SWAT team arrests man after overnight armed standoff in domestic disturbance
A tense overnight standoff between multiple SWAT teams and an armed man in an Elgin suburb ended peacefully Friday morning.
Devon Michael Franklin was arrested and charged with aggravated breach of peace and three counts of pointing and presenting a firearm after police said he barricaded himself in a family home and threatened relatives.
He was taken into custody without serious incident, law enforcement said. Police said that no shots were fired by law enforcement during the incident, buthat they found evidence suggesting Franklin discharged a gun inside the Woodcreek Farms home.
“In spite of the suspect being armed, his erratic behavior and discharging a firearm, no lethal force was used by law enforcement.” said Chief W.H. “Skip” Holbrook, of the Columbia Police Department, in a news release. ”CPD officers in collaboration with our SLED partners made sure the incident did not end tragically.”
The Columbia Police Department initially was dispatched to the 100 Block of Island Circle View, Elgin, Thursday afternoon following a call about “an armed man threatening relatives during a domestic disturbance,” according to a statement released by the Columbia Police Department.
During the dispute, police said that Franklin, 36, forced family members out of the house at gunpoint. He then refused to come out of the home, according to the police department.
Police set up a perimeter around the neighborhood, removing Franklin’s family and telling neighbors to shelter in place. The Columbia Police Department’s SWAT team, along with a Community Crisis Response and Intervention Team were brought to scene.
But negotiations with Franklin were not successful, according to the police department, and the standoff stretched into the night.
At 6 a.m. Friday, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division arrived to relieve the police department’s SWAT team. By 9 a.m., the police department say that Franklin had been taken into custody “without serious injury,” according to the police.
Franklin was booked at the Alvin S. Glenn Detection Center. He was also charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana, and aggravated breach of peace.
A bond hearing for Franklin was held on Nov. 5, but there is no record of bond being set.
This story was originally published November 5, 2022 at 12:15 PM.