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Clearwater standoff ends peacefully

MEGAN SCOTT
Published October 4, 2004

Two armed robbery suspects were arrested in Clearwater today after being holed up in a hotel for about 10 hours, forcing police to wait on a search warrant before breaking down the door.

The man and woman had checked into the Comfort Suites on Edgewater Drive and Sunnydale Road early this morning after robbing a home on Turner Street and another on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard, said Wayne Shelor, spokesman for the Clearwater Police Department.

When police came to the hotel around 6 a.m. to arrest them, they refused to open the door. Calls to the room went unanswered. A SWAT Team was called in to seal off the property, while police waited for a search warrant.

The couple were arrested about 4 p.m. without incident.

They were taken to the Pinellas County and face charges of armed robbery or home invasion robbery. Other charges are pending.

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