A man holding his live-in girlfriend hostage in Forsyth County was taken into custody late Tuesday morning.
Matthew Scott Whelchel, 28, was arrested after he allegedly beat up his girlfriend and refused to let her leave their home in the 5700 block of Burruss Mill Road northeast of Cumming.
The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office SWAT team stormed the house around 10:45 a.m. and arrested Whelchel after negotiations broke down and he brandished a shotgun from a window, police said.
The incident began around 3 a.m. with a 911 call to police from an former girlfriend of Whelchel. Whelchel had called and told his ex-girlfriend that he had beaten up his current girlfriend and was not going to allow her to leave, according to Forsyth County Sheriff Tim Paxton. Whelchel also told the ex-girlfriend that he was contemplating suicide, Paxton said. Police spent much of the morning trying to negotiate an end to the incident.
"It had gotten to a point in the negotiations where it was obvious that Mr. Whelchel was becoming much more unstable," said Paxton. "We did see an opportunity where, for a moment, he was separated from the victim, at which point entry was made," using a explosive device to blow open the door, said Paxton. Police got the woman out of the house and then removed Whelchel, who was tased during his arrest, according to the sheriff. He was transported to the Forsyth County Detention Center and has been charged with imprisonment and terroristic threatening.
The woman, who police have not identified, had some bruises and was taken to a hospital to be checked out, police said. "We were very concerned as to her safety, " said Paxton.
He said Whelchel had been arrested in August on charges of battery, family violence and cruelty to children. He said Whelchel is on the sex offender registry.
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