Miami-Dade man charged with attempted murder of officers in Everglades Park standoff

Jay Weaver
·2 min read

A Miami-Dade man who fired dozens of rounds from his assault rifle at Everglades National Park rangers and police officers during a standoff Sunday faces attempted murder and other federal gun charges, authorities said Tuesday.

Drew Curtis Sikes, 37, was taken into custody by park rangers and Miami-Dade police after he surrendered following tense negotiations in which he encouraged them to kill him, according to an FBI criminal complaint.

“F--- yeah, come get me,” Sikes, who was carrying an AK-47, shouted at the rangers and police Sunday afternoon. “I want you guys to kill me.”

Sikes, who is in custody at the Miami Federal Detention Center, had his first court appearance Tuesday. The federal public defender’s office was appointed to represent Sikes, who has a bond hearing on Friday and an arraignment April 13.

Earlier this month, the Palmetto Bay man was arrested on a felony domestic violence charge of aggravated assault with a firearm on his wife, but Sikes was released on bail by a Miami-Dade judge with an order to stay away from her.

Sikes had been holding his wife hostage for four days, threatened to kill her and struck her in the face in the Mahogany Hammocks section of the park on Sunday afternoon before she got away and called the rangers to come to her rescue, the complaint says. That led to a search for Sikes, who was driving a white van, and the standoff in the Flamingo Park area.

According to the FBI complaint, both park rangers and Miami-Dade police arrived in marked vehicles to the wooded area where they believed Sikes to be and then used a loudspeaker to communicate with him. They identified themselves as law enforcement and directed Sikes to exit the woods.

At that point, the rangers and officers heard gunfire and felt rounds traveling over their heads, despite officers’ continued commands that Sikes cease fire and emerge from the woods, according to the complaint filed by federal prosecutor Manolo Reboso. After an hour of negotiations, Sikes emerged from the woods and was arrested.