Submitted by Ben Nelms
Fayetteville Police arrested a
retired Detroit police officer following a domestic dispute and an all-night
standoff at an east Fayetteville apartment complex that began before midnight
on May 23.
Detective Mike Whitlow said
officers at approximately 11:35 p.m. were called to a domestic argument at the
Weatherly Walk apartments off Ga. Highway 54 East.
“Witnesses reported that shots
had been fired during the dispute. No one was hit with gunfire but one female
was injured during a physical altercation,” Whitlow said.
Whitlow said John Simon IV and
his wife left the apartment after an altercation with his father, retired
Detroit police officer John Meron Simon III. The son fired shots during the
altercation, though the rounds were fired into a wall. It was the son and his
wife who called 911 after leaving the apartment, notifying officers that
weapons were in the residence, Whitlow said.
“All parties left the residence
except the homeowner, John Meron Simon III. When officers tried to question
Simon, he refused to exit the apartment and barricaded himself inside,” Whitlow
said.
Whitlow said Fayetteville
police surrounded the residence, evacuated nearby residents and activated the
Fayetteville/Peachtree City Special Response Team.
“Negotiators spoke to Simon by
telephone throughout the early morning hours. Simon, 67, eventually surrendered
at approximately 8 a.m. on May 24 and was arrested on one count of aggravated
assault-family violence and one count of obstruction,” Whitlow said.
The elder Simon was not in
possession of a gun when officers entered the apartment, Whitlow said.
Simon’s son, John Meron Simon
IV, 36, of Detroit, Mich., was also arrested and charged with one count of
aggravated assault.
The younger Simon’s wife
appeared to have minor injuries but refused treatment, Whitlow said.
Though the altercation had
ended, Whitlow said officers had to enter the apartment because a physical
altercation had occurred and shots had been fired.
Both men were transported to
the Fayette County Jail.
Whitlow said police are still
investigating the incident.
The special response team was
aided by a robot and technicians from the Ga. Bureau of Investigation, said
Peachtree City Police spokesman Mark Brown, adding that negotiators did a good
job in talking Simon out of the apartment and thus avoiding the use of force or
property damage.