VIDEO: Former Spencer mayor's standoff with police

Friday, May 15, 2009 3:00 AM |

Printer friendly version |

E-mail to a friend |

Alicia Bean, with a high-powered rifle in her hands, in the back yard of her home in Spencer. Brad Thomas, Salisbury Post

By Steve Huffman

shuffman@salisburypost.com

SPENCER — An armed standoff involving a former Spencer mayor ended without serious injury in the woman's backyard Friday afternoon.

Alicia Bean, who served as mayor from 2005-2007, held law enforcement officers at bay for about an hour before officers tackled her in a storage building behind her house at 218 N. Yadkin Ave.

The incident ended about 3:30 p.m.

During the standoff, Bean had what appeared to be an automatic rifle slung across her shoulders. She periodically shook the weapon in the direction of officers, then alternated between screaming, throwing her hands above her head and moving in and out of the storage building.

Officers snuck around the corner of the building, then tackled Bean inside the structure.

"Whatever happened, I'm just glad it ended peacefully," said the town's current mayor, Jody Everhart, who arrived at the scene just after Bean was taken into custody.

Yadkin Avenue between Harrison and Newton streets was blocked as the situation unfolded. Officers from the Spencer Police Department and the Rowan County Sheriff's Office responded.

Bean also served several terms on the town's Board of Aldermen, serving as Spencer's mayor pro tem before running for mayor in 2005.

Video

If you would like to subscribe to the Salisbury Post, click here.

Comments

Notice about comments:

Salisburypost.com is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Salisburypost.com cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not Salisburypost.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.
DO NOT POST:
* Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults or threats.
* The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.
* Comments unrelated to the story.
Full terms and conditions can be read here

Salisbury Post is proud to offer our users enhanced commenting features. You can now build user-to-user connections, follow friend's recent posts, add an avatar that fits your personality, and more.