Wanted man uses excavator to elude capture during 8-hour standoff, Iowa police say

A wanted man eluded capture for eight hours by refusing to exit an excavator and using the machinery to keep officers away, Iowa police say.

Ryan Linehan, 40, was under surveillance Friday morning by U.S. Marshals Service deputies and local police, who found him operating the excavator at an intersection in Council Bluffs, according to a news release. When he exited, the officers moved in to arrest Linehan, but he retreated inside the cab of the machine.

Initially, Linehan kept the officers away by swinging the bucket in their direction, police say. He also drove the excavator during the standoff, KETV reported.

After three hours of negotiating, Linehan pulled a gun out of his coat, police say.

The negotiations continued for another five hours until Linehan threatened to restart the excavator, “increasing the threat and risk to the officers and community,” police say.

When officers fired a beanbag and pepper spray into the cab, Linehan shot himself in the jaw, police say. He was transported to a hospital, where he was in stable condition and expected to survive.

Linehan, an Omaha, Nebraska, resident, was wanted on a charge of first-degree sexual assault of a child, the Associated Press reported.