CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Clayton County SWAT response was mounted early Friday morning after a woman was strangled by her boyfriend and then he engaged in an armed standoff with police while four children were inside the apartment with him.
According to the victim who spoke to 11Alive's Tracey Amick-Peer, suspect 38-year-old Clarence DeJuan Darty strangled her until she passed out, then put her in a closet and trapped children in an apartment with a gun during a 10-hour standoff.
Darty now faces charges including four counts of cruelty to children, four counts of false imprisonment, one count of aggravated assault by strangulation and one count of hindering a 911 call.
A release from the City of Forest Park, whose police department was first on the scene at the incident on Holland Park Dr., said it began with a 9-year-old calling police.
The child was reporting that his mom and her boyfriend, Darty, were in a "verbal altercation." During that call, the mom told police it was a verbal disagreement before Darty became "upset that the child called the police" and "then physically assaulted the child."
"The mother attempted to protect her child from being assaulted when the suspect reportedly began to assault the mother by strangling her," the release said.
Forest Park Police then came on scene and "were flagged down by the victim who had escaped from the residence."
When an officer approached the apartment, "the suspect slammed and locked the door" with four children inside.
The mother said Darty was armed, and also told police he had "dragged her down the hall and put her in a closet once he strangled her" causing her to lose consciousness.
Forest Park said Clayton County Police SWAT team members and negotiators as well as the Fayette County Sheriff's Office came in for assistance.
"Through negotiations, the suspect released his girlfriend’s two children around 9:55 am and his girlfriend’s tw ochildren around 10:15 am. The suspect surrender without incident and no one was harmed. He was transported to the Clayton County Jail pending his initial appearance, which is scheduled for Saturday, October 1,2022 at 11:00 am before a Clayton County Magistrate Judge," Forest Park said.
This is a developing story. Check back often for new information.
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