‘Small scared child’: Burke County deputies release standoff details
WAYNESBORO, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The booking photo of the suspect has been released days after a standoff at a Burke County home on Kilpatrick Road.
On Friday the Burke County Sheriff’s Office released new details about the incident.
According to deputies, at approximately 12:34 p.m., Burke County dispatch received a report concerning a suspicious vehicle parked in a wooded area on the 300 block of Kilpatrick Road.
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Upon arrival, deputies identified a red Ford F150, which was flagged as a vehicle associated with 44-year-old Kenneth Shelton.
Deputies say Shelton has active felony warrants and had previously fled from law enforcement earlier in the week.
Officials say further investigation led deputies to a nearby residence at Kilpatrick Road, where Shelton’s girlfriend reported that Shelton and their 3-year-old child were living.
Deputies attempted to Shelton at the residence’s front door, but he refused to cooperate and exit the premises, officials say.
Authorities say given the circumstances and the presence of a child, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team (SRT) was called to the scene.
The SRT made multiple attempts to negotiate with Shelton, who continued to refuse to come out or allow the child to leave. The situation necessitated forced entry into the residence, deputies say.
After several minutes, a small scared child appeared in nothing but his diaper, deputies say.
It took authorities several moments and pleading with the child to gain his trust in going with them, deputies say. He eventually came walking slow shaking and appeared to be startled by the events.
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During the operation, deputies say SRT operators recovered the child from a hallway and ensured his safe evacuation.
Sheldon had barricaded himself with clothes and other items in the rooms and was lying in the fetal position underneath a bed in the child’s bedroom during a room-to-room search, the sheriff’s office says.
He was taken into custody without further incident.
The child was safely returned to his mother at the scene, deputies say.
Shelton was transported to the Burke County Detention Center and is currently held on charges including cruelty to children in the second degree, felony probation violations, and obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
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