Two people were arrested outside a used car lot Wednesday morning after a SWAT standoff with a barricaded gunman shut down Stone Mountain Highway.
SWAT was called to negotiate with the man near the intersection of the busy highway and Easy Street, Gwinnett County police spokeswoman Cpl. Michele Pihera said. About an hour after their arrival, police announced he was arrested.
The incident kicked off when the man, identified by police as Richard Travis Lott, got into an argument with a woman about 7:15 a.m. A shot was fired, but no one was injured, a 911 caller told dispatchers.
Lott, 45, barricaded himself inside a small garage at the car lot and refused to come out, Pihera said in a news release. The woman involved in the dispute, 40-year-old Amanda Middlebrooks, was also inside.
Credit: Gwinnett County Police Department
Credit: Gwinnett County Police Department
“Officers determined that Middlebrooks was free to leave during the incident and had not been held hostage,” Pihera said.
The full SWAT unit was activated about 8:30 a.m. Lott spoke with officers and negotiators by phone and eventually surrendered, according to police.
Lott faces charges of aggravated assault, simple battery (family violence), misdemeanor obstruction and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He also has several outstanding warrants out of multiple jurisdictions. Pihera said he is also a suspect in some property crimes in the area.
Lott has served three stints in prison since 2003, totaling about 2½ years, according to Georgia Department of Corrections records. Among those convictions are escape, false imprisonment and injury by vehicle in Newton and Rockdale counties.
Middlebrooks was found when SWAT performed a sweep of the garage. She also had outstanding warrants and was arrested. She had not been booked into the Gwinnett jail as of Wednesday night.
All westbound lanes of Stone Mountain Highway were blocked between Highpoint and Parkwood roads for about an hour. All lanes reopened about 10 a.m., according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
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