Four hour standoff with shots fired ends with arrest in Vernon Parish

Vernon Parish Sheriff Sam Craft says a four hour standoff with shots fired ended with an arrest of a Leesville man. According to Craft, it started at about 4:00 Monday afternoon when deputies responded to a burglary in progress at a house about 6 miles northeast of Leesville. Craft said 35-year-old Matthew Sterling kicked in the door and once inside he stole a firearm, and then he went into another building on the property as deputies arrived. Refusing to come out and surrender, Sheriff Craft said Sterling fired shots, but fortunately no deputies were hit. The Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Department SWAT Team came in to assist and Craft said they used their armored vehicle to rip the door off the building, and then Sterling finally surrendered. Sterling has now been charged with Aggravated Burglary, Criminal Damage to Property, Resisting an Officer, Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, and Possession of a Stolen Firearm.