Man barricades himself with baby at Lancaster Co. apartment: Sheriff’s Office

LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — An 11-month-old infant is safe after his father barricaded the two of them in an apartment Tuesday morning, according to the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities say they got a 911 call around 7:20 a.m. on July 16 from a 34-year-old woman who said she and 35-year-old Otis Javon Lathan, the father of her children, were involved in an argument.

The argument was not physical but did involve Lathan locking himself and their 11-month-old son in a bedroom of the woman’s apartment on Hickory Hill Drive, about 3 miles west of Lancaster. He refused to come out or give the baby back to the mother.

Lathan does not live in the apartment but had stayed the night before. Responding deputies were aware that Lathan had an outstanding warrant for 2nd-Degree Domestic Violence from a previous incident involving the mother at the same apartment.

When deputies arrived, they tried to get Lathan to leave the bedroom, but he refused. Officials report that Lathan said he had a knife and threatened to hurt himself or do something that would cause deputies to hurt him.

More deputies, Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) team members and two crisis negotiators from the Sheriff’s Office also responded. Those living in the neighboring apartments were evacuated, and the area was secured.

During the negotiation, Lathan slid a dresser against the bedroom door. About two hours passed before Lathan came out holding the infant, unharmed and sleeping, authorities say. Lathan did not have a knife on him when he surrendered.

No one was hurt during Tuesday’s incident. The couple also has a 4-year-old son who was not present.

Lathan was arrested on the outstanding warrant and is now also charged with Unlawful Conduct toward a Child. No one was hurt during Tuesday’s incident.

Lathan is being held at the Lancaster County Detention Center but has not yet had a bond hearing.

“This was a tense situation for a while this morning, and I am happy it ended well,” said Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile. “Our SWAT team members were deployed, effectively secured the apartment and the bedroom, and were prepared for whatever became necessary. Fortunately, our two trained crisis negotiators were able to establish a rapport with Lathan and talk him out with no injuries to anyone involved in the incident. Thankfully, events like this are few and far between, but they bring home the value of all the training we do to prepare for and resolve them peacefully.”

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