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Standoff ends with suspect's shooting
A tense, nearly 13-hour standoff ended on Monday night when a shot rang out, a suspect went down and a hostage escaped through a bulldozed hole in the side of her Spartanburg convenience store.
SWAT members clad in helmets and black gear pulled store owner Sarah Patel to safety, while others rushed in and handcuffed the suspect.
The suspect had been making his way over the rubble with a gun to Patel's head when the shot ran out. After he fell, Patel jumped up and ran away.
James "Jimmy" Colon Johnson, 38, was charged with kidnapping, several counts of assault and battery with intent to kill and firing a weapon during a siege, said Tony Fisher, Spartanburg director of public safety. More charges are pending, he said.
Johnson was listed in good condition at Spartanburg Regional Hospital.
A police sniper, Master Patrol Officer Brian Stokes, hit Johnson in the right shoulder as he tried to leave the building on S. Church Street, Fisher said.
Johnson has a record dating back to 1983, including possession of marijuana, house breaking, unlawful weapon and discharging a firearm, Fisher said.
Patel was taken to a hospital by ambulance, Hardy said. Her husband was with her, he said.
The stand-off kept police on edge all day. Bursts of gunfire rang out throughout the day. Police knocked two gaping holes in the building before storming inside.
"That building is pretty much destroyed, but we've got a hostage that's free," said Capt. Randy Hardy of Spartanburg Department of Public Safety.
The stand-off started about 8 a.m. when police stopped the suspect for an expired tag. The suspect bolted into Fast Point convenience store with a gun and an officer giving chase, Hardy said.
Police cut power to the store, as negotiators tried to talk to him. Shots from inside the store rang out early in the evening.
Hardy said the suspect was trying to hit a police robot that had been roving around the outside of the store. No officers were in the line of fire, he said. But it was at that point, police knew they had to move in, Hardy said.
"We were able ascertain that the hostage was still fine, even though he fired off the rounds," he said.
Police wanted an advantage, one they couldn't get by entering through the doors or window, Hardy said. So, they used a bulldozer to plow an entrance, he said.
When the suspect ran to the other side of the store near some coolers, police broke through the other corner, Hardy said.
The hostage, who knows the suspect as a regular customer, was with her captor the whole time, he said.
Police were able to talk with him inside the building but couldn't convince him to come out, Hardy said. The suspect told officers he didn't want to leave and he didn't want to go to jail, he said.
Four shots could be heard from inside the store about 8 p.m. A few minutes later, smoke began to drift up from the roof of the building. And then bright flashes came from inside.
About 8:40 p.m., the suspect started to make his way through one of the bulldozed holes with a gun to Patel's head. The suspect's white T-shirt poofed out as a shot rang out.
Police rotated the SWAT officers every 45 minutes because it's hot in the sun outside the store, Hardy said.
SWAT members were fatigued but none of them need to be taken to a hospital, Hardy said
A tense, nearly 13-hour standoff ended on Monday night when a shot rang out, a suspect went down and a hostage escaped through a bulldozed hole in the side of her Spartanburg convenience store.
SWAT members clad in helmets and black gear pulled store owner Sarah Patel to safety, while others rushed in and handcuffed the suspect.
The suspect had been making his way over the rubble with a gun to Patel's head when the shot ran out. After he fell, Patel jumped up and ran away.
James "Jimmy" Colon Johnson, 38, was charged with kidnapping, several counts of assault and battery with intent to kill and firing a weapon during a siege, said Tony Fisher, Spartanburg director of public safety. More charges are pending, he said.
Johnson was listed in good condition at Spartanburg Regional Hospital.
A police sniper, Master Patrol Officer Brian Stokes, hit Johnson in the right shoulder as he tried to leave the building on S. Church Street, Fisher said.
Johnson has a record dating back to 1983, including possession of marijuana, house breaking, unlawful weapon and discharging a firearm, Fisher said.
Patel was taken to a hospital by ambulance, Hardy said. Her husband was with her, he said.
The stand-off kept police on edge all day. Bursts of gunfire rang out throughout the day. Police knocked two gaping holes in the building before storming inside.
"That building is pretty much destroyed, but we've got a hostage that's free," said Capt. Randy Hardy of Spartanburg Department of Public Safety.
The stand-off started about 8 a.m. when police stopped the suspect for an expired tag. The suspect bolted into Fast Point convenience store with a gun and an officer giving chase, Hardy said.
Police cut power to the store, as negotiators tried to talk to him. Shots from inside the store rang out early in the evening.
Hardy said the suspect was trying to hit a police robot that had been roving around the outside of the store. No officers were in the line of fire, he said. But it was at that point, police knew they had to move in, Hardy said.
"We were able ascertain that the hostage was still fine, even though he fired off the rounds," he said.
Police wanted an advantage, one they couldn't get by entering through the doors or window, Hardy said. So, they used a bulldozer to plow an entrance, he said.
When the suspect ran to the other side of the store near some coolers, police broke through the other corner, Hardy said.
The hostage, who knows the suspect as a regular customer, was with her captor the whole time, he said.
Police were able to talk with him inside the building but couldn't convince him to come out, Hardy said. The suspect told officers he didn't want to leave and he didn't want to go to jail, he said.
Four shots could be heard from inside the store about 8 p.m. A few minutes later, smoke began to drift up from the roof of the building. And then bright flashes came from inside.
About 8:40 p.m., the suspect started to make his way through one of the bulldozed holes with a gun to Patel's head. The suspect's white T-shirt poofed out as a shot rang out.
Police rotated the SWAT officers every 45 minutes because it's hot in the sun outside the store, Hardy said.
SWAT members were fatigued but none of them need to be taken to a hospital, Hardy said