Gunfire during armed man’s standoff with police in Athens

Carlos Lewis Merritt

By Joe Johnson

A man was arrested Saturday night after a two-hour standoff with police officers who surrounded his home on Macon Highway.

Carlos Lewis Merritt had earlier that day threatened some people with a gun, and when police went to arrest him he refused to come out of his apartment with hands raised and empty.

Officers equipped with tactical gear and weapons surrounded the building while a police sergeant was on the phone with the 44-year-old suspect, trying to convince him to surrender.

About an hour into the incident, Merritt shot his gun through the front door.

At 11:25 p.m., and after some two hours of negotiations, Merritt came out with food in one upraised hand and his phone in the other, then laid on the ground to be handcuffed.

Merritt was charged with two counts of aggravated assault for the initial incident, and seven counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer (one count for each officer who was in the line of fire when he shot the gun).

He was further charged with possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, obstruction of law enforcement, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.