CLIFTON, Colo.—Authorities say a paraplegic man in a wheelchair held police at bay for 3 hours following a report of a shot fired through an apartment wall.
Forty-six-year-old Derek Sheeley faces charges of illegal discharge of a firearm, prohibited use of a weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia, obstructing, and reckless endangerment following Sunday night’s standoff.
Mesa County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Heather Benjamin says SWAT team members who raided Sheeley’s apartment initially thought he was quadriplegic. It was later determined that Sheeley has full use of his arms and partial use of his legs.
Benjamin says Sheeley had a blood-alcohol level of more than 0.20 and provided no immediate explanation for the gunshot into his neighbor’s apartment.
Clifton is just east of Grand Junction.
