A five-hour standoff with a Cocoa man who threatened family members with a shotgun after a dispute over a home ended peacefully, with no injuries, Thursday, Sept. 18, Cocoa police reported.
Charles Johnard Hopkins, 51, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence. He was booked into the Brevard County Jail without bond, records show.
The standoff began at 8 a.m. Thursday after patrol officers responded to 124 Polaris St. to investigate reports of a family dispute. Witnesses said the man had gotten into an argument over the family home which had belonged to the family matriarch, with family members saying Hopkins threatened to shoot them.
Hopkins refused to talk with officers and barricaded himself alone inside. The SWAT team was called in along with crisis negotiators, along with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, and Cocoa Fire Rescue. Hopkins surrendered just after 1 p.m.
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Or X, formerly known as Twitter: @JDGallop
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Police: Cocoa man barricades self for 5 hours in standoff after argument over family home
Reporting by J.D. Gallop, Florida Today / Florida Today
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