On Wednesday, at approximately 11:20 p.m., Yavapai County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence on Horseshoe Lane in Cordes Lakes after a person reported that someone was in the residence, and it was supposed to be empty.
When deputies arrived, they contacted a man who said he had given a male and female a ride to that address but didn’t know them. Deputies went to check the residence, found an open door, made announcements and a man responded back but refused to come out of the residence. Deputies contacted the homeowner who verified that there was not supposed to be anyone in the residence and gave Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) permission to go inside the home.
Deputies surrounded the residence and were in verbal contact with the male subject, later identified as Andrew Dean Smith from Cordes Lakes, who refused to come out of the residence. Deputies learned that Smith’s girlfriend was in the residence, and she was also refusing to come out. She was later identified as McKenzie Raye Wilbanks also of Cordes Lakes.
Deputies then tried to enter the partially open front door but were blocked by furniture. Deputies entered through another door, and when they entered, they could see Smith standing in the hallway. Deputies tried numerous times to get the duo to come out of the house voluntarily, but neither would comply. Smith disappeared from sight, barricading inside a bedroom with no further communication.
The deputies called out the YCSO Quick Response Team (QRT), who arrived at the residence at 12:15 a.m. and took command of the incident. Just before 1:00 a.m. the duo taken into custody without further incident after QRT made entry into the residence and discovered the two suspects hiding in bedroom closet.
Smith had a valid warrant out of Prescott and Wilbanks had a valid warrant out of Prescott Valley. The duo were taken to the Camp Verde Jail and booked for Trespassing, Burglary, Criminal Damage, Resisting Arrest, and the warrants.