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Suspect in crane standoff is denied bail in Atlanta

Associated Press
Published May 31, 2005


ATLANTA - A Florida homicide suspect whose 56-hour standoff atop a crane led to a spectacle in the city's entertainment district was ordered held without bail Monday pending an extradition hearing.

Carl Edward Roland is to appear in Superior Court today for a hearing to discuss his return to Pinellas County, where he is charged with strangling his ex-girlfriend.

A sheriff's spokeswoman, Sgt. Nikita Hightower, said she did not know if Roland has an attorney.

Atlanta police subdued Roland, 41, with a stun gun as he crawled toward an officer for a cup of water early Saturday, after spending several days perched on a construction crane 350 feet high in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood. He was hospitalized for nearly two days.

Roland, of Clearwater, faces charges in Atlanta of criminal trespassing, reckless conduct and first-degree criminal damage to property, Hightower said.

In Pinellas County, Roland is accused of killing 36-year-old Jennifer Gonzalez, whose body was found in a retention pond May 24.