Authorities use tear gas to force man out after he barricades himself in house

Published 2:30 pm Saturday, July 13, 2024

EATONTON, Ga. — A 26-year-old Eatonton man wanted on an outstanding probation warrant reportedly threatened to shoot any law enforcement officer who tried to arrest him Thursday afternoon. It led to the temporary closure of a portion of Georgia Route 16, one of the main highways leading in and out of Eatonton.

It also created a standoff that lasted about an hour and 45 minutes. As it turned out, not a single gunshot was fired during the potentially dangerous incident.

The suspect, who was identified as Tommy Lee Kell, barricaded himself in the attic of a single-story residence on the 200 block of the Sparta Highway (also known as Georgia Hwy. 16). The threat against officers was based on information the Eatonton Police Department received shortly after 2 p.m. It ended shortly before 4 p.m. when tear gas was placed into the attic and forced Kell outside.

Kell came out with his hands raised high in the air and told authorities, “I’m not going to give y’all no problem, just go ahead and arrest me.”

Kell, along with several officers, were slightly overcome by the tear gas fumes. Putnam County Sheriff Howard R. Sills was overcome worse than other law enforcement officers. He, along with other fellow officers, were given oxygen at the scene by personnel with the Putnam County Emergency Medical Services.

Kell, meanwhile, was taken to the emergency department of Putnam General Hospital in Eatonton. He was medically checked and then cleared before he was taken to the Putnam County Jail.

In addition to the outstanding arrest warrant for probation violation, Kell has since been charged with three misdemeanor counts of obstruction of a law enforcement officer.

“We were notified by state probation officers that Tommy Kell, who was residing at 279 Sparta Highway, had an active probation warrant against him and they were trying to arrest him,” Eatonton Police Department Chief Howell Cardwell told The Union-Recorder.

The police chief said three of his officers – Sgt. Howard Clemons, Officer Chris Detweiler and Officer Carl Hudson – were dispatched to the scene to assist officers with the Georgia Department of Community Supervision. The three state officers included Chief James “Joey” Ward, Officers Lauren Boyer and Officer Cody Minnis.

The latest probation warrant was related to a case in Newton County, where Kell was convicted of burglary in the second degree.

Cardwell said officers were relying on information that Kell was inside the residence at the time.

 “We knew that he’d been known to run in the past, so we parked up the road and walked about a quarter of a mile through the woods to get to the rear of the house,” Cardwell said.“A woman believed to be either his girlfriend or wife mentioned that he had gone into the attic and was going to kill police (officers).”

The police chief said one of his officers went to the front door with state probation officers in an attempt to serve him with the probation warrant and arrest him.

“They started knocking on the front door, and later a woman with two little boys, ages 8 and 5, answered the door,” Cardwell said.

The woman, identified as Crystal Laguna, indicated Kell had climbed into the attic from around the hot water heater. 

“The woman was really in fear for her life,” Cardwell said, noting that was what he had been told earlier by Boyer. “She knew we had been looking for Tommy. She had been hiding him.”

Authorities were not immediately certain Thursday night whether or not charges were be filed against Laguna. She was expected to come in for a Friday afternoon followup interview with local and state authorities.

Cardwell said the woman and the two boys were told to leave the residence for safety reasons. The police chief said that was when he personally called Sills and informed him about the situation.

“Like always, he was ready to go,” Cardwell said of the sheriff. “He brought Chief Deputy Russell Blenk with him, along with Deputy Sgt. Justin Brock, and Detective Lt. Harry Luke.”

Cardwell said he and Sills told Kell several times they were about to gas the house.

“We were hopeful he was going to come out, but he did not comply,” Cardwell said. “We probably told him four different times.”

A short time later, authorities learned that Kell had fixed up a place in the attic for situations such as the one that happened Thursday.

As of Thursday night, authorities had not turned up any sign of a gun.

“There were two empty gun boxes found by firefighters when they went into the attic following the tear gassing of the attic,” Sills said.

The sheriff explained how the tear gas was used.

“I managed to find a six to seven foot piece of aluminum pipe while looking around the house and I duct taped the tear gas grenade to it and then held the pipe up to the attic instead of throwing it,” Sills said. “That way I could control the possible burning components of it. Some of those gases came back on me, so I got the worse dose of it.”

It marked the first time since having acquired the Lenco Bearcat that it has been used in a barricade type situation, the sheriff said.

Sills explained that the sheriff’s office has had the Bearcat for sometime, but it has not been fully outfitted yet.

“It gave me a great feeling to drive right up to that house knowing that the man there didn’t have anything as far as a weapon that could penetrate that Bearcat,” Sills said. “The woman said when Kell came to the house several days ago he had a gun.”

Sills said it was a real confidence builder to be able to pull up at a scene such as the one on Thursday where someone had threatened to shoot it out with officers.

Sills said in addition to Kell being sought by state authorities that he also was wanted by the sheriff’s office on two outstanding State Court probation warrants.