Miami

Miami Man Facing Federal Charges After Shooting in Everglades National Park

Law enforcement officers negotiated for over an hour with Sikes, who eventually emerged from the woods and was arrested, according to the criminal complaint

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South Florida federal prosecutors have charged the man they say is responsible for attempting to kill an officer with a federal gun crime after an armed standoff in Everglades National Park on Sunday.

Officials have charged 37-year-old Drew Curtis Sikes for shooting several rounds from an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle at law enforcement officers who were attempting to get him out of a wooded area inside Everglades National Park, according to a criminal complaint affidavit.

Drew Curtis Sikes

Sikes had been allegedly involved in an altercation at the Park early Sunday and law enforcement officers were responding to a call reporting the alleged incident.

After some initial investigating, officers searched for Sikes along highway 9336, between the Mahogany Hammocks and Flamingo Park sections of Everglades National Park.

When officers arrived in marked police vehicles to the wooded area where they believed Sikes to be, they used a loudspeaker to convey information and commands to Sikes. According to the complaint affidavit, it was at that point that officers heard gunfire and felt rounds traveling over their heads.

Despite officers’ continued requests that Sikes cease fire, he continued shooting. Law enforcement officers negotiated for over an hour with Sikes, who eventually emerged from the woods and was arrested, according to the affidavit.

Sikes is scheduled to make his initial court appearance Tuesday, in federal magistrate court in Miami.

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