An early morning police patrol?s discovery of the hiding place of one of the most wanted criminals in the Dominican Republic resulted in an hour-long shootout on a street called Sol Poniente (?evening sun?) in the neighborhood of Sabana Perdida in Santo Domingo, yesterday. At the first burst of fire from an automatic weapon and several handguns, the police withdrew and requested reinforcements. At least three policemen were wounded in the initial assault, one of them being Second Lieutenant Elvis Reyes Reyes, whose injuries were reported to be serious. The wanted man, Di?genes Batista Santana, had appeared on the fliers that officials had been distributing for weeks and was being sought on charges of assault and armed robbery. Residents of the area confirmed the armed resistance of the fugitive and one associate, adding that officers first entered a house next door, from where they proceeded to use sledgehammers to break holes into the alleged criminal?s house. From this vantage point, they employed tear gas and fusillades of gunfire to subdue the two people inside. Also according to the neighbors, as many as six officers were wounded, rather than the three that have been reported to the press. Both occupants of the house were killed in the shootout and an Uzi sub-machine gun and three handguns were removed from the scene.