Columbia police had to use tear gas to flush a burglary suspect from under a house late last Friday.
“Patrol got a call about 10 p.m. from 920 Alberta Ave. about a burglary,” CPD Detective Lt. Jonathan Harrison said. “The caller said a kitchen window had been broken out.”
According to Harrison, officer Seth Blackmon arrived at the scene and recognized a hat that belonged to Drake Tyler Grimsley, 23, from previous encounters.
“Officer Blackmon made contact with his (Grimsley’s) probation officer and he was pinged (located electronically) at that residence, which is basically behind Grimsley’s residence,” Harrison said. “Grimsley was then found under the house with four rifles and ammunition he had taken from the residence. He refused to come out.”
Harrison said things got tense for officers as they attempted to arrest the former Marine, who has done tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“He was under the influence of alcohol and suffers from PTSD,” he said. “It could have been bad, especially with all of those weapons.”
CPD officers called deputies from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Maj. Zach Guidroz from the Marion-Walthall Correctional Facility to assist as the standoff continued.
“Officers then had to use chemical agents (tear gas) to flush him from under the house,” Harrison said. “After several hours, he finally came out and was taken into custody. We recovered the rifles.”
Grimsley was charged with burglary of a dwelling, disorderly conduct/failure to comply with a law enforcement officer and resisting/obstructing arrest. Bond was set at $27,000, $25,000 on the burglary charge and $1,000 apiece on the other charges. He remained in the Marion County Jail.
Harrison said the case remains under investigation and that the firearms were returned to their rightful owner. The incident concluded at 12:54 a.m. Saturday.
