Three suspects are in custody and a volunteer officer is in the hospital after a Thursday night shooting that led to a standoff in Ash Fork.
The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office reported that the standoff ended peacefully about midnight, six hours after it began, in a town that's approximately 45 miles west of Flagstaff.
According to a release sent by YCSO, 24-year-old Jason Niedermeyer surrendered to deputies outside his home in the in the Juniper Wood Ranch subdivision south of Ashfork, around 11:45 Thursday night.
Detectives have also arrested Gregory Niedermeyer, age 49, for the Attempted Murder of a YCSO Volunteer after Jason admitted his dad fired the initial rounds at the VIP.
The incident began just after 6 p.m. Thursday when a YCSO "VIP," short for Volunteers in Protection, witnessed a rider speeding on an ATV, a YCSO spokesman said
He said the VIP then followed the ATV to a gate on the property the rider raced onto.
That's when investigators think the VIP got out of his marked YCSO vehicle. Papers flew from the car, so the volunteer reached to pick them up and he was shot at by someone in the home where the ATV rider had fled.
The volunteer was struck in the hip and he managed to get into his car, drive away and call for help.
SWAT members surrounded the home as the VIP was taken to the hospital for surgery with non-life-threatening injuries.
In a release sent to the media on Friday, a YCSO spokesman said, "It is estimated that over 20 rounds from a high-powered rifle were fired towards the patrol vehicle with 3 of those rounds striking the volunteer in the pelvic region while he was outside his vehicle. "
That release also stated, "Preliminary indications are that the 70-year-old volunteer may have been intentionally lured to the property by the actions of the speeding quad driver and then ambushed."
During a conversation with a YCSO negotiator before he surrendered, Niedermeyer admitted his role in the shooting, authorities said.
Five other people, including Niedermeyer's parents and a 5-year-old child, were also in the home. No one else in the home was injured and, according to officers, they were also taken into custody without incident.
During a sweep of the property and its many out-buildings, detectives located pipe bombs and numerous firearms, including a .50 caliber rifle, officials said.
Detectives also located a large Marijuana growing operation and determined Gregory's wife, 54-year-old Maria Niedermeyer, was involved. She was arrested and charged with Production of Marijuana. She was not charged related to the shooting.
The VIP is said to be doing well and is expected to make a full recovery.
