Tragic end: Clavell found dead
Fugitive Rodney Clavell has been found dead after a 12 hour siege that locked down the southern section of King William Street.
Clavell had been holed up alone in a business premises, believed to be a brothel, during a stand-off with SA Police that started at 1am this morning.
The 46-year-old, who had been on the run from police for more than two weeks, is believed to have taken his own life.
Clavell, a former prison officer, was wanted on firearms and other charges.
The southern end of King William Street, which had been blocked by Police since early this morning, is now open to traffic and tram services have resumed.
At a press conference this afternoon, Assistant Commissioner Paul Dickson confirmed the death, which had first been announced in Parliament by Police Minister Tony Piccolo.
He said that Police had not been able to make contact with Clavell so, at 12.55, they deployed a robot, which located Clavell’s body. Officers then entered the building, finding Clavell’s body and a firearm.
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Dickson said that Clavell’s death was classed as a death in custody, and a report would be prepared for the Coroner.
Earlier four hostages were released from the building. Three women walked out around 11.30am with their arms in the air, and were whisked away by STAR Group police. Shortly afterwards, a fourth woman emerged from the scene, who was visibly distressed.
Dickson said further details of the siege will come after police speak at length with the women, who are all cooperating.
Dickson said Clavell was alive when the women were released and the women had been through a “harrowing experience.”
He said police were unsure whether Clavell knew the women in the brothel but said it appeared “he had a belief he was relatively safe in these premises.”
Dickson said it was believed Clavell had committed other serious crimes during his time on the run, including the assault of a woman and possession of a shotgun.
Police had wanted a peaceful end to the siege, for the women that were inside the building, the community and for Clavell, Dickson said.
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“Our role in society is to look after the community and try and resolve things in a safe way. Mr Clavell was a member of our community and we treat him the same way as we treat everybody else,” he said.
“Our aim has always been to safely resolve this incident and unfortunately in this case we weren’t able to resolve it safely from Mr Clavell’s perspective but we certainly did resolve it safely from the general community’s perspective.”
Police swooped on the premises – believed to be a brothel – at about 1am after being tipped off that Clavell, who has been on the run since May 22, was inside.
He was believed to be armed.
King William Street was locked down between the southern end of Victoria Square and Sturt/Halifax Street.
Police had appealed for Clavell, who has had a history of heavy drug use, to surrender amid fears the stand-off could escalate, repeatedly ruling out storming the building.
Instead, they attempted to call Clavell by phone, used loud hailers and tried to send him messages via the media.
A warrant was issued for the 46-year-old former prison guard on May 22 in relation to firearm and other matters.
Since then, police have conducted more than 80 raids in their pursuit of the state’s most wanted man, before a tip-off lead them to the premises on King William St in the early hours of Thursday.
In 2004, Clavell used a 12-tonne grader to flee from police. He was shot twice and tasered by STAR Group officers after the 46km chase through the Adelaide Hills.
He served four years in jail.
– with AAP
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