Police arrest 3 robbery suspects after SWAT officers shoot tear gas into apartment

Fort Worth police arrested three aggravated robbery suspects early Thursday after SWAT officers fired tear gas into an apartment the fugitives were holed up in, authorities said.

Deundrick Sandifer, 21; Justin Wilson, 22; and Sir Marquis Cortez, 21, were all charged with aggravated robbery, according to Fort Worth police. Their arrest warrants apparently stem from a robbery on Aug. 5 that occurred in the 6200 block of McCart Avenue, police said.

Officers were dispatched to a report of shots fired in the 6100 block of Westcreek Drive at midnight Thursday, police said. It was reported that a man was discharging his firearm.

The suspect was seen entering the apartment and officers tried to make contact, police said. But the suspect reportedly refused to leave the residence.

As officers investigated the incident, they learned the suspect was wanted in connection with a robbery and he was likely with two other people possibly wanted in connection to the crime, police said.

Detectives wrote a search warrant to enter the apartment, police said, but the suspects refused to leave.

After a standoff lasting a few hours, SWAT deployed tear gas into the apartment and took the suspects into custody.

Video from KTVT/Channel 11 showed the suspects emerging from a residence with their hands up. Police were dispatched to the Villas del Sol Apartments on Westcreek Drive after receiving a report of a shooting, according to the television station.

The three suspects had barricaded themselves in an apartment and refused to come out when officers arrived, Channel 11 reported.

In the Aug. 5 robbery, the suspects are accused of brandishing a weapon while stealing a box of cigarettes from a 7-11, police said.

This story was originally published September 5, 2019 at 10:34 AM.