Abduction suspect in custody following SWAT standoff in NW Houston

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A tense standoff in north Houston ended with a suspect in custody Monday. It was all tied to the abduction of a woman earlier in the morning in a Kroger parking lot.

It all started around 9am outside a Kroger on Telephone Road in southeast Houston. That's where the suspect, Wilbert Johnson, 27, allegedly abducted his ex-girlfriend, Brittany Rhodes, 26.

By lunchtime, police had tracked Johnson down to an apartment complex near Yale and Patrick on the north side of town. Johnson's sister lives in one of the units there. She was one of three people held hostage, according to police.

Police say Johnson was also holding his sister's son and Rhodes. And he wouldn't come out of the apartment.

After hours of hostage team negotiations, Johnson did surrender peacefully.

"It was through investigation that we determined the pickup truck was here, said Kese Smith with the Houston Police Department. "And we put that together with the fact that we knew his sister was here."

Police say Johnson threatened to kill Rhodes about a week ago. He had a gun then, so she didn't report it.

Court records we dug up show he was charged with aggravated assault against Brittany Rhodes in 2013. A no contact order was issued. Only last year did he plead guilty to deadly conduct.

He received 18 months deferred adjudication.

The good news in all of this is that no one was hurt