At around 4:30 a.m. on April 7th, a Pennington County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to a residence in the 5500 block of Shaw Court for a report of a theft. On arrival, the deputy made contact with the reporting party. The reporting party informed the deputy that an AR-15 had been stolen from the residence. It was believed another resident of the house, 27-year-old Frank Makesroomforthem, made off the with gun. Deputies were unable to locate Makesroomforthem. At around 11:35 a.m., Another sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to the Public Safety Building to speak to another resident of the address. This reporting party stated that at around 2:30 a.m. on April 7th, Makesroomforthem had entered the reporting party’s room and pointed the AR-15 at him. Makesroomforthem demanded property from the reporting party (to include a handgun), and the reporting party complied. Makesroomforthem then demanded the reporting party drive him to the hotel at 2520 Tower Road. The reporting party complied, driving Makesroomforthem to the hotel while held at gunpoint by the suspect. Police and deputies worked through the afternoon to investigate the incident and developed information that Makesroomforthem was still at the hotel. Given the significant risk posed by a violent suspect known to be in possession of firearms, the Rapid City/Pennington County Special Response Team was called out to resolve the situation. At around 10:00 p.m., the SRT arrived at the hotel and worked to safely evacuate any bystanders that were in the building. Once the building was confirmed safe, the SRT Negotiations Team made contact with Makesroomforthem via landline. He agreed to come out and was taken into custody without further incident. A search of the room associated with the suspect turned up the two stolen firearms and property reported stolen earlier in the day. Makesroomforthem was transported to the Criminal Investigations Division for to be interviewed. Following the interview, he was placed under arrest for First Degree Robbery, Second Degree Kidnapping, Grand Theft Firearm, Grand Theft, and Aggravated Assault. He was then transported to the Pennington County Jail.
The safe resolution of the SRT callout is a testament to the close working relationship between the RCPD, the PCSO, the Rapid City Fire Department, the South Dakota Highway Patrol and Pennington County 911 Dispatch.
