Mom devastated after fugitive children's capture
By KRISTEN WYATT and IVAN MORENO, Associated Press
Aug 11, 2011 11:07 AM CDT
This combo made from photos provided Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2011 by the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office shows, from left, Ryan Edward Dougherty, 21, Dylan Dougherty Stanley, 26, and Lee Grace Dougherty, 29. An FBI manhunt for the heavily armed siblings accused of shooting at a police officer in Florida...   (Associated Press)

The Florida mother of two brothers and a sister captured in Colorado after an intense nationwide search said she is devastated after the weeklong manhunt and arrest of her children.

Barbara Bell of East Palatka, Fla., spoke briefly Thursday to The Associated Press but declined to discuss their ordeal, saying she didn't think it would help them in the long run.

"Thank God they're not tried by the media," she said. "They're tried in a court of law and their story will come out at that time."

Bell hung up the phone shortly after a reporter called, saying she needed to keep the line open for concerned family members to reach her.

"I'm devastated and I'm trying to be strong for other family members," Bell said. "Throughout all of this, I think everybody just wanted it to stop. And now it's over."

Her children _ Lee Grace Dougherty, 29, Dylan Dougherty Stanley, 26, and Ryan Edward Dougherty, 21, _ face four Colorado state charges each of first-degree assault on a peace officer.

They were scheduled for a first appearance in court Thursday in Pueblo, Colo. Authorities said the trio will appear by video from the jail, and won't be transported to the courtroom.

The siblings also have no-bond warrants in Georgia and Florida on charges they shot at a police officer in Florida and robbed a bank in Georgia.

"These three have a big legal mess in front of them and at some point they'll face charges in all those jurisdictions," FBI Special Agent Phil Niedringhaus said.

After images of the trio were broadcast on television, someone tipped Colorado state troopers and the Pueblo County sheriff around 9 a.m. Wednesday that the suspects might be at a campground south of Colorado Springs, Colo.

A Pueblo County sheriff's detective spotted the car near an interstate highway that day, followed it discreetly until state troopers joined him, and the chase was on.

AK-47 rounds were fired at the four patrol cars during the pursuit south on the interstate, where speeds exceeded 100 mph, said Lt. Col. Anthony Padilla of the Colorado State Patrol.

In Walsenburg, Colo., troopers deployed spiked stop strips across the interstate. A tire was punctured on the Subaru the siblings were driving, sending it rolling and crashing into a guardrail.

Lee Dougherty was shot in the leg after she pointed a gun at a police officer near the car, authorities said, adding that she was trying to escape on foot. Another one of the suspects was apprehended after a brief foot chase.

Three highway workers reportedly helped track and capture that sibling. Dave Dallaguardia told ABC's "Good Morning America" Thursday that he followed Ryan Dougherty in his truck even after the fugitive had motioned at him as if he had a gun.

Dallaguardia said he had no idea he was chasing one of the Dougherty siblings and his wife later scolded him for pursuing him. He said he and his co-workers came from small, blue-collar towns.

"If you need to lend a hand, you lend a hand and help people out," Dallaguardia said.

Lee Dougherty was treated at a Walsenburg hospital for a gunshot wound and her brothers received treatment for injuries suffered in the crash. They were later transferred to Pueblo County Jail.

The trio reportedly had bought camping gear and were hiding out in the remote San Isabel National Forest in southern Colorado.

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Associated Press writers Russ Bynum in Georgia, Mitch Stacy, Harry Weber and Michael Schneider in Florida, and Dan Elliott, Steven Paulson and Kristen Wyatt in Colorado contributed to this report.

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Follow Kristen Wyatt at http://twitter.com/APkristenwyatt and Ivan Moreno at http://twitter.com/IvanJournalist.

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