After threatening, assaulting girlfriend, SC man is arrested, sheriff says
A man who authorities believed was barricaded inside a Midlands house earlier this week has been arrested for assaulting his girlfriend, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
On Wednesday around 6 a.m., a woman visited the Richland County Sheriff’s Department headquarters on Two Notch Road to report her boyfriend, 52-year-old Dean Boyles, Sr., had assaulted her and threatened her with a gun, according to a news release.
He had taken her phone, officials said.
Boyles woke her up that morning by slapping her face, and he put his hands around her neck in an attempt to strangle her, according to an incident report. He had pointed a handgun at her head and said he would “kill them all,” referring to the woman and her two children.
After the incident was reported, the department’s Crisis Intervention and Special Response Teams arrived at the 1600 block of Horseshoe Drive, a busy area of Columbia, near Exit 74 on Interstate 20. Boyles and the children were believed to be inside a home there. After several attempts to call for Boyles, deputies entered the home and found the two children unharmed. While it is not clear how old the children are, they are minors.
Deputies could not find Boyles there. It was believed he left. The sheriff’s department arrested Boyles on Friday around 8 a.m. He was on his way to work.
Boyles is charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. He is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He will be booked at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. His previous charges are unknown.
