STAFF REPORT :::
A Spalding County man has been arrested after a relative reported being brutally attacked, bound and robbed.
The Spalding County Sheriff’s Office Uniform Patrol Division on Oct. 7 responded to the area of Kendall Drive and Glory Road to meet with Kenneth Palmore who reported he had been robbed while at the 20 West Road residence of his nephew, 43-year-old Demetrice Coggins.
Palmore told deputies that he had been hit over the head, tied up with duct tape, held against his will and robbed before finally being released.
The victim was then interviewed by investigators at the Sheriff’s Office.
“During the interview, the victim told Investigators that his nephew, Demetrice Coggins, demanded money from him and when he said no, Coggins hit him in the head and knocked him out,” said Sheriff Darrell Dix. “While he was unconscious, Coggins bound him in a chair with duct tape and refused to release him. According to the victim, he stayed this way for several hours before finally being untied and robbed of his of cash and debit cards by Coggins.”
Based on the information Palmore provided, investigators obtained a search warrant for Coggins residence.
Authorities say Coggins’ criminal background includes multiple arrests for previous assaults, and at the time of this alleged incident, he had an active bond stemming from a prior case.
Based on this history, the SCSO activated its SWAT Team, negotiators and criminal investigators to attempt to affect a peaceful surrender.
After a briefing at the Sheriff’s Office, SWAT operators established a perimeter at Coggins’ residence and a negotiator began calling out to the suspect on a loudspeaker.
“We called to him for approximately three hours and received no response from him even though there were strong indicators that he was in the house. We eventually decided to make entry, and as we approached the side door of the residence we were met by Coggins just inside the doorway. His girlfriend, identified as Carlissa Dixon, could be seen standing in a hallway behind him,” Dix said. “We began giving Coggins verbal commands and he decided that he did not want to comply and surrender. Because of his decision to not surrender as ordered, our SWAT Operators had to go hands on with him to take him into custody. He was taken into custody without any injuries to him or officers. His girlfriend, Carlissa Dixon, stated to the officers on scene that while our negotiators were outside calling for him to surrender, they both heard us. She said that Coggins was holding her against her will, would not allow her to respond, answer her phone as we attempted to call her, or leave the house. I guess he thought we’d just go away or vanish if he didn’t answer us or make the choice to surrender. I guess he thought wrong because it didn’t work out the way he wanted it to.”
After Coggins was taken into custody, a search of his residence yielded evidence of the alleged crime, investigators said.
“Our uniform deputies, investigators, SWAT operators and negotiators, and crime scene investigators did an outstanding job from the first call to the conclusion of this incident,” Dix said. “Because of their hard work and training it ended well and no one was injured.”
Coggins has been charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping with bodily injury, false imprisonment and robbery.
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