Crime

Sheriff’s Office Responds to Officer-Involved Shooting in Paulding County

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating a deadly officer-involved shooting in Paulding County, Georgia that happened on Thursday when deputies went to a house on Township Drive to serve an arrest warrant for 35 year-old Brandon Lee Bohanan.

Family members let deputies in and told them Bohanan was in the basement and Paulding County Deputies said the man was barricaded in a room and when they gave him verbal commands, he did not comply.

A short time ago, the Paulding County Sheriff’s office released a statement of the charges, arrest warrants and an explanation of what happened.

On October 5, 2017 at approximately 3:22 PM Deputies with the Warrants Division of the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office responded to 288 Township Drive Hiram, GA 30141 (Paulding County) to serve an arrest warrant. Initially, Deputies were looking for a female suspect that they had information was staying at the residence.

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The homeowner confirmed that the female, who has been identified as Lelia Sierra Duncan (W/F, 27 YOA) (Wanted for Trafficking Methamphetamine (F), Probation Violation (F), and Obstruction (M)) had been at the residence within the past couple of days.

Sheriff’s Office Responds to Officer-Involved Shooting in Paulding County
Lelia Sierra Duncan

While at the residence, they also confirmed that one of the residents at the home, Brandon Lee Bohanan (W/M, 35 YOA), had two different warrants for Probation Violation. Bohanan had a Probation Violation warrant (Original Charge: Criminal Trespass) out of Paulding County and a Probation Violation warrant (Original Charge: Theft by Deception and Forgery) out of Gwinnett County.

Sheriff’s Office Responds to Officer-Involved Shooting in Paulding County
35 year-old Brandon Lee Bohanan

When Deputies arrived on scene the door to the home was open and they announced their presence and made contact with the homeowner inside the home. Deputies went inside the residence looking for Duncan and Bohanan.

Eventually, Deputies made their way downstairs to the basement where Bohanan was known to stay. When they got to the room in the basement, they encountered a heavily fortified locked door which they knew from previous experience could only be locked from the inside. Deputies announced their presence and identified themselves for a significant amount of time prior to attempting to make entry into the room.

Deputies then got a “ram” and began trying to get the door open in order to get into the room. After many attempts, the Deputies still could not breach the door. Finally, Deputies got a more substantial “ram” and were able to get the door open. At approximately 4:34 PM Deputies made entry into the dark room where they encountered Bohanan and a female subject, later identifed as Emelia Alys Blehm (W/F, 36 YOA). Deputies gave commands for the pair to show their hands and to get on the ground. Blehm immediately complied with Deputies commands and Bohanan came toward Deputies in an aggressive manner and would not show them his hands.

Emelia Alys Blehm

Deputy David Martin, of the Sheriff’s Office Warrants Division, ultimately fired one round striking Bohanan and fatally wounding him. Deputies immediately rendered aid to Bohanan, but they were unable to save him. Bohanan’s body was later turned over to the Paulding County Coroner who took him to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Crime Lab in Atlanta for an autopsy.

After checking dispatch records, Deputies have responded to 288 Township Drive Hiram, GA 30141 approximately 100 times for various types of calls for service since 2004. Duncan was not located at the residence and is still at large. Jacob Lee James Barkwell (W/M, 32 YOA), who was also at the residence during the incident, was arrested on unrelated charges.

Deputy David Martin has been in law enforcement for nearly ten years and has been with the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office since February 24, 2014. Deputy Martin will be on routine paid administrative leave while the GBI conducts their investigation into this incident.

During the course of this incident, multiple individuals were inside the residence, two of which were arrested by Deputies for various offenses:

-Emelia Alys Blehm Obstruction (M)
-Jacob Lee James Barkwell Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon (F)
Giving False Name and DOB (M)(No Photo at this time)

Any inquiries regarding the investigation into this incident will need to be made through the GBI Public Affairs Office in Atlanta.

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CLC

Fmr. Sgt, USAF Intelligence, NSA/DOD; Studied Cryptology at Community College of the Air Force

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