Report offers timeline of 18-hour LaGrange standoff, events leading up it

LAGRANGE, Ga. - A report was released on Friday by the LaGrange Police Department detailing officers’ interactions with a heavily armed suspect. That report includes a timeline leading up to an 18-hour standoff and shootout with the suspect and the house fire that ultimately claimed his life. 

SUSPECT IN LAGRANGE STANDOFF BELIEVED TO BE DEAD AFTER HOUSE FIRE AND EXPLOSION, POLICE SAY

Brian Jessee terrorized police and his Sunny Point neighborhood for more than 48 hours beginning on the afternoon of Nov. 15. Police said that is when his ex-girlfriend called 911 asking for a welfare check on two children in the home around 12:50 p.m.

"My significant other and I were breaking up. He has children there. He was having seizures. He won’t go to the hospital and now he’s threatening to kill himself," she told 911 operators.

She asked officers and emergency medical workers to go to Jessee’s home located at 118 Sunny Point Circle. Minutes later, she called back shortly after with a warning.

Woman: "He’s threatening his life. He also said that if he hears anybody or sees any cops, he’s going to shoot, make them shoot him."

Dispatcher: "Does he have any type of weapons?

Woman: "Yes, he does and it is usually on him. Just be careful. Please be careful. He’s got an arsenal. Please be careful."

LaGrange police arrived in the neighborhood and set up a command post around 2:40 p.m. The focus, police said, was on the safety of the two boys inside the home and to try to get medical and mental help for Jessee.

A little after 4 p.m., a negotiator was able to start texting with Jessee asking him to call.

"…don’t be atupid (sic)," his response reads. "If I see yall up top… it’s on"

Jessee later replied with photos of his body armor and pictures of two long rifles.

"Jus (sic) don’t bark at me," he wrote.

Just before 7 p.m., the two boys inside the home called 911 and told dispatchers Jessee was having a seizure. The dispatcher told the boys to go to the top of the driveway and meet officers there. 

Bodycam video shows officers shouting for Jessee to come with them to get medical attention. After six hours at the home, the officers decided to back off for the night after he shut the door.

The next day, authorities were working to obtain a court order from a judge to initiate a commitment proceeding for a mental health evaluation on Tuesday afternoon.

"Before the order could be served, credible information was received that led LaGrange police to obtain arrest warrants," LaGrange Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Jeremy Butler said.

Jessee sent a friend a series of messages in which he threatened to go to the chief of police’s home and shoot up his house for taking his boys. 

"I hope they shoot better than me… i know them all and ill slay them. im gonna die today," he writes.

Police secured arrest warrants for six counts of felony terroristic threats, one count of cruelty to a child in the second degree, and one count of felony obstruction.

Knowing that Jessee was heavily armed, the police decided to quietly start evacuating the neighborhood around 3 p.m. Police said Jessee, armed with an AR-15, spotted officers and opened fire twice. 

"Multitude of shots fired," one officer radioed in.

It then becomes a race against the clock for officers to secure and move residents around his home as the situation turned into an active shooter scenario. Across the street from Jessee’s home, residents were seen in a minivan in their driveway trying to get out. Police used the opportunity of Jessee’s walking to the back of his home as an opening to get the adult and child inside the van back into their homes.

Just seconds later, Jessee approached the front of his yard and officers ordered him to the ground. Instead of complying with their orders, he headed back towards his home. Moments later, he was firing at the drone that police officers have been using to keep an eye on him. The rapid gunfire echoed through the now quiet neighborhood.

Troup County Sheriff’s Office, LaGrange Fire Department, and American Medical Response, which has been on the scene since that afternoon were joined by the Peachtree City Police Department, Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, Fulton County Police Department, Newnan Police Department, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigations Explosives Division as the sun begins to set.

A BearCat armored vehicle arrived with specially trained deputies of the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office. Officers used the vehicle to approach the home and use their loudspeakers.

"This is the LaGrange Police Department. We have an arrest warrant for Brian Jessee. Come out with your hands empty," the officer broadcasted.

Jessee’s response comes a short time later in the form of shots being fired directly at the vehicle. Bodycam video from officers captured the sound of the bullets ricocheting off the side of the vehicle. A second armored vehicle at the scene is disabled by his gunfire.

Officers inside the armored vehicle tracked Jessee for more than three hours as he moves from room to room inside the dark home and opened fire at the vehicles from the various locations.

Eventually, police said Jessee started throwing Tannerite at the vehicle and attempted to detonate it in front of their vehicle. 

Officers ended up targeting the muzzle flashes from within the home, firing when they believed they had a clear shot, police said. These were the only rounds fired by officers, police.

In total, officials said Jessee fired over 300 rounds at the officers.

Around 3:44 a.m. on Nov. 17, officers reported seeing a small fire inside the garage. Because of the ongoing threat posed by Jessee, police said firefighters could not safely respond, but remained on standby.

A robot was deployed to try to locate Jessee, but was not successful. CS gas was eventually deployed at daybreak to help officers gain entry into the home.

Officers reported another fire around 7:34 a.m., but again, firefighters could not immediately respond due to the danger. Eventually, firefighters were let close enough to start fighting the blaze with officers on standby, but it was too late. The house was a total loss.

Jessee’s body was later found in the burned-out home. It was taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Medical Examiner’s Office.

No other injuries were reported.

The GBI continues its investigation.

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