Leesburg couple freed after hours-long standoff

An elderly couple was freed late Friday and a suspect taken into custody after a lengthy hostage situation, officials said.

At about 11:30 a.m. Friday, a suspect fled the scene of an armed robbery and entered a private home in Leesburg, where he took the keys to a Jeep Grand Cherokee. The suspect then abandoned the vehicle at about 2 p.m. and barricaded himself into a home in the 700 block of Valley View Avenue, taking two hostages.

The hostages were released late Friday night and authorities took into custody the suspect, identified as 49-year-old William Spencer of Baltimore. – David Sherfinski