No injuries in 18-hour ordeal

Staff photos by Mark Gilchrist
Members of the SBI’s Special Response Team relieved the Sheriff’s SRT unit Wednesday morning during the 18-hour hostage standoff at Chadbourn’s Budget Inn that closed several businesses. (More stories, photos Page 4 and 5-A)

Timothy Gary Wayne Toomer is led – under arrest with a $1 million bond – from the rear of Chadbourn police headquarters late Wednesday by Sheriff’s Deputy Angela McDuffie and Lt. Lewis Hatcher.

•The 19-year-old mother of suspect’s son was not harmed.

By BOB HIGH
Staff Writer

An emotional and hot Timmy Toomer, dressed only in his underwear, walked unarmed out of a Chadbourn motel room at 4:55 p.m. Wednesday and brought a peaceful end to an 18-hour hostage situation in sweltering heat.

No one was hurt in the standoff, including 19-year-old Concheta Hope Stephens, Toomer’s former girlfriend who was the Chadbourn man’s hostage all night Tuesday and all day Wednesday.

The suspect, whose full name is Timothy Gary Wayne Toomer, 31, of Broadway Road, surrendered to State Bureau of Investigation agents. He lay down in the Budget Inn parking area, was handcuffed, and then given Gatorade.

He was whisked to the Chadbourn police station where he was charged with felonious restraint and placed in jail under a $1 million bond.

“We only charged him with one felony at this point, enough to hold him overnight,” Sheriff Chris Batten said. “There’ll be several other charges.”

Toomer made his mandatory first court appearance today (Thursday), where he was apprised of the charge and his bond, and a date was set for a probable cause hearing.

Second in a week

This was the second time in a week that Toomer kidnapped the mother of his son, Levon, who marked his first birthday Wednesday – the day of his father’s arrest.

There are warrants for kidnapping and other charges awaiting Toomer in Horry County, S.C., the result of his taking Stephens hostage fora time on July 5.

Stephens was grabbed at gunpoint late Tuesday from her mother’s home along McCrimmon Extension Road southeast of Tabor City. Armed with a small-caliber pistol, Toomer ordered his former girlfriend to go with him.

Tony Goodman, Stephens’ stepfather, said when Toomer appeared at the home Tuesday he threatened to “kill everybody” unless the girl went with him.

Authorities were alerted to the situation about 8 p.m. when a woman called from a pay phone in Tabor City and told police she was being held hostage.

Police were told Toomer didn’t want to harm any officers, but if he were interfered with, he would shoot Stephens.

Messages to mother

Batten made a lengthy statement to newspaper and TV reporters as the media waited outside the Chadbourn police station for photos of Toomer.

“Our officers ran several leads last night to midnight. The girl was text-messaging her mother during the early part of the night.

“There was some back-and-forth contact, then from 9:30 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. there was no contact at all.

“That’s when we found they were in the motel. We just waited him out.”

Batten said he delivered a can of chicken noodle soup, a hoagie and two Pepsi Colas to the motel room at 3 a.m. Wednesday. “It was in a plastic bag, and I hung it on the door knob.”

“We showed them good faith on our part, and we kept asking for some good faith moves on his part.”

Power cut off

“We negotiated at least once an hour. We cut power off to the room at 2 p.m., and it got down to where he needed to show something positive to us as to his intentions.

“He couldn’t watch TV for the last three hours, so he wasn’t sure what was going on. We denied taking them any more food at noon, although they asked for it,” the sheriff pointed out.
Batten said the ordeal was an “emotional rollercoaster” for Toomer and Stephens. When the girl called her mother, he’d cut the conversation if she asked for help.

“I’m very happy for a peaceful ending to the very tense situation we had for 18 hours,” Batten said. “He got emotional toward the end, and I think his emotions rose with the heat. We allowed a family member to talk to him, but it didn’t seem to help.”

Batten said he called attorney Scott Sessions, Toomer’s lawyer in a 2006 assault on a female case, to come to Chadbourn shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday and talk to the suspect, “but it didn’t make any difference.”

“He became irritated when the power went out, but he calmed down. We felt patience would yield a peaceful ending, and it did. I’m very proud of all the SBI agents and our officers.
“We did the entire process, step-by-step, and it worked. There was no doubt about what we were doing, and I commend the SBI and my employees for their calm manner and the result,” the sheriff stated.

Batten noted this was the first time in his five years as sheriff that a domestic situation ballooned into such a standoff.

The sheriff thanked all the Chadbourn firefighters, rescue personnel and others who assisted all night Tuesday and all day Wednesday. “They did a great job for us.”

The SBI’s Special Response Team took over from the sheriff’s SRT unit in the daylight hours Wednesday. “Our unit spent almost all night here, and they went home to rest,” the sheriff said.

Batten said there were between 25 and 30 SBI agents, including highly trained negotiators, plus another 25 to 30 deputies, including those blocking highways and streets.

“The incident began in the county, it escalated in the county and it wound up in Chadbourn.
“We apprised Chadbourn’s officers of the situation, and they wanted us to handle it while they went about their normal duties,” Batten explained.

Steven Shaw, Chadbourn’s chief of police, is at home recovering from knee surgery last week.

Several Chadbourn officers ran errands and provided detailed information about buildings and other matters.