FOREST ACRES, S.C. — A man has been arrested kidnapping a family member overnight at the Brickyard Village Condominiums in the Covenant Crossing area of Forest Acres. Police say the man was armed at the time of the kidnapping.
29-year-old Claudio DeGregario is now facing six charges, including kidnapping/abduction, burglary, breaking and entering and weapons violations.
Police say they received a 911 call for help around 5:20 a.m. Monday morning, The caller told police they were asked to call the police after being flagged down by a man who said he had an armed family member threatening to kill another family member at the condominium complex on Bethel Church Road.
Upon their arrival on the scene, police say they found the suspect outside and armed with a rifle standing with the victim by a truck. Police say the suspect was wearing a camouflaged ballistic vest with a string of shotgun shells strung across his torso.
Officers say they exited their vehicles with guns drawn and shouted a number of commands for the suspect to drop his weapon. The suspect continued to ignore the commands, according to police, and shouted back several times, "Y'all are gonna have to shoot me." The suspect then grabbed the victim and forced her into the truck, according to police.
At that time, police say they were able to TASER the suspect from behind, which incapacitated him, allowing offers to free the victim and arrest the suspect.
"Officer Warren utilized cover to make his way around the scene without the suspect seeing him, which allowed him to TASER the suspect from behind and end the standoff -- without a single shot being fired," Forest Acres Police Chief Don Robinson said. "There was a tremendous amount of restraint shown by all three officers, and bravery on behalf of Officer Warren, a rookie who graduated from the academy in May. We believe this shows our community our commitment to advanced training methods and hiring the very best officers to protect and sereve the citizens of Forest Acres."
Police say DeGregario was transported to a local hospital for medical evaluation before being taken to the Richland County Jail, where he awaits a bond hearing.
