A father and son from Blairsville were arrested Wednesday afternoon after a domestic dispute and reported hostage situation in Habersham County. Deputies arrested Tyler Blanchard, 26, and Charles Blanchard, 70, in connection with the incident at Apple Mountain Resort in Hollywood.
Habersham E-911 dispatched deputies to the resort around 4:11 p.m. on January 19 after receiving a call from a guest saying she was being held at gunpoint. Before deputies arrived, the suspect and his father, who the alleged victim later said came to “help de-escalate the situation,” drove away from the property.
“During the dispute, an intoxicated Tyler made repeated verbal threats to the adult female with her children present,” says HCSO Public Information Officer Kevin Angell. “The female retreated to a locked bedroom to protect herself and her children; however, Tyler continued to issue verbal threats and bang on the door. Tyler’s threats included his intent to strike the adult female with a gun he had in his possession.”
Later, a witness reported seeing both men walking around the adult female victim’s vehicle. The witness told deputies that she saw one of the men slash the front tires on the vehicle before fleeing the scene in a Kia Forte.
Deputies stopped the Blanchards minutes later in a traffic stop, within a mile of the resort.
At the resort, deputies found the victim and her two children safe outside their second-story room.
The woman, who is in a relationship with Tyler Blanchard, later stated in a public social media post that he was drinking and got mad, “but he wasn’t gonna harm me or our children.” She blamed the incident on drinking saying, “Our family is broken right now because of alcohol and the mind-altering affects [sic] it has.” [While the alleged victim has divulged her own identity on social media, Now Habersham adheres to its policy of not releasing the names of alleged victims in domestic violence cases.]
The arresting officers booked the Blanchards in at the Habersham County Detention Center. They charged Tyler Blanchard with three counts of aggravated assault, two counts of cruelty to children, and one count of criminal damage.
Charles Blanchard was charged with obstruction of justice. A judge set his bond at $1,250.
The sheriff’s office says the investigation remains open and more charges may follow.
