Man arrested after barricade ID'd

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - The search for a robbery suspect, briefly turned into a barricade situation for police Monday evening.

Around 5:30 p.m., Portsmouth detectives tried to serve an arrest warrant on the suspect in the Colonial Place section of Norfolk.

Officers went to 66 Georgia Avenue to serve several felony warrants to include armed burglary, two counts of robbery, two counts of abduction, and five counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

The wanted person, Gene Phillip Morris II, 41, refused to open the door and the Norfolk Police Department were called to assist.

Police said Morris was inside the apartment with a woman. After a few minutes of trying to convince the occupants to open the door, they finally opened the door and he was taken into custody.

No injuries were reported.

Portsmouth police said the original incident of armed burglary occurred Jan. 26 at 9:45 p.m. in the 400 block of Washington Street in Portsmouth.

Police said two victims answered the door after they heard a knock. A man entered with a handgun, the two victims were tied up, and the suspects took items.

One of the suspects took one of the victims to his place of employment, Way Back Yonder Antiques, and forced him at gunpoint to open the business. The suspect then took antiques from the business.

Police said the first suspect, 23-year-old Dale Lynn Sparrow, Jr., was arrested on Jan. 27 in the 800 block of Sutton Place in Virginia Beach. He received the same charges as Morris.

Some of the stolen items were recovered by police at the Georgia Avenue address.