Florida SWAT team arrests 2 North Carolina fugitives

TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. – Police say two fugitives who fired on a deputy in North Carolina are in custody after a standoff with a SWAT team in Florida.

The Tampa Bay Times reports 50-year-old Donald “Alfred” Billings and 26-year-old Alton Smoot had an AR-15, a machete and a pipe bomb inside an apartment near St. Petersburg.

Authorities say a deputy in Alleghany County, North Carolina, let them go after they opened fire during a traffic stop this month.

Pinellas sheriff’s investigators learned that Billings had an ex-girlfriend in Treasure Island, so they began watching her home. They found Smoot first and arrested him Saturday. Billings was hiding out in the apartment. Officers eventually used tear gas and then set off flash bangs. A fire broke out and officers found Billings on the floor.