Injured murder convict arrested after hours-long standoff in Rosmalen
Convict Joey D. (27) was arrested in a house on Schoolstraat in Rosmalen on Tuesday evening after an hours-long standoff with the police. The man had injured himself and was taken to hospital by ambulance in "very critical condition", authorities said on Wednesday. The armed man barricaded himself in the house shortly after the court in Den Bosch convicted him on appeal and sentenced him to 15 years and 6 months in prison for killing his uncle Martie Heesbeen at the end of 2014, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) confirmed.
The police went to the home on Schoolstraat to take Joey D. into custody after the ruling at around 3:00 p.m. Shots were fired at officers, the police said on Twitter. The man had an automatic firearm and shot at the police from the house, the police said according to NU.nl.
A SWAT team and negotiators responded to the scene, surrounding the house. Homes in the neighborhood and a nearby childcare center were evacuated as a precaution. The children were cared for elsewhere in Rosmalen, according to AD.
The police tried to negotiate with D. over a megaphone. A bystander told AD that the 27-year-old man would only speak to a female officer. She told him to "Be a man" and to surrender unarmed and without incident.
"An attempt was made in vain to allow the man to leave the house independently," the OM said. "The tactical team went in around 7:30 p.m with the aim of arresting him," the OM continued.
"Shots sounded again. The man had seriously injured himself and was taken to the hospital."
Bystanders told NU.nl that they heard a thud and multiple shots fired during the arrest. D. was taken to hospital in "very critical condition," the OM stated.
Speaking to newspaper AD, Joey D.'s lawyer Jan-Hein Kuijpers said he received an SMS from his client saying "I didn't shoot". The lawyer sent a message back, advising him to take off his clothes and go outside in his underpants and with his hands visible. "Because when such a tactical unit enters... it won't go smoothly." But he received no reply. "I tried to call him now and then, but couldn't get hold of him," the lawyer said.
Joey D. was convicted on appeal of shooting and killing his 49-year-old uncle Martie Heesbeen and his dog on Van Oldenbarneveltlaan in Rosmalen on December 2, 2014. He was acquitted when the case was first tried.
D. worked with his uncle in the family business for some time. According to the Public Prosecutor, D. heard that the business was performing poorly and that his uncle was working with the director of the business at the time to launch a new company. This would mean that D. and his sister would lose out on a big bonus worth six million euros, according to the Prosecutor. Witnesses said that they heard Joey say he would shoot the person responsible for this.
