A daylong standoff between the Long County Sheriff's Department and a local man in the Sand Hill Area of the county, ended in an apparent suicide on Sunday.
The man was later identified as Dudley Epling.
According to LCSD Chief Det. Ty Smith, at around 10:30 a.m., two Long County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a domestic dispute on Plantation Road. Upon arrival Epling who was on the porch of the resident began firing a weapon at both of the deputies vehicles. Both deputies stopped, got out and took cover. The deputies then called for additional units to assist them, and were pinned down, until the other officers arrived.
The first deputies were Jimmy Middleton and Cody Futch; neither man was injured from the shots.
The sheriff's department then got reinforcements from the Tattnall County Sheriff's Department, the Georgia State Patrol and the Georgia SWAT Team.
According to Capt. William Bryant, who was the ranking officer of the team, they made efforts to negotiate with Epling to surrender and release his wife, Bempley Epling. During the negotiation, the man also fired on the SWAT units. The SWAT team was unable to get the man to surrender, but they were able to remove the woman from the house.
According to Bryant, negotiations continued. But when the SWAT Team entered the house around 7 p.m., Epling was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
After the scene was secure, it was turned over to the LCSD for investigating. The GBI was also being called in to assist in the investigation, and arrived Sunday night.
The man was later identified as Dudley Epling.
According to LCSD Chief Det. Ty Smith, at around 10:30 a.m., two Long County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a domestic dispute on Plantation Road. Upon arrival Epling who was on the porch of the resident began firing a weapon at both of the deputies vehicles. Both deputies stopped, got out and took cover. The deputies then called for additional units to assist them, and were pinned down, until the other officers arrived.
The first deputies were Jimmy Middleton and Cody Futch; neither man was injured from the shots.
The sheriff's department then got reinforcements from the Tattnall County Sheriff's Department, the Georgia State Patrol and the Georgia SWAT Team.
According to Capt. William Bryant, who was the ranking officer of the team, they made efforts to negotiate with Epling to surrender and release his wife, Bempley Epling. During the negotiation, the man also fired on the SWAT units. The SWAT team was unable to get the man to surrender, but they were able to remove the woman from the house.
According to Bryant, negotiations continued. But when the SWAT Team entered the house around 7 p.m., Epling was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
After the scene was secure, it was turned over to the LCSD for investigating. The GBI was also being called in to assist in the investigation, and arrived Sunday night.