used a cellphone to communicate with the man holding the child and babysitter hostage.

“In a situation like this, the subject dictates the actions of an incident, they are the ones that set the tone of the incident,“ added Larkin.

About two and a half hours into the negotiations, Larkin says the man released the little boy to the police, but the babysitter remained trapped inside.

“They ended up running in with a 4-year-old child and gave it to my daytime bartender that was really unexpected,” said Stephanie Najera, who is the bar manager at the nearby Rusty Spur Saloon.

"She gave him a cranberry juice, put some cartoons on, at that point they just psyched him up that he was going to take a ride in a police car,” added Najera.

More than 24 hours later, police say the man finally released the babysitter as well.

"It’s just traumatizing to know that, even in your parking lot, and we didn’t know at the time, we knew they were hostages, but we didn’t know it was a child, that was shocking,“ said Najera.

After 29 hours total of negotiations, police say they were able to take the man into custody without any injury.

“It should be noted that extreme care and patience and de-escalation was used throughout this entire incident,” Larkin said.

“This is the kind of thing that the LVMPD SWAT team and negotiators trained for and prepare for," she continued, "and there is nothing more important to us than the sanctity of life.”

Larkin says there are no injuries to the hostages or the man in custody to report.

Barryedwards faces several charges including:

• 2 counts of 2nd-degree kidnapping

• 7 counts of assault on a protected person with a deadly weapon

• 7 counts of discharging a gun within a structure, etc.

1 count each of the following:

• Own/poss of a gun by a prohibited person

• Burglary while in possession of a gun

• Possession of a stolen vehicle

• Assault with a deadly weapon

• Resisting a public officer with a firearm

• Carrying a concealed weapon without a permit

Anyone with more information about this incident is asked to contact the LVMPD Enterprise Area Command at 702-828-2843 or EAC@LVMPD.com.

To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or submit a tip online at crimestoppersofnv.com.