Two Men Arrested In Standoff Charged Calvert, Delfs Charged With Federal Weapons Violations

Two men arrested Thursday after a standoff with Spokane police were charged Friday with federal weapons violations.

John L. Calvert, 35, was charged with illegal possession of ammunition while on probation for second-degree burglary.

David Delfs, 39, who like Calvert has at least three earlier felony convictions, was charged with having an unregistered sawed-off shotgun.

Federal officials and city police tracked the men to a South Hill apartment Thursday afternoon after spotting the two downtown in a stolen car.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl Hicks told a federal court magistrate that other charges may be added Tuesday when the two appear in court for a pre-trial hearing.

Another conviction could put the two men into the armed careercriminal category, said Hicks. Under stricter federal felony laws, both could face sentences from 15 years to life in prison.

Both men have been in Spokane for a short while. Calvert moved to Spokane from Stevens County in October after serving 165 days in jail for second-degree burglary.

He also has been convicted of possession and intent to deliver narcotics in both Washington and Nebraska.

Delfs’ record includes convictions for assault in North Carolina and rape in Ohio.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents had been watching Calvert for a week, having heard reports he had been seen with weapons.

“We were watching Calvert and trying to see where he was going, when we saw him and Delfs drive off in a stolen car,” said ATF Special Agent Bob Harper.

Police pursued the two to an apartment building near Eighth and Cowley not far from Sacred Heart Medical Center.

The two men moved from a second-floor apartment to the basement laundry room. Police surrounded the building and cordoned off the area after hearing the men might have a bomb.

After several hours, Calvert and Delfs surrendered to police. Police then searched the apartment and found a shotgun that measured less than 18 inches in length. Delfs said the sawed-off, single-barrel shotgun belonged to him.

On Friday, agents went to Calvert’s apartment, at N111 Bernard, and found 13 rounds of .22-caliber, 13 rounds of 30.06 and 17 rounds of .38-caliber ammunition.

Police also said they found numerous stolen items in the car driven by Calvert and a stolen van parked near his apartment.

Neither Calvert or Delfs have a criminal record in Spokane County, Spokane Police Lt. Jim Nicks said.

Before Tuesday’s hearing, Spokane’s U.S. attorney’s office will check the criminal history of the two men and decide if they should be prosecuted as career criminals.

Those charges would be warranted if the prior convictions all involved either, drugs, guns or violence, said Hicks.