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Standoff on Commodore Barry ends with rape arrest

A New Castle, Del., man wanted in the rape of a 14-year-old Delaware girl surrendered shortly before 9 last night on the Commodore Barry Bridge after a seven-hour standoff in which he threatened to jump into the Delaware River.

A New Castle, Del., man wanted in the rape of a 14-year-old Delaware girl surrendered shortly before 9 last night on the Commodore Barry Bridge after a seven-hour standoff in which he threatened to jump into the Delaware River.

New Castle County police began looking for Brian Smith, 37, on Tuesday after a school counselor reported that a student had been sexually assaulted. Investigators said the girl had been held against her will at Smith's home Monday and was the victim of "an extended, calculated and brutal attack." The girl was treated at Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del., and united with her father.

A SWAT team executed a search warrant at Smith's home yesterday morning, but he and his wife were not there. Police obtained warrants charging Smith with two counts of first-degree rape, two counts of fourth-degree rape, kidnapping, assault, possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, and unlawful imprisonment.

Investigators also were seeking arrest warrants for Smith's wife, 35-year-old Necol Rogers, on three counts of endangering the welfare of child. Police said the couple may have fled with a 5-year-old son. Police said Smith also was wanted by police in Mooresville, N.C., on rape charges; by Philadelphia police on allegations of indecent exposure; and in Delaware County on a bad-check charge. - AP