Tense, seven-hour standoff with law enforcement officers follows single-vehicle crash on Hwy. 255

CLEVELAND, Ga. – A single-vehicle wreck that knocked down a power pole on Hwy. 255 South Thursday afternoon led to a tense, seven-hour standoff between the driver of the vehicle and law enforcement officers and first responders from several jurisdictions.

The driver of the vehicle, 39-year-old Nathan Shane McCain of Cleveland, was not injured in the crash and when White County deputies arrived on the scene, he fled into a nearby home. The homeowner told authorities McCain first asked them to call 9-1-1 but then began to act erratically, slashing himself  with a knife, causing them to flee the home unharmed.

White County Sheriff Neal Walden said the White County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team, Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, Alto Police, and Demorest Police surrounded the home and tried unsuccessfully for the next seven hours to get McCain man to surrender.

Around midnight, Walden said, authorities fired several tear gas canisters into the home, ending the standoff and causing the man to surrender.

He was taken to the White County Detention Center where he is charged with obstruction of law enforcement officers and leaving the scene of an accident. Additional charges are pending and an investigation is ongoing.

Walden said deputies were able to enter the house on a couple of occasions, but had to withdraw when McCain fired several shots into the floor of the home.

“It was a team effort by everyone involved,” Walden said. “It was a very dangerous situation and I’m just glad none of the officers was injured.”

Hwy. 255 South was closed for several hours after the incident.

 

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