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A Florida man torched his Deltona home and shot a deputy during a four-hour standoff on Wednesday over shoplifted cigarettes.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was shot was only grazed by the bullet and had non-life-threatening injuries.
Another bullet struck a sergeant’s ballistic shield.
The Sheriff’s Office wrote in a news release:
Deputies responded to the Wawa at 3400 Howland Blvd. after an employee called around 4:30 a.m. reporting a regular customer reached over the counter and stole cigarettes. It was reported the suspect had a knife on his hip, but no gun was displayed.
When deputies began arriving on scene, the suspect drove at one and fled from another who attempted a traffic stop.
A deputy deployed stop sticks on the fleeing vehicle, deflating the driver’s side tires. The suspect, identified as Dempsey Hadley, was still able to drive at slow speed to his home at 3230 Whitehorse Court.
Deputies conducted a felony stop on the vehicle, but Hadley ignored their commands and refused to come out.
When deputies approached to remove Hadley from the vehicle, Hadley fired.
The deputies retreated and Hadley was observed lighting fires inside the cab of his truck.
The sheriff’s office says that deputies were able to safely evacuate the suspect’s son and a dog from inside the house.
Negotiators, SWAT, K-9s, drones and Air One along were deployed and fire and EMS were staged nearby.
“SWAT used the VSO Bearcat vehicle to reposition Hadley’s truck and block it from fleeing, pushing it into the garage. He exited the truck and entered the attic. A short time later, smoke became visible from the house, followed by flames, which engulfed the upper floors of the home,” the news release explained.
Hadley still refused to surrender, but emerged onto a second-floor balcony.
SWAT approached with the VSO Rook and then with a boom on a Bearcat to “dismantle the balcony and bring Hadley to the ground, away from the burning house.”
The suspect was taken into custody and treated on scene for his injuries before being taken to the hospital.
Hadley has been charged with three counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement and petit retail theft.
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