Wanted Delaware man kills himself in Virginia
A man who was wanted out of Georgetown for raping a 29-year-old woman and stealing her SUV committed suicide by hanging after a standoff with police in Newport News, Virginia, Wednesday, police said.
The medical examiner's office in nearby Norfolk, Virginia, on Thursday determined the manner of death for Jawan T. Colson, 30, according to the Newport News Police Department.
The situation involving Colson occurred after the Newport News police's Fugitive Apprehension Unit and the U.S. Marshals Service attempted to arrest a suspect wanted in Georgetown, Newport News police said.
Colson barricaded himself in a room at the Midtown motel in Newport News and refused to come out. Negotiators at about 11:45 a.m. Wednesday unsuccessfully attempted to convince Colson to surrender himself peacefully, prompting the tactical operations unit to later deploy tear gas and forcing entry into the room.
Police said officers found Colson unconscious. He was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police said Colson had a last known address in Lincoln.
Georgetown police previously said that Colson committed the attack on the 29-year-old woman during the early morning of Dec. 19 at the County Seat Apartments on Legal Drive in Georgetown. Police said Colson bound and raped the woman, then drove off in her car, which was later recovered in the Dover area.
Georgetown police said the woman called for help after she managed to free herself.
The News Journal reported in December that warrants had been issued charging Colson with first-degree rape, two counts of second-degree rape, third-degree unlawful sexual contact, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, strangulation, motor vehicle theft and two counts of theft.
The Delaware Sex Offender Central Registry already listed Colson, of the 9100 block of Greentop Road in the Lincoln area, as a "Tier 3" or high-risk offender.
Details of the offense that led to his being a registered sex offender have yet to be made available.
Contact Yann Ranaivo at (302) 324-2837, yranaivo@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @YannRanaivo.