As a 6-year-old girl sat alone in the bedroom of her Newnan home, a struggle between a convicted felon and a police officer was taking place outside.

The girl, unaware of the nearby bout between strangers, came face-to-face with the suspect after he broke into her family’s house, ran into her room and attempted to barricade himself inside, according to police.

The suspect, identified as Rico Martinez Maddox, 43, of Opelika, Ala., now faces half a dozen charges.

The incident began last Saturday about 7:45 p.m. when an officer spotted a silver Mercury Marquis traveling on Kidd Street without a tag light, according to a police incident report. The officer pulled over the vehicle, and things immediately escalated.

Before the officer could approach the vehicle, Maddox jumped out of the passenger’s seat and began to run away, the report said. After yelling at the man to stop and seeing that Maddox was going to continue fleeing, the officer said he used his Taser on Maddox.

Maddox’s body locked up and fell to the ground, while the officer requested backup. The suspect continued to try to get up and flee, prompting the officer to use his Taser three more times during the incident, according to the report.

The officer also hit Maddox with his baton several times and pepper-sprayed the man in the face at one point, neither of which subdued him, the report said.

At some point during the incident, the Mercury’s driver, Dontavious Demonds Chatmon, 35, of Opelika, Ala., got out of the vehicle and watched the struggle, the report said. The officer told him to get back into the vehicle, which he allegedly ignored.

Maddox was eventually able to get off the ground and ran across the street, eventually finding the little girl’s home off Haynie Street, the report said. He’s accused of barging into the home and running to the girl’s room while she was still inside.

The officer was able to force his way into the child’s room, which scared Maddox out of the house, the report said. Chatmon is also accused of entering the home at some point, according to the child’s parents, who wished to press charges against both men.

Maddox attempted to steal a passerby’s vehicle before the officer pushed him to the ground, the report said. Several other officers had arrived by this point, and they took Maddox into custody.

While he was being evaluated by first responders, he gave officers a false name and date of birth, the report said. He also allegedly admitted to officers that he had been drinking alcohol and swallowed a “dime bag,” while refusing to elaborate on the substance.

Before leaving the scene, the officer who initiated the traffic stop reviewed his patrol car’s dash cam video and saw Chatmon toss a red Gucci bag into a nearby bush during the officer’s struggle with Maddox, the report said.

Dontavious Demonds Chatmon

Credit: Coweta County Sheriff's Office

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Credit: Coweta County Sheriff's Office

Officers found the bag, which contained a handgun that had been stolen from Lee County, Ala. Another handgun was found under the driver’s seat, and open cans of Budweiser were also inside the vehicle, which were partially filled and still cool to the touch, the officer said.

Both suspects were taken to the Coweta County Jail on charges of theft by receiving, criminal trespass, obstruction and open container, jail records show. Maddox was also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and giving a false name to officers, while Chatmon faces additional charges of tampering with evidence and a tag light violation.

In other news:

Haley Adams was killed on Feb. 11 at her Coweta County home. She and her mother had only been living in the home off Bethlehem Church Road for a week, according to Coweta County Sheriff Lenn Wood.