Phoenix police standoff ends, 2nd man held with dog’s help

PHOENIX – A standoff between Phoenix police and two armed men who had holed up inside a burning house ended after the confrontation stretched into a second day and officers realized there was no third suspect inside the home as they initially believed, police said Monday.

The second man was taken into custody early Monday with the help of a male Belgian Malinois police dog named Lumpi, who bit him, Sgt. Mercedes Fortune said. The fire had been extinguished by then.

The standoff at the home had continued after that suspect’s arrest because he lied that there was a third man inside, Fortune said. It ended two hours later when officers discovered there was no one in the home.

The first suspect arrested during the standoff that began around midday Sunday was identified as 37-year-old Kenny Keyes.

The second suspect is a 26-year-old man whose identification was being withheld until he was formally booked.

Suspects repeatedly shot from the house during the confrontation, but officers were unhurt, Fortune said. Authorities responded with tear gas.

Fortune said the house caught fire, and police officers used fire hoses to put out the flames.

“Even through all that danger, and being shot at, our officers still engaged and tried to help that suspect” by fighting the blaze, she said.

The situation began shortly before noon Sunday when one of the suspects allegedly pointed a gun at a person who tried to stop them from robbing a business and police tracked their getaway car to the home, where they barricaded themselves inside.

Officers were able to evacuate people from adjacent homes as the standoff stretched on for hours, Fortune said.