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Man with rifle frightens mail carrier
Neighbor: 'He tends to rant and rave'
Herald Staff Writer
Photo by JERRY McBRIDE/Herald
Durango Police Department Detective Robert Brammer, left, and Officer Rob Haukeness take cover behind a U.S. Postal Service van Wednesday as they advance toward a house where a man with a rifle allegedly threatened a mail carrier in the 2700 block of Delwood Avenue.
Byron Neff, 57, was sitting on his porch with a rifle when a U.S. Postal Service worker approached to hand him the mail. As the postal worker walked away, the man became irate and yelled at the woman, said Durango Postmaster Sean Schtakleff.
The man never pointed the rifle at the woman, he said.
"As far as I know, he just frightened the carrier," Schtakleff said. "We're going to let the local police handle it. Whatever laws he broke, that's up to Durango police."
The incident occurred about 1:05 p.m. at 2711 Delwood Ave., in northwest Durango. Police set up a perimeter around the man's house, while a police negotiator called the residence.
"He was certainly agitated about us being there," said Durango police Investigator Sgt. Dan Shry. "He showed the same type of reaction to the mail carrier. It just seemed to be his state of mind this afternoon to everything.
"We do suspect he had been drinking."
Neff agreed to surrender at 1:45 p.m. - about 15 minutes after being contacted by police. He was handcuffed and taken to jail on suspicion of prohibited use of a weapon, a misdemeanor, and menacing, a felony.
Police recovered three firearms.
Police declined to release the victim's name, saying they wanted to protect her privacy.
Durango School District 9-R put two schools in a soft lockdown: Miller Middle School, which had about 220 students in a summer program, and Needham Elementary, which had about 30 students, said Kathy Morris, 9-R safety compliance coordinator.
Schtakleff also declined to identify the postal worker, but said she has worked with the agency for a little more than a year and is a relief carrier, meaning she covers for postal workers on vacation.
During the incident, police issued a "reverse 911 call" to neighbors informing them of the incident and asking them to stay indoors. A second call was made once the incident ended.
Neff does not have an extensive criminal record in Durango, but neighbors said he threatened a meter reader for Durango's electrical cooperative in the past, Shry said.
Neff has lived at the house for several years with his mother, said Njal Schold, a neighbor.
"He tends to rant and rave and yell at people," Schold said. "He's scared us a few times. It's been ongoing for years."
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