Audio and video recordings of a February 2022 domestic violence incident and ensuing standoff between an armed man and Marion Police took center stage on the first day of the man’s trial on Tuesday.
Teddy G. Thomas III, 32, Marion, is charged with one count of attempt to commit an offense, a first-degree felony; one count of felonious assault, a first-degree felony; one count of aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony; one count of domestic violence, a fourth-degree felony; and one count of inducing panic, a fourth-degree felony. The first three charges each have a repeat violent offender specification attached to them.
Marion County Common Pleas Court Judge Matthew P. Frericks is presiding over the case.
Background on the incident
According to investigators from the Marion Police Department, Thomas allegedly struck a woman with whom he shares children during an altercation at a residence at 329 Fies Ave. in Marion. The woman fled the house but returned to protect her four children (then ages 6 months old, 1 year old, 10 years old and 13 years old).
She barricaded herself in a bedroom on the second floor of the house and called the Marion County Combined Dispatch Center and pleaded for help to be sent to the scene. Her teenage son also called 911 to report the incident to authorities.
Thomas left the residence for a short period of time, but returned and tried to force his way into the bedroom where the woman was holed up with her children. When officers arrived and entered the residence, Thomas allegedly obtained a machete and swung it at officer Caleb Rector, barely missing striking him in the head.
Following a lengthy standoff with police that lasted about two hours, the Marion County Special Response Team intervened and Thomas was apprehended and taken into custody.
Audio, video evidence presented at trial
During the opening day of testimony on Tuesday, Marion County Prosecutor Ray Grogan presented two witnesses – Sgt. Lisa Friend from the Marion County Combined Dispatch Center and Officer Nick Geurkink from the Marion Police Department. Friend testified to the veracity of two 911 recordings that Grogan entered into evidence.
One of the recordings was of the woman who called for help while the other was from her teenage son. On the second recording, the teenage boy can be heard yelling, “He has a knife,” in reference to Thomas arming himself when police entered the residence.
Geurkink testified about footage of the incident after police arrived on the scene that was obtained from his body camera. Early on in the video footage, Geurkink said, Thomas can be seen swinging the machete at Rector just after Rector kicked open the front door of the house.
Geurkink said Thomas only missed striking Rector in the head by about three inches. Thomas then retreated to a laundry room adjacent to the kitchen where he proceeded to hold police at bay for almost two hours.
The video from Geurkink’s body camera showed the verbal altercation, which included the use of profanity by both parties, between Thomas and the police as authorities attempted to persuade him to surrender. Thomas then embarked on a profanity-laced tirade that included threats of violence against the officers. He also taunted police, essentially daring them to kill him.
The video revealed that Thomas shouted, “I’m ready to die for this (expletive)!” along with “Come make history!” and “Come take my (expletive) life!” at the officers.
Attorney David Johnson, who is representing Thomas, was scheduled to cross examine the prosecution witnesses when the trial resumed early Wednesday morning in Judge Frericks’ courtroom.
Email: [email protected] | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Recordings presented in trial of man who tried to kill police officer
