A Commerce man faces multiple charges after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend and barricading himself inside her home. The incident in Lavonia led to a police standoff that ended when the suspect, William Gregory Ballenger, was taken into custody during a SWAT raid.
Franklin County Sheriff Scott Andrews says deputies responded to a report of a domestic incident around 6:50 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 5. They met with the victim at a gas station in Lavonia, where she informed them Ballenger assaulted her at her home on Highway 106 in Carnesville earlier in the day. The victim told police Ballenger hit her about the face and threatened her and himself with a gun.
“While on scene with the victim, Lavonia Police received a call stating that a male subject had barricaded himself in a residence on Rainbow Drive,” says Andrews. “The residence was identified as the home of the victim that deputies were out with at the Citgo. It was determined that the incidents were connected.”
After negotiations for Ballenger’s surrender failed, local law enforcement and the Georgia State Patrol SWAT team gained entry into the house and took him into custody. Sheriff Andrews says Georgia Power assisted with the operation.
Ballenger sustained minor injuries from a dog bite. Sheriff Andrews says that deputies took him to a local medical facility before booking him at the Franklin County Jail.
Authorities charged the 43-year-old Ballenger with two counts of aggravated assault, battery under the Family Violence Act, and terroristic threats and acts.
