Paulding Deputy Shoots, Kills Suspect

HIRAM, GA — A Paulding County deputy shot and killed a suspect in Hiram on Thursday while attempting to execute an arrest warrant.

Brandon Lee Bohanan, 35, and a woman, 36-year-old Emelia Alys Blehm, had barricaded themselves inside a room in the basement of the house where deputies were searching for Bohannan and another woman, according to the Paulding County Sheriff's Office.

After using a battering ram to open the door, deputies went into a dark room at about 4:34 p.m. and commanded the pair to show their hands and get on the ground. Blehm immediately complied, according to sheriff's office spokesman Sgt. Ashley Henson.

But Bohanan "came toward deputies in an aggressive manner and would not show them his hands," Henson said. Deputy David Martin fired a single shot, striking and killing Bohanan, according to Henson.

Deputies attempted to give Bohanan first aid but were unsuccessful. His body was turned over to the Paulding County coroner, who transported it to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab for an autopsy.

According to Henson, deputies have been called to the address of the shooting, on Township Drive in Hiram, about 100 times to handle various issues since 2004.

Originally, deputies with the sheriff's office warrants division were at the home Thursday searching for Lelia Sierra Duncan, 27, who was wanted on charges of methamphetamine trafficking, probation violation and obstruction.

The homeowner confirmed that Duncan had been there in the past couple of days, Henson said. While they were there, they learned of Bohanan's presence. Bonahan had two different probation-violation warrants — one related to a criminal trespass charge in Paulding County and another out of Gwinnett County.

Henson said that Bohanan was known to stay in the home's basement and that, when deputies went into the basement, they found the door to the room where Bohanan and Blehm were locked and "heavily fortified."

Martin has worked in law enforcement for 10 years and has been with the Paulding County Sheriff's Office since Feb. 24, 2014. He has been placed on routine administrative leave while the GBI investigates the shooting.

Blehm was arrested on a charge of obstruction and another man at the home, Jacob Lee James Barkwell, was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and giving a false name and date of birth to deputies.

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Lead photo via Pixabay. Photos of Emelia Blehm, top, and Lelia Duncan, bottom, courtesy Paulding County Sheriff's Office.