LANCASTER, S.C. – Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man after a domestic disturbance call and the man locked himself in a bedroom with his 11-mont-old child, according to a news release.
The release states that on July 16, deputies were called to an apartment at Hickory Hill Apartments in Lancaster that is home to a mother, a four-year-old and an 11-month-old. The father, 35-year-old Otis Lathan, does not currently in live in the apartment, but spent the previous night there.
Otis Lathan
At reportedly 7:20 am, Lathan and the mother got into an argument and the mother called 911 to report a domestic disturbance. There was no physical altercation.
Deputies say Lathan had the 11-month-old child in his arms and barricaded himself in the upstairs bedroom.
When deputies arrived, they say they attempted to get Lathan out of the room to no avail. He claimed to have a knife and threatened to harm himself.
After two hours, Lathan surrendered himself and the child who was unarmed. Lathan was not in possession of a knife.
Deputies took Lathan into custody without further incident. No injuries were sustained in the incident.
The Sheriff’s Office knew Lathan was wanted on an outstanding warrant for second domestic violence that took place from an earlier incident between him and the mother at the same apartment.
Lathan is being charged with unlawful conduct toward a child.
“This was a tense situation for a while this morning, and I am happy it ended well,” said 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.”
