A suspect is in custody after standoff with Athens-Clarke County Police. They tried to serve a high risk search/arrest warrant at a home at 317 Ironwood Way in the Falling Shoals subdivision. They say the suspect, Benjamin Blackburn, was armed and barricaded himself inside the residence. Department spokesman Epifanio Rodriguez says negotiators tried unsuccessfully to get Blackburn to surrender.
“It became evident pretty early that he was not going to come out from negotiations, at that point our SRT Team became filling the home with gas, trying to get him to come out,” according to Rodriguez. “During the course of this, a couple of hours after the gas was imitated in the home, a small fire started inside the home. That’s being investigated, what started the fire, we don’t have the information on that. It was at that point that he then exited the residence and was peacefully taken into custody.
Blackburn was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
“After he is medically cleared from the hospital he’ll be transported to the Clarke County jail on the original charges of aggravated assault from the original incident on what these warrants were for. He may face charges from the SWAT standoff.
Blackburn was originally charged with aggravated assault after he was accused of choking his girlfriend unconscious several times and firing a shot at her as trying to leave. He is also facing felony charges in Texas.
Blackburn surrendered after four hours.