Man charged with murder after hours-long standoff

A Daytona Beach man is in jail after police say he shot a woman in the head, early Sunday morning.

At a house on Maple Street, suspect Craig Kendrick barricaded himself inside, after the shooting. The front door showed damage where the bomb robot and SWAT team had to break in. There were also holes in the glass from where they shot gas canisters.

This all started after cops say Kendrick got into a fight with Denise Jennings on Maple Street early Sunday morning. It was a fight that turned deadly when they say Kendrick pulled out a gun. Police say after Kendrick shot Jennings in the head, he dragged her into the woods behind the house. That's where officers later found her, clinging to life.

Unfortunately, paramedics couldn't save Jennings and Kendrick locked himself inside the house.

“We tried a number of tactics to end this in as safe a manner as possible. We utilized our drone program and the VCSO bomb robots. They made entry into the house to help clear the house in the safest manner possible,” said Sgt. Kelsey Harris, with the Daytona Beach Police.

Harris said once the SWAT team went in, Kendrick knew he'd run out of places to hide. “We wanted to use every available tactic we had to resolve this matter so we sent in robots, drones, other tactics, and we ultimately ended up resolving this matter, capturing the subject alive,” Harris said.

Now Denise Jennings' friends are only left with the memories of a woman they say they'll sorely miss.

“Denise was a good girl, man,” said friend Alfonso Hall, “I guarantee I'll see her up there with god. “

Kendrick is charged with first-degree, premeditated murder. He'll face a Volusia County judge on Monday afternoon.

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