Daniel Prince
Chemical round deployed in camper leads to end of standoff
Following a standoff on Thursday, a Union man was arrested on charges of domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature and resisting arrest. According to a news release by the Union County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to an address on Chapman Road for a domestic disturbance on Thursday. Upon arriving, Sgt. Taylor met with the victim, who stated that her live-in boyfriend, identified as Jimmy Lee, pointed a firearm at her head and told her he would kill her. She also stated he struck her in the face and took a knife and put it to her side, threatening to kill her. While on scene, she said that Lee told her as he left that he would shoot the police and then shoot himself if law enforcement went onto the property.
Sgt. Burdine saw the vehicle Lee was last seen in but was unable to turn around on it in time to make a traffic stop before it entered Spartanburg County. Captain Scott Coffer got the vehicle information and sent it to Spartanburg County and to Highway Patrol.
A short time later, officers found out Lee was back at an address on Lemonade Road, so they went to serve the arrest warrant. Deputies noticed the car on the property and the door lock missing, giving them reason to believe Lee was inside the camper on the property. Due to the nature of the warrant and the threats made to the victim, deputies set a perimeter around the camper and called Lee out over the PA system. They tried to make contact with him by phone but were unsuccessful. He refused to comply with the orders to come out. After about 1-1/2 hours of deputies calling Lee out over the PA system every 1-2 minutes, Captain Scott Coffer made the decision to deploy a CS Ferret round through the back window of the camper. That is a chemical-filled round that is designed to force barricaded subjects out of a confined area. A short time after the round was deployed, Lee came to the door and was placed under arrest. He was checked by EMS on scene and transported to the Union County Jail.
Bond on 53-year-old Jimmy William Lee was denied.