A standoff between Habersham County Deputies and a Clarkesville man ended with no injuries Tuesday after an hours-long stalemate between the two parties.
Deputies were called to a home on Ga. 197 between Henry Pittman Road and Bobby Brooks Road at approximately 1:30 p.m. for a report of a burglary, according to spokesman Rob Moore.
“I think the call originally came in as a domestic,” Sheriff Joey Terrell said. “A young, possibly juvenile, caller had locked themselves in a bathroom because there was a subject there who was acting irate, out of control.”
Once on the scene, the suspect, Thomas Jack Benfield, 39, of Clarkesville, attempted to leave the residence. A short pursuit followed, which was said to be “low speed and didn’t go very far,” ending back up at Benfield’s home.
At that time, deputies were aware that Benfield might have been armed with one or more weapons that were believed to have been stolen from the house. Deputies called for Benfield to exit the vehicle, but he refused, according to authorities.
A negotiator arrived on the scene, but communication with Benfield reportedly proved to be ineffective.
“After a period of time, which was probably close to a couple of hours, there was no communication,” Terrell said. “He just put his ear pods in or earbuds in his ears and just leaned back and started playing music, which he was singing to, so we knew what he was doing.”
Deputies came up with a plan to remove Benfield from the truck by approaching from the passenger side, where the mirror was angled down, so Benfield could not see the approach. Pepper balls were deployed into the truck from that side, while two other deputies came in from the driver's side to remove Benfield from the vehicle.
He had two weapons within reach, one believed to be a .38 which was tucked up near his leg, and another believed to have been a .22 that was loaded and lying ready, according to Terrell.
“The last thing we want to do is take somebody’s life,” Terrell said. “So, if we can work around that and not do it, then that’s what we’re going to try and do. Now, if they produce a firearm then our folks will do what they have to do. But we would like to prevent that if at all possible.”
Benfield reportedly had permission to be in the house but did not have permission to be in the locked room where the firearms were located, which was protected with a padlock.
“We did take him for evaluation,” Terrell said. “We do believe he was under the influence of alcohol.”
Benfield was charged with 13 counts of theft by taking, fleeing or attempting to elude police and obstructing or hindering law enforcement officers, according to Moore.
