Fugitive Rodney Clavell was armed, ready to shoot it out with South Australia police in King William St siege
CORNERED fugitive Rodney Clavell was armed with a .22 rifle and a cache of ammunition and had vowed to kill police if cornered, a close associate has revealed.
CORNERED fugitive Rodney Clavell was armed with a .22 rifle and a cache of ammunition and had vowed to kill police if cornered, a close associate has revealed.
Clavell was found dead by police today after a 13-hour standoff that locked down the city.
The woman, who asked not to be identified, told Advertiser.com.au this morning that Clavell stayed at her inner southern suburbs home on Sunday night and they discussed the scenario.
She said she had dropped Clavell off at the King William St massage parlour, Marilyn’s Studio, where he was was found dead this afternoon after a long siege which involved STAR Group officers.
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He was in possession of a .22 rifle and a bag of ammunition she believed contained “at least 40 bullets’’.
The woman said Clavell had told her he would not surrender to police “because he knows they are going to kill him.’’
“He thinks they have it in for him, he will take police out,’’ she said.
“He knows he won’t survive this alive today.
“We discussed the fact that innocent people should not be hurt, people who have not been wronged by him should not be affected by this.’’
The woman said Clavell came to stay at her house after he contacted her on Sunday night. She had picked him up from another house in the same area as hers.
“He spent the whole night here,’’ she said.
When asked if the police were aware of this, she replied: “They have never once been to my house.’’
The woman said Clavell had been moving throughout Adelaide by himself and told her police came close to him at the weekend while raiding a number of houses connected with bikies.
“He said he had a sixth sense that he knew when he had to leave where he was staying,’’ she said.
Clavell sparks huge city standoff
The woman said Clavell had told her he was not the man police claimed to have sighted in the city last week, prompting a massive lockdown of the south eastern section of the city and several schools, including Pulteney Grammar.
“He said they have got close to him, but that wasn’t him,’’ she said.
The woman said Clavell appeared “very tired’’, but she believed he was not under the influence of any drugs.
She said he no longer had a mobile telephone as he had left his SIM card at her house, along with his other belongings.
They included jogging shoes, several wigs and chocolate and nougat bars in a small bag.
The woman said she first met Clavell a year ago through a mutual friend not long after he had last been released from prison.
“We are just good friends,’’ she said.
“He is nothing like the guy being portrayed in the media by the police. He is just a guy who has fallen on hard times,’’ she said.
“He is calm, strong and thoughtful.’’