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All-night armed standoff ends peacefully in Avon

Brent Schoen
Special to the Daily |

AVON — An armed all-night standoff with police ended peacefully when an Avon man surrendered around dawn yesterday.

Brent Schoen, 40, was the subject of two police calls Tuesday night in which witnesses reported “erratic behavior,” said Avon Police Chief Bob Ticer. While there was nothing criminal reported in those calls, Schoen upped the stakes by the third call.

Around 10 p.m., Schoen was on the deck outside an Avon coffee shop and pizza joint, when he picked up a backpack or purse belonging to another customer. When another patron confronted him, Schoen threatened him and fled on foot.



Because Avon police had already dealt with him a couple times that night, they knew who he was and where he lived.

Avon officers quickly arrived at his residence and saw that he was armed with a shotgun. They spent the next two hours trying to convince Schoen to come out, but he refused, Ticer said.

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The Eagle County special operations unit (the SWAT team) was called to the scene, and trained negotiators spent several hours trying to convince Schoen to give himself up.

In the meantime, officers moved all the neighbors out of their apartments to make sure they were safe, Ticer said.

As the SWAT team secured the area, the negotiators kept talking with Schoen. Finally, after an all-night session, Schoen came out at 6:10 a.m.

“It was great work by all responding law enforcement agencies,” Ticer said.

There were no injuries. Schoen was taken to the Vail Valley Medical Center for a quick examination, then was booked into the Eagle County jail on several charges, including felony menacing.

Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 or rwyrick@vaildaily.com.


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