Hostage standoff in Statesboro ends with suspects surrendering

<p>A man and a woman who took an attorney hostage and told authorities they were armed with an explosive device surrendered Tuesday, more than 24 hours after the standoff began, police said.</p><p>The suspects came out of the downtown building where they were holding attorney Michael Hostilo around 9:30 a.m., said Larry Schnall, a spokesman for the Georgia State Patrol.</p><p>The standoff, which started Monday morning, ended peacefully, and Hostilo was found unharmed, Schnall said.</p><p>The suspects, Robert Eugene Brower, 43, a former client of the lawyer, and Connie Brower, have been charged with kidnapping, police said, adding that more charges could be filed later. Police Chief Stan York described the couple as being married, but it was not clear if they had a legal marriage.</p><p>The suspects were unharmed, York said. He said police found an explosive device of a "pyrotechnic type." He did not elaborate. About two hours after the standoff ended, authorities began detonating items from the trunk of a car that was parked near Hostilo's office. There were at least three explosions, about five minutes apart. No word was available on the type of material being detonated.</p><p>A few hours earlier, the standoff briefly erupted into gunfire when the two suspects walked out of the building. At that point, the two had possibly come out to surrender, but they suddenly became apprehensive and made a threatening gesture toward law enforcement officers that prompted an exchange of gunfire, Schnall said.</p><p>The two then ran back into the building and authorities resumed negotiations with them.</p><p>Schnall said he did not know who fired the shots.</p><p>Police cordoned off part of downtown Monday in this small southeast Georgia college town after Hostilo was taken hostage about 9:15 a.m.</p><p>In a news conference Monday night, York said Brower was angry about having been convicted in a criminal case in which the lawyer was his court-appointed attorney. York would not elaborate on the couple's demands, saying they only wanted to call attention to the case. Schnall said he did not know what type of case Hostilo handled for Brower.</p>