14-Year-Old Escapes Four-Hour Hostage Situation in Coweta

A 14-year-old girl escaped from a Coweta County home Tuesday night after authorities say her father physically assaulted her and held her against her will during a standoff lasting more than four hours.

Coweta County deputies were dispatched at approximately 4:23 p.m. August 11 to a domestic dispute at a residence in the 2700 block of Highway 154, near the Thomas Crossroads area. According to the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, witnesses told deputies that Jeremy Head had physically assaulted his daughter and was holding her hostage inside the home.

Corporal Jacob Herbert, public information officer for the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, told The Citizen that a family member at the scene reported receiving a text message from the girl saying Head had been physically violent with her and would not let her leave.

Herbert said those circumstances caused deputies to treat the call as a hostage situation.

“Deputies were told by a witness on scene that the juvenile was inside the residence and he was refusing to let her leave the residence and had threatened violence against her,” Herbert said. “So at that point, any type of situation where someone is being held against their will, and there’s a potential for violence, we treat it as a hostage situation.”

Deputies secured the perimeter and attempted to make contact with those inside the residence. The Coweta County SWAT and Drone teams were activated, and Georgia State Patrol SWAT was requested to assist.

Herbert said hostage negotiators were able to maintain contact with the girl for much of the standoff, either by telephone or text message.

That communication ultimately provided her way out.

At approximately 8:30 p.m., Head fell asleep inside the residence, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Hostage negotiators then instructed the girl to leave the house and directed her toward officers positioned outside.

“She ran out of one of the side doors of the house, where we had officers waiting for her,” Herbert said.

Once the girl was safely outside, SWAT members entered the residence and took Head into custody without further incident.

Herbert said the girl was treated at the scene for minor injuries, but did not require extensive medical treatment.

The Sheriff’s Office has not said whether Head had previously been accused of violence against his daughter. Herbert said Head has a lengthy history of criminal charges, but he was not aware of prior charges in which the girl was identified as a victim.

Head was booked into the Coweta County Jail on charges of false imprisonment, family violence battery, cruelty to children, two counts of terroristic threats and acts, possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime, and obstruction.

Herbert said deputies knew Head was aware of the law enforcement presence outside the home during the incident, which began shortly after the girl had returned home from school. The Sheriff’s Office has not released details about what occurred inside the residence during the four-hour standoff beyond the allegations of violence and her being prevented from leaving.

Herbert credited the officers, SWAT members, and hostage negotiators involved with ending the incident safely.

“We’re just extremely proud of all the law enforcement officers and hostage negotiators involved,” Herbert said, particularly for “being able to bring this incident to a conclusion with no further injuries and get the suspect in custody.”