Deltona SWAT standoff: Man sets house on fire after shooting deputy, stealing cigarettes, sheriff says
DELTONA, Fla. - A man was taken into custody after shooting a Volusia County sheriff's deputy, prompting a lengthy standoff in Deltona on Wednesday morning, authorities said.
Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood told reporters the incident started around 4:30 a.m. after the suspect reportedly stole multiple packages of cigarettes from a local Wawa convenience store. The suspect is identified as 56-year-old Dempsey Hadley, a retired maintenance employee for the City of DeLand.
Florida man fires at deputies: Sheriff
A man was taken into custody after shooting a Volusia County deputy, prompting a lengthy standoff in Deltona Wednesday morning, authorities said. Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood told reporters the incident started around 4:30 a.m. after the suspect reportedly stole multiple packages of cigarettes from a local Wawa convenience store.
Demsey Hadley was arrested back in July for fleeing law enforcement. (Photo: Volusia County Sheriff's Office)
The deputy, identified as 25-year-old Ethan Thomas, was taken to a local hospital following a graze wound to his face. His injury is non-life-threatening, and he is reportedly doing OK, the Volusia Sheriff's Office said in a social media post.
The SWAT situation came to an end hours later following an "inferno" at the suspect's home, Chitwood said. After leaving the Wawa store, deputies spotted Hadley's pickup truck and tried to pull it over. He refused, and a low-speed chase began and ended at his home on Whitehouse Court.
Hadley barricaded himself in his vehicle and ignored SWAT team negotiations. When deputies approached, Hadley allegedly began to shoot at them, and deputies engaged in a "gun battle" with him.
"They have their shields with them, and as they approach, he fires at them. This shot, this round right here, was up in front of my sergeant's face. My sergeant would have taken a shot to the head," Chitwood said.
Sheriff says shield saved deputy's life
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Wednesday's standoff between a SWAT team and a man inside a Delonta home is the craziest scene he's ever seen in his career in law enforcement. He said tactical equipment and preparation kept his deputies alive, including robots, drones, negotiators, shields, a bomb squad, and a command center.
"He tells us to contact President Biden because the president is going to pardon him for everything that he did," Chitwood added.
Hadley then entered the garage of his home, where he began setting fires, which ultimately caused his home and pickup truck to go up in flames, deputies said. Inside his home, Hadley's family told deputies he had ammunition and rifles.
SKYFOX flew over the home, where large plumes of smoke could be seen coming from the house. Deputies were eventually able to take Hadley into custody. He was alert and conscious when removed from the home and received medical treatment, they said.
"I've seen a lot of crazy s--- in 36 years. This was absolutely the craziest," Chitwood said.
Hadley's family told deputies he had been "acting extremely erratically" for the past six months.
"I have a deputy who could have been shot and killed if it wasn't for this piece of equipment that we gave all of our sergeants back in 2021," Chitwood said.
As the sheriff’s office continues to process everything that happened earlier in the day, so are Hadley's neighbors. Cleora Waters said the street is normally pretty noisy. Wednesday morning was different.
"It was eerie because all you could hear were the helicopters," said Waters, who woke up to an alert from the sheriff's office around 5:30 in the morning. "Lock my doors and stay inside."
She said the alert explained, "That there was an incident going on in the neighborhood."
Neighbors couldn’t believe it when they heard what that incident actually was.
"It makes you wonder what else is going on around you that you’re not aware of," said Waters.
The Public Information Officer for the City of DeLand told FOX 35 News that Hadley started working there in 1988 and retired as the Facilities Superintendent in April 2020. His only criminal charges in Volusia County were for petty theft decades ago and for fleeing from police in July of this year, when, according to an affidavit, an officer clocked him going 67 mph in a 40 mph zone. When the officer turned his lights and sirens on, he said Hadley took off, going 90 mph. That case is still open.
We know Hadley has a son in his early 20s who stays at the house. SWAT evacuated him this morning when all this was going down. Other family members were there on the scene this morning, too, talking with the Sheriff. The neighbors are still trying to wrap their heads around the whole thing.
"Perhaps you get complacent living your daily life on a nice quiet street with good neighbors," said Waters. "You forget that the real world is out there."
Hadley now faces multiple charges including three counts of the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, and petit retail theft.