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Hampton Police arrest wanted suspect after manhunt

Posted at 5:17 AM, May 08, 2014
and last updated 2014-05-09 18:55:05-04

After dodging police for nearly two days and leading them on a 10 hour manhunt on Thursday, Hampton Police arrested 24-year-old Benjamin Tyler Powell early Friday at a Days Inn on Coliseum Drive.

Powell ran from a state police traffic stop in the area Wednesday night.

About 30 minutes after the stop, Hampton police officers encountered a man matching Powell's description in the rear of Michael Woods Plaza.

Powell allegedly waved a gun at an officer and another officer fired shots at Powell.

Powell fled and officers were forced to search the area, causing several schools and streets to be closed in the area.

Police brought bloodhounds and SWAT but were unable to find Powell.

The search ended Friday morning, when police received a tip from Crime Line. Powell was found inside of a hotel room at the Days Inn.

After several hours of negotiations, Powell finally gave himself up.

Cpl. Mary Shackelford tells NewsChannel 3 that Powell was taken into custody just after 1:00 a.m. Friday morning.

"We are very relieved," Shackelford said. "The fact that Mr. Powell is okay, our citizens are okay and our officers are okay, it was a good day."

Powell currently has warrants on file for one count of Attempted Maiming, one count of Brandishing and one count of possession of a Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

He already had warrants on file for one count of Felony Probation Violation and one count of Failure to Appear on a Felony Charge.

Court documents show in 2009, Powell was sentenced to three years in prison for breaking and entering.

According to a criminal complaint, the victim said, "He held me at knife point in my bed."

In a letter Powell wrote to the court after that, he explained his terrible drug addiction led him to commit the crime.

In that letter, Powell expressed a serious interest in trying to get help for that addiction, saying "If I were to continue down the path I was going, I could very well end up a career criminal."

But this year, Powell became a fugitive in Newport News after missing court for a drug possession charge in March.

His mother told NewsChannel 3 that she believes her son finally surrendered after five hours of negotiations with police because he knew she was standing just outside the hotel waiting for him.